The Symposium will feature panels and presentations on cutting-edge issues in the aviation industry that affect your business.

Agenda

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

12:30 – 6:00 pm   Arrival and registration
3 – 3:45 pm          Aviation Emergency Response Organization (AERO) Board Meeting
4 – 5:15 pm          AERO General Membership Meeting (Open to all members and conference attendees)
5:30 – 7 pm         Welcome cocktail reception

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

8:30 – 9:30 am        Registration and continental breakfast

9:30 – 9:45 am        Welcome and opening comments

9:45 – 10:45 am        The FAA Reauthorization: Past, Present and Future 

• Current state 
• What’s in it?
• Why should you care?

10:45 – 11:30 am    The 1500-Hours Rule: A Discussion with Former FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt and former FAA Deputy Administrator/Acting Administrator Daniel Elwell

• Where this rule comes from
• Does it make the systems safer?
• Simulator time or not?
• Airline internal program
• Liability issues

11:30 – 11:45 am    Networking break

11:45 – 12:30 pm    My Time on the Board: A Discussion with Bruce Landsberg, Vice Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board

12:30 – 1:45 pm        Lunch, featuring Aviation Trivia from 12:45 – 1:15 pm

1:45 – 2:15 pm        Lessons in Family Assistance: Taking Care of the Responders and Caregivers    

• Preparing responders for the response
• Responding with passengers/families
• On the scene
• After the response

2:15 – 2:45 pm        The 2024 FAA Panel: Current/Former FAA Professionals Focus on the Issues of the Day

• Where the FAA is and where it’s going in 2024
• Commercial space
• ATF staffing – 5G Issues
• OIG/External Audits

2:45 – 3:15 pm        Networking break

3:15 – 3:45 pm        Corporate and Charter Operators: Emergency Training Preparation and Response 

• Who does what?
• Effective training
• The “Go” Team
• Privileges
• Family associate issues
• How do you prepare?

3:45 – 4:15 pm        View from the Top: An Encore Discussion With FAA Chief Counsel Marc Nichols

4:15 – 4:45 pm        The Don’ts of Accident Investigation: Mistakes to Avoid

• Writing emails and reports
• Managing documents
• Interviews
• Managing witness/employee interviews

4:45 – 5:15 pm        First day wrap up

5:30 – 7:30 pm       Networking reception and dinner

Thursday, February 8, 2024

8:30 – 9:30 am        Continental breakfast
9:30 – 9:45 am        Welcome and opening comments
9:45 – 10:30 am        Dealing with the Media After an Accident: Everything You Can’t Say and How to Say It

• To be a party or not a party 
• Before the accident happens
• How to say the things you can’t say
• Correcting bad reporting

10:30 – 11:15 am    What to Do When the Feds Come Knocking

• Who, what, when, where, why?  
• Subpoenas
• Documents and interviews
• Originals v. copies
• FOIA

11:15 – 11:30 am    Mental Health in the Aviation Industry: A Discussion with Jennifer Homendy

11:30 am – 12:15 pm    Aviation Mental Health, the Cockpit and Liability 

• Past and recent events
• The current process 
• Privacy issues
• Airline/industry liability issues
• What’s happening at the FAA/NTSB
• What to expect in the future 

12:15 – 12:30 pm        Wrap-up comments and adjournment