RAA Board Approves RAA Safety Council

Washington, DC – Underscoring the importance of comprehensive and pro-active safety programs, the Regional Airline Association (RAA) Board of Directors today approved the establishment of the RAA Safety Council.

Comprised of safety representatives from RAA’s 32 member airlines, the Council elected Captain Dave Faddis of SkyWest Airlines and Captain Ric Wilson of American Eagle as Chair and Vice Chair respectively. The Council will meet quarterly to share industry best practices, including a joint session with the Air Transport Association’s Safety Council representing mainline airlines at the upcoming RAA Annual Convention in Milwaukee.

“As with our Strategic Safety Initiative, the RAA Board’s unanimous approval of the RAA Safety Council further emphasizes that safety is the number one priority at the highest levels of the regional airline industry,” said RAA President Roger Cohen. “The group’s charter makes it crystal clear: to promote, enhance and support pro-active safety programs that continuously assure conformance to the highest accepted industry standards, and to assist member airlines in identifying and resolving new and emerging safety and security concerns.”

“Nearly 20,000 professional pilots at regional airlines throughout the country safely operate thousands of daily flights, providing critical air service to 659 airports and carrying nearly 160 million passengers annually throughout North America,” noted Captain Dave Faddis, “The formalization of the RAA Safety Council emphasizes our industry’s safety-first commitment and puts our best practices to work enhancing our ability to advance safety at every level, and to ensure that we continue to exceed safety standards as an industry.”

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