Parra and Richmond Finalists for Airport Operations Safety Award
Palm Beach Gardens, Fl., The Armbrust Aviation Group (AAG) in cooperation with the Airport Operations Safety Panel (AOSP) is pleased to announce the two finalists for its first annual AAG Airport Safety Award. The award will be given each year to the airport operations manager that has significantly contributed to the advancements in safety at their airport and the industry as a whole. This year's award finalists include Allen Parra, Vice President of Operations, DFW for his efforts to improve perimeter taxiway safety through the development and implementation of the "Runway Incursion Prevention Plan" and Craig Richmond, Vice President, Airport Operations Vancouver International Airport for his leadership in helping to foster the development and installation of Tarsier, a runway foreign object debris radar detection system.
John H. Armbrust, President of AAG praised both Parra and Richmond as being among the industry leaders in working to improve airport operations safety.
"Both Parra and Richmond have been responsible for developing programs that have enhanced airport operations safety at their airports," says Armbrust. "Allen Parra's leadership on reducing runway incursions at DFW has not only improved safety but has the added benefit of increasing efficiency for airport operations by reducing costly delays and therefore fuel burn. Craig Richmond's efforts to foster the development and installation of a high resolution radar system at YVR to detect runway debris promises to dramatically reduce the risk of accidents and damage to aircraft."
AAG solicited airport staff to nominate their airport operations managers for the Best Airport Operations Manager of the Year and also to receive the prestigious Airport Safety Award. These honors follow in the tradition of other AAG awards including annual awards from Airport Revenue News' (ARN) Airport Director of the Year and various Best Airport Concessions awards.
Also, each year AAG awards the Best Airport Operator, as well as Best Airline Fuel Department and Best Aviation Fuel Marketer. The AAG Airport Safety Award and all other awards will be presented at the AAG Awards Ceremony on February 21, 2006, the closing event for the 8th annual AAG International Airport Operations Conference and Exhibition being held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
Under Allen Parra's leadership DFW's Runway Incursion Prevention Plan has been adopted by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Australia and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a model for airports worldwide. In addition Parra pioneered the campaign "I Brake for Runways" at DFW which has also been adopted by U.S. Navy and Marine air bases.
Craig Richmond recognized the limits of visual inspections of runways to detect debris during peak operations and during periods of poor visibility or at night. He wanted a system that would work during all conditions and lead the first successful test of Tarsier in 2004. YVR will be the first airport in the world to employ the system which is based on high resolution millimetre wave radar that can operate in all weather conditions and at night. It can detect and locate small objects on an airport runway to an accuracy of three meters and at a distance of up to two kilometers.
Mr. Parra and Mr. Richmond as well as the systems they helped develop to improve airport safety will be featured in an upcoming issue of AirOps.
The Armbrust Aviation Group is a full service aviation publishing and consulting company. The company's core publications include Airport Revenue News (ARN) a monthly trade magazine devoted to coverage of all revenue generating aspects of the airport industry; AirOps, a monthly print and on-line magazine covering the world of airport operations; and the World Jet Fuel Report (JFR) which covers the aviation fuel industry. The AAG publications are the foremost news and information resources for airport and airline executives. In addition, AAG publishes Fact Books, specialized reports and each year the prestigious AAG and ARN awards are highly coveted as they reflect excellence in the aviation industry. For more information contact John H. Armbrust at 561.355.8488 or [email protected] or visit the AAG website at www.armbrustaviation.com.