Montreal, Canada – At the inaugural meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Task Force on Risks to Civil Aviation Arising from Conflict Zones (TF RCZ) in Montreal this week, Task Force members unanimously elected David McMillan as Chair. McMillan was nominated by the Government of Malaysia and supported by the Government of the Netherlands, two countries vitally affected by the shoot down of MH17 in the Ukraine.
David has served on the Flight Safety Foundation Board of Governors since 2007 and was elected chairman of the Board in 2012.
“It is an honour to be elected to lead this important task force,” stated McMillan. “Civil aviation is fundamentally very safe, but we do need to apply lessons learned from the tragedy of MH17 and recent events to fill any gaps that may exist to better assess and share risks from and near regional conflict zones.”
“We’re enormously proud of David’s election, and can’t think of a better person to lead this important ICAO task force,” stated FSF President and CEO, Jon Beatty. “The Foundation is directly participating in this new ICAO Task Force, and pledges our full support.”
ICAO agreed to this task force at a special meeting at the end of July in reaction to the tragic shooting down of MH 17 as well as increased tensions in other parts of the world. It will assist in providing greater clarity of procedures and responsibilities with respect to civilian airspace over conflict zones.
McMillan served as Director General of EUROCONTROL from January 2008 through December of 2012. EUROCONTROL consists of member states from the European Region, including the European Community. It is involved in almost every aspect of air traffic management in Europe.
Flight Safety Foundation (www.flightsafetstg.wpenginepowered.com) is an independent, non-profit, international organization engaged in research, education, advocacy and publishing to improve aviation safety. The Foundation’s mission is to be the leading voice of safety for the global aerospace community.
Contact: Emily McGee, +1 703 739 6700, ext. 126; mcgee@webdeva.flightsafety.org
