FSF President and CEO Dr. Hassan Shahidi, left, and John D. Witzig, Pfizer vice president, corporate aviation
As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, the greatest issue facing aviation safety experts is the widespread loss of proficiency caused by the months of pandemic-related slowdowns, John D. Witzig, Pfizer vice president, corporate aviation, said Tuesday at Flight Safety Foundation’s Business Aviation Safety Summit (BASS).
“Everyone is less proficient today than they were at the beginning of COVID,” Witzig said during the first day of the 66th annual BASS, which is being held virtually this year. “It’s not just crewmembers; it’s technicians, it’s dispatchers, it’s your admin staff. We’re just not used to working at … that [pre-pandemic] pacing anymore.”
For business aviation, recovery from the lull caused by the pandemic will require understanding that errors and omissions may occur more frequently than they did before the COVID-19 …
