On March 20–21, ALPA’s Aviation Safety chair, Capt. Chuck Hogeman (UAL), convened a meeting of the ALPA technical group chairs in Herndon, Va.

The two-day agenda included individual updates on the groups’ activities; a presentation on a small, relatively inexpensive collision avoidance system developed for aircraft without conventional electrical systems, including some UAS; a discussion of advances in radar developed specifically to detect birds near airports; planning for the 2012 ALPA Air Safety Forum; reviewing nominations for safety awards to be presented at the Forum; budget reviews; and updates to ALPA websites.

Capt. Sean Cassidy, ALPA’s first vice president and national safety coordinator, actively participated in the meeting. “Busy as I thought my first year in these positions was, it’s been even busier this year,” he said. “Going to meetings and events, making lots of contacts, leads to more meetings, events, and contacts.”

Cassidy told the technical group chairs, “Everything matters—you’re in leadership roles. We’re relying on your skills as diplomats and communicators to carry line pilots’ agenda and message forward.”

The group chairmen plan to meet next during the week of the ALPA 2012 Air Safety Forum, to be held August 6–9 in Washington, D.C.

For additional coverage of the meeting, see the May 2012 issue of Air Line Pilot magazine.