Please join the Aero Club of New England for our 2021 online edition of Crash Course.
Our featured speaker will be Richard McSpadden, Executive Director of AOPA's Air Safety Institute. Richard will present a live walk through of "Trapped In Ice" giving participants a chance to explore the back stories behind two accidents that involved flights in areas of hazardous icing conditions, IMC, and mountain obscuration.
The FAA New England FSDO will provide opening remarks by Colleen D'Alessandro, New England Region Regional Administrator, and an in-depth review of regional accidents by Stephen K. Brown, Aviation Safety Program Manager. Attendees can receive WINGS credit by registering for the live stream using your WINGS email address at ACONE.org/CrashCourse and staying throughout the full safety program. Moderated Q&A sessions will follow the accident presentations. Submit your questions using the "Q&A" button along the bottom of the Zoom interface.
Since 1902, the Aero Club of New England has been promoting aviation safety. ACONE launched Crash Course in 1990, with this the 31st edition. Now the largest stand-alone GA safety event in the world, it was created by Dr. Gary Kearney who adapted the medical team debriefing processed used within modern medicine when medical outcomes do not meet expectations. Since its launch Crash Course has analyzed hundreds of accidents and shared an interactive exploration of their progression, outcomes, and lessons learned with thousands of participants.
Richard McSpadden capped his military career as Commander and Flight Leader of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, leading over 100 flight performances of the iconic six-jet flight demonstration team. He then worked for Hewlett Packard before joining AOPA as Executive Director of the Air Safety Institute. Richard is a commercial pilot, CFII, MEI with an SES rating and a 525S (Citation Jet Single Pilot) type rating. He’s logged over 4,500 hours in 30 years of flying a variety of civilian and military aircraft. Richard has extensive experience in aviation safety including ground, flight, and special event operations. Richard currently owns a 1950 Navion with his father that has been in his family for almost 40 years. He previously owned a 1955 Piper Super Cub which he used to instruct his daughter to her initial solo. Prior to the Super Cub, Richard owned a 1965 Piper Cherokee 140 aircraft that he used to instruct his son to successful completion of his private pilot certificate.