Consulting in Aviation and Aerospace Safety

Dr. Carolina Anderson is an associate professor at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus. In her previous position with the Daytona Beach Campus Flight Department, she performed the duties of flight instructor, team safety leader, flight standards check pilot and training manager. In 2011, she joined the faculty of the Aeronautical Science Department. Dr. Anderson has participated in numerous research projects and publications in the areas of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), alternative fuels, flight-testing and simulation, upset recovery training, aircraft certification, aviation safety, STEM education, and text mining and statistical analysis. Most recently, Dr. Anderson led a team in charge of using Monte Carlo simulations to develop a validated algorithm to calculate a single numerical score that indicates the safety performance of a Flight Department.

Dr. Anderson holds a Ph.D. in Aviation from Embry-Riddle; she became the first woman with a Ph.D. in Aviation in 2013. Dr. Anderson also holds a Master in Business Administration in Aviation from Embry-Riddle and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Los Andes University in Bogota, Colombia. In addition, Dr. Anderson holds ATP and Commercial Pilot certificates in single-engine and multi-engine instrument airplanes, gliders and seaplanes; is a CFI in gliders, instrument and single- and multi-engine airplanes; and is a check pilot and training center evaluator. Dr. Anderson has more than 4,000 hours of flight time and more than 4,000 hours of flight instruction.

Prof. Sam Butler is an adjunct Safety Systems instructor at Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campus. Prof. Butler has 33 years of experience in commercial aviation operations, including 11 years with National Airlines, 11 years with Pan American World Airways and 11 years with Delta Airlines. At Pan Am, he was the 727 Fleet Captain/JFK, selecting and training line check captains and conducting IOE training and management for European/Berlin/Domestic 727 Operations. At Delta, he was a 727 Simulator Training Captain and directed the LOSA Group and Quality Systems Evaluation Group. While employed at Delta, he was assigned for 18 months to Korean Airlines, on-site in Seoul, as a safety consultant conducting an evaluation and reorganization of flight training, line operations training and safety systems to evaluate their participation as a Delta codeshare partner. Prof. Butler further evaluated China Southern airlines for a codeshare safety approval. He holds an ATP and type ratings in the B727, 737 (800) and 757/767(ER), with extensive flight operations in Europe/Japan and other ICAO and ETOPS flight regions. He is a retired naval aviator with 24 years of active and reserve service.

Dr. David Cross is an airline pilot and an assistant professor at Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campus. He joined United Airlines in 1995, where he currently flies as a B-787 captain. Dr. Cross has also served as an instructor pilot and managed United's crew resource management (CRM) department for seven years, designing curricula and teaching CRM to pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and dispatchers. As CRM manager, he was heavily involved in AQP design, LOSA and FOQA integration into CRM. As an assistant professor for Embry-Riddle, Dr. Cross has instructed both graduate and undergraduate courses, specializing in graduate statistical analysis and research courses.

The Honorable Steve Dickson served as FAA administrator from August 2019 until April 2022. As FAA administrator, he was a staunch advocate for safety, global leadership, operational excellence, and the health, welfare and evolution of the FAA’s workforce. Before joining the FAA, Capt. Dickson spent nearly three decades at Delta Air Lines, retiring as the senior vice president of flight operations. In this role, he was responsible for the safety and operational performance of global flight operations, as well as pilot training, crew resources, crew scheduling and regulatory compliance. During his career, he flew the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 727, 737, 757 and 767. Capt. Dickson previously served as chairman of several industry stakeholder groups and federal advisory committees. He is a distinguished graduate of the Class of 1979 at the United States Air Force Academy, and he graduated from Georgia State University College of Law, magna cum laude. While on active duty, he flew the T-38 Talon supersonic jet trainer and F-15 Eagle fighter jet.

Dr. Kristy Kiernan is an associate professor and program coordinator for the Master of Science in Aviation Safety at Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campus. A former Coast Guard aviator, Dr. Kiernan was an aviation safety officer, crew resource management instructor and chief pilot for technical issues in the Falcon 20. Her current research investigates the positive contribution of human performance to aviation safety and the safety aspects of integrating uncrewed systems into the national airspace. Her dissertation involved the effect of generation on workforce participation in aerospace. She has worked on several grants funded by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Center of Excellence for UAS Research (ASSURE). She holds a B.S. in Neuroscience from Brown University, a Ph.D. in Aviation from Embry-Riddle, an Airline Transport Pilot certificate with a Falcon-type rating and a Remote Pilot Certificate. She is an actively flying commercial pilot in the SR-22 and TBM 850.

Dr. Najmedin Meshkati is a full-tenured professor of Civil/Environmental Engineering, Industrial & Systems Engineering, and International Relations at the University of Southern California (USC), and an associate (ex-research fellow) with the Project on Managing the Atom at Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School. He also served as an associate with the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard (2018-2020). For the past 35 years, Dr. Meshkati has been teaching and conducting research on risk reduction and reliability enhancement of complex technological systems, including nuclear power, aviation, petrochemical and transportation industries. He has been selected by the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council for his interdisciplinary expertise concerning human performance and safety culture. Dr. Meshkati has conducted research on human factors and aviation safety-related issues (e.g., cockpit design and automation, crew resource management, safety management system, safety culture and runway incursions). Dr. Meshkati holds an M.S. in Engineering Management and a Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Prof. Brian Roggow serves as the department chair for Safety Science at Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus. Previously, he was the director of Aviation Safety for the Prescott Campus for 10 years. Prof. Roggow has been instrumental in developing a Safety Management System and implementing an Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) as well as a Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) program. As director of safety and ASAP ERC manager, he has investigated and analyzed more than 3,500 ASAP or confidential safety reports, using HFACS, WBAT and Microsoft Excel and Access for analyses and production of figures/reports. He also analyzed more than 250,000 flight hours of instruction from G1000 flight data using Excel and Access, producing assurance and promotion outputs for leadership and instructional staff. He is a commercial pilot, a certified flight instructor, an administrative pilot examiner and a FAASTeam lead representative.

Prof. David Ryan is an assistant professor at Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus and the executive director of the Robertson Safety Institute. Before joining Embry-Riddle, Prof. Ryan was the vice president of aviation for a Part 91 operator, where he was responsible for the operational oversight of a flight department with multiple aircraft, personnel and hangar facilities. He was also the chief pilot for Bombardier Aerospace/Learjet in Wichita, Kansas, where he served on the flight deck and systems design, development, and flight test team for the Challenger 300 and Learjet 60XR programs. Additionally, he was one of the founders of the Bombardier Safety Standdown program. Prof. Ryan holds Airline Transport Pilot, Commercial ASEL/S Instrument (multiple type ratings) and Flight Instructor certificates.

Dr. Robert Thomas is an assistant professor in the Aeronautical Science Department at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus. Dr. Thomas completed his Ph.D. in Aviation from Embry-Riddle with a specialization in Aviation Safety and Human Factors. In addition to teaching academic coursework, he serves as the chief ground instructor and a flight/check instructor for Embry-Riddle’s 14 CFR 141 Pilot School Certificate. His research focuses on augmenting and improving flight training methods, education technology, virtual reality training, active learning and assessing learner knowledge. Prior to becoming a professor, Dr. Thomas was a full-time flight instructor at Embry-Riddle and helped form Special VFR Productions to create training videos and a corresponding YouTube page, which gained more than 150,000 subscribers. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate (ASEL and AMEL with CL-65 type rating) and a Gold Seal Flight Instructor Certificate (ASE, AME & Instrument-Airplane; Ground Instructor-Advanced; and Remote Pilot-sUAS).

Dr. Dothang Truong is a professor with Embry-Riddle’s School of Graduate Studies and program coordinator for the Ph.D. in Aviation program at the Daytona Beach Campus. He received his Ph.D. in Manufacturing Management from the University of Toledo in 2004. He is a member of the National Science Foundation Review Panel and the Transportation Research Board Economics and Forecasting Committee. He has strong expertise in big data analytics, natural language processing, machine learning, transportation management, risk assessment and modeling, operations research, and research methodology. His research interests include machine learning in aviation safety and airport efficiency, and risk modeling and network optimization. He worked on multiple external grants funded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the FAA’s Center of Excellence for UAS Research (ASSURE). He has established a strong record of publication in top-tier journals, including Journal of Air Transport Management, Journal of Airspace Information Systems, Safety Science Journal, Journal of Intelligence and Robotic Systems, International Journal of Aviation Psychology and International Journal of Business Analytics, among others.

Dr. Scott Shappell is currently a professor and chair of the Department of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus. Dr. Shappell, along with Dr. Doug Wiegmann, co-developed the Human Factors Analysis Classification System (HFACS), which is used worldwide and is considered the global standard in human factors analysis. Prior to joining the faculty at Embry-Riddle, Dr. Shappell was a professor of Industrial Engineering at Clemson University. Before that, he was the Human Factors research branch manager at the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. In addition, he has served more than 16 years in the U.S. Navy as an aerospace experimental psychologist. He has published/presented over 200 papers, books and presentations in the fields of accident investigation, system safety, spatial disorientation, sustained operations and fatigue. Dr. Shappell received a B.S. in Psychology (1983) from Wright State University, graduating summa cum laude with honors in psychology, and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Texas Medical Branch.

The Honorable Robert L. Sumwalt is the former chair of the National Transportation Safety Board. He now serves as Distinguished Fellow in Aviation Safety and as executive director of the Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Mr. Sumwalt has more than four decades of aviation experience, including 24 years as captain for Piedmont Airlines/U.S. Airways. While at U.S. Airways, he served on special assignment to the U.S. Airways safety department, where he ran the U.S. Airways Line Operations Safety Assessments (LOSA) and worked as a union representative to the Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) monitoring team. Additionally, Mr. Sumwalt served as a research consultant to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). He holds a master's degree in Aeronautical Science (with Distinction) from Embry-Riddle, with concentrations in Aviation/Aerospace Safety Systems and Aviation Human Factors.

Capt. Bob Waltz has been an aviation professional and thought leader for over 36 years. Bob’s focus is on the prevention of accidents or incidents in high-reliability organizations, and the value of proper preparation and customer care should an accident or incident occur. Bob is a guest lecturer at the University of North Dakota and the University of North Texas, and an adjunct professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Bob works with the Family Assistance Education and Research Foundation as a board member, he is the operational lead for a venture capital aerial imaging start-up, and he consults on safety management systems and crew resource Management in a variety of domestic and international settings. Bob was named a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society by his peers for lifelong contributions to aeronautical operations and safety. As a 22-year employee of a major U.S. carrier, Bob has held a variety of leadership positions.

Most recently, Bob served as vice president of flight operations, where his primary responsibility was serving nearly 10,500 Flight Ops Employees. He provided leadership and support to Flight Ops, including 11 bases, crew planning/scheduling/payroll, numerous headquarters' technical and support functions, and the LEAD Center, home to the airline’s world-class pilot training. Bob’s passion for service also took shape in his roles as operations council chair for Airlines for America, as a check airman and as a military committee member for the airline’s pilot union. Bob retired from the U.S. Air Force as regional director and emergency preparedness liaison directorate after 30 years of service in the Active Duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. Bob has flown a wide variety of aircraft: T-37, T-38, T-1, C-21 and the C-130 E & H. Bob flew combat and combat support missions in the Middle East and the Balkans (Operations Southern Watch, Joint Forge, Joint Endeavor and Joint Guard). Bob is type rated in the Boeing 737-200/300/500/700/800 and MAX-8. Bob holds a B.D. in Human Factors Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy, an M.S. in Educational Psychology from Florida State and a Ph.D. in Aeronautical Science at the University of North Dakota.

Dr. Scott Winter is an associate professor and associate dean for research at the School of Graduate Studies at Embry-Riddle’s campus in Daytona Beach, Florida. His primary responsibilities involve coordinating research initiatives for the college, establishing public and private research relationships, and teaching graduate-level courses in research methods, quantitative data analysis and qualitative data analysis. Dr. Winter has authored or co-authored more than 90 peer-reviewed journal articles and 90 conference proceedings. He has conducted more than $5M in externally funded research. Previously, Dr. Winter was employed with Cirrus Aircraft in Duluth, Minnesota, as a member of the Flight Standards and Operations Department. He completed international training at Cirrus, where he flew training missions in South Africa, Australia, Brazil, the Caribbean, England, France, Germany and Poland. Dr. Winter completed his Ph.D. in the Aviation Technology Department at Purdue University and his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Minnesota State University, Mankato.