AvSafe Biographies

BARRY NEAL, FCMI MRAeS

Barry Neal is an expert in Safety and Risk Management, and Human Performance in Military Aviation with a unique and successful background in Aviation Safety in the Royal Air Force. A pilot with 40 years experience in national and international aviation, he has considerable experience in the fields of policy, planning and programme development, change management, budget development, and training and team building. Recently retired from the Royal Air Force having spent the last 7 years as a Head of Department within the former Inspectorate of Flight Safety (RAF) and the Ministry of Defence, Defence Aviation Safety Centre, he has worked closely with military and civilian agencies at home and abroad, including the CAA, the UK Aircraft Accident Investigation Branch, and the Department of Trade, Local Government and the Regions on Safety and Regulatory Matters

Key Achievements

• The rationalisation and integration of Military and Defence Procurement Agency Flight Safety Organisations
• The development of a multi-national Aviation Safety publication
• The development and integration of Military and Defence Procurement Agency Flight Safety Regulatory and Policy documents
• The creation of a Risk Management strategy for Defence Aviation
• Project Director for the development of a world-leading web-based on-line Flight Safety Information and Management System
• A highly successful Flight Safety and Risk Management Symposium for BAE Systems
• Extensive experience in International Liaison
• Wide ranging conference, symposium and seminar experience

Barry has a Certificate in Safety Management Systems from the Southern California Safety Institute; is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and a former non-Executive Director of the Institute; a Member of the Royal Aeronautical Society and its Human Factors Group; and a Flying Display Director, and senior member of the Guernsey Battle of Britain Air Display Flying Control Committee

MIKE STANHOPE, BSc(Hons)

Mike Stanhope has some 30 years experience in aircraft maintenance and operations, within the military environment. Whilst working in Flight Safety for the last nearly 8 years, he has also been exposed to many issues with the contractorised civilian involvement in the MoD's operations. He has spent much of this time auditing operations, considering policy issues and developing expertise in risk management and human performance matters. He is now Project Manager for a dynamic new reporting methodology that he is developing in conjunction with QinetiQ's Centre for Human Sciences. This promises to be a world leader in capturing and analysing the human performance and risks in aircraft operations for aircrew, air traffic and engineers. He was co-author of the policy work for the MoD and NATO on Risk Management and Human Factors with Barry Neal.

Mike has worked at all levels of aircraft maintenance from operations to deep maintenance commanding organisations of diversity and complexity. He is well versed in the issues that relate to output oriented environments and the challenges they offer to the maintenance of the safety perspective. Clear focus and culture are the keys to doing it fast but doing it well and, above all, with the appropriate risk judgements. The key to safe efficiency and production is the human factor managed by comprehensive and well focused risk management. With high quality data analysing mistakes, mangers can ensure that the safety systems in place fulfil their obligations to their workforce and the public at large. Improving aviation operations in these areas is Mike's passion. Safety comes at a price; safety failures at a bigger one.