Air safety specialist receives top award

Citation

(1999), "Air safety specialist receives top award", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 71 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.1999.12771bab.050

Air safety specialist receives top award

Air safety specialist receives top award

Keywords Awards, Cranfield

The air safety world has recognised Frank Taylor, Director of the Aviation Safety Centre at Cranfield College of Aeronautics, with its top honour ­ the Jerome F. Lederer Award.

The award ­ named after the "old man of air safety" ­ was presented to Frank at the recent International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) seminar in Barcelona. First awarded in 1977, Frank is only the sixth UK recipient and was recognised by ISASI for his "outstanding contributions to technical excellence in accident investigation".

With his team at Cranfield, Frank has worked with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch on several major UK incidents including the British Airtours B737 at Manchester in 1985 and the Pan Am B747 at Lockerbie in 1989.

The Centre currently trains virtually all government and commercial air accident investigators from the UK and many from Europe the Middle East, Asia and Canada.

"Frank has made a major contribution to the development of air safety practices and incident investigation over the last 30 years", said Professor Ian Poll, Head of College at Cranfield. "The work undertaken at Cranfield has played a central role in the safety improvements in the design and operation of aircraft throughout the world. Frank justly deserves the honour of his peers that this award signifies."

Frank Taylor began his career with de Havilland in 1957, working on the fuel systems of the Comet 4 and Trident. He joined the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield in 1967 where he developed his interests in accident investigation, primarily in the areas of fire, crash-worthiness and survival. He was appointed Director of the internationally renowned Cranfield Aviation Safety Centre in 1986.