AViCON 2016

If you missed AViCON 2016, you still have an opportunity to see many of the sessions.

Click on "Rent all" in the video today for access to the 2016 webcast videos and fact pattern below

AViCON 2016 Sessions from RTI Forensics on Vimeo.

RTI Headquarters and Research Centre
401 Log Canoe Circle

Stevensville, MD 21666
410-571-0712

avicon@rtiforensics.com

Hilton Garden Inn Kent Island

3206 Main St, Grasonville, MD 21638

410.827.3877

Gather with our distinguished faculty and your fellow delegates before and after the conference. A limited number of rooms have been reserved from September 27th through September 29nd at the special rate of $154.00 per night plus tax for attendees of the AViCON 2016 conference.

After you register to attend AViCON 2016 you will receive a confirmation email containing the hotel promotion code.

AViCON Special Room Rates Expire August 22, 2016!

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

8:00 – 9:00 AM	Registration and Welcome Breakfast Joseph Reynolds, RTI, James Robinson, Gordon & Rees, Ted Dunlap, RTI
9:00	Welcome and Introduction
9:30	*Pilot Depression and Suicide – How to improve Aviation Safety in the Wake of GermanWings (and SilkAir, EgyptAir Flight 900, and more) Scott Brooksby, Olson Brooksby, Portland, OR, Brian J. Alexander, Kreindler & Kreindler, Steve Hull, RTI, Captain Charlie Curreri, American Airlines*
10:20	Networking Break
10:35	*Accident “Organizational meeting" by Investigator In Charge (IIC) William English, National Transportation Safety Board*
11:00	*Responding to Air Disasters: Best Practices for Working with the NTSB, FAA and in the Aftermath of an Accident David Tochen, General Counsel, NTSB, Captain John Deleeuw, American Airlines, Kevin Lenehan, Lockheed Martin (Sikorsky), Mark Dombroff,* Dentons
12:00 PM	*Networking Lunch and Book Launch “The Crash Detectives,” with Christine Negroni Christine Negroni, author of Deadly Departure, and now, The Crash Detectives*
1:50	*Beyond the Law – Effective Use of Mock Trials and Jury Focus Groups Laurie R. Kuslansky, Ph.D.*
2:45	Networking Break
3:00	Getting Your Hands Dirty – Interactive Breakout Sessions** Best practices for Selecting and working with Experts Frederick Alimonti, Alimonti Law Offices, Steve Hull, RTI, James Robinson, Gordon & Rees Practical Engineering – Testing Your Legal Theories in the Lab, Part 107 Waiver Application Testing / Risk Mitigation Matthew Wagenhofer, Ph.D., Ralph Pagano, Fitzpatrick & Hunt
5:00	Conference adjourns to Kent Island Yacht Club
6:30	AViCON Banquet featuring Keynote Speaker, Commander Brian Binnie: Test Pilot for SpaceShip One

**Webcast Sessions

Thursday, September 29, 2016

8:00-9:00 AM	Registration and Breakfast
9:00	Introductions and Welcome Back
9:45	Networking Break
10:00	Criminalization of Air Disasters - First Hand Lessons from Gol Flight 1907 Robert Torricella, Torricella Pastor, Sherry Ortiz, USAIG, William English, NTSB, David Rimmer, CEO, Blissjet
11:15	*Preemption in Aviation Cases, Presented via a Mock Motions Hearing and Oral Arguments Catherine Slavin, Gordon & Rees, Justin Green, Kreindler & Kreindler, Hon. Frederic Smalkin (Ret.)*
12:30	*Litigation Ethics in the Social Media Age—How Well Do We Know It When We See It? Denny Shupe, Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP*
2:00	*Mediation/Resolution “Open ADR” Claim Resolution Exercise David C. Kraus, AireFaire Mediation, Pat Dolan, Old Republic Aerospace, Diane Wilson, Dentons,*
3:30	Adjourn

**Webcast Sessions

2016 SPONSORSHIP OPTIONS

VIP Room $1500 (4 Rooms)
Lobby Hall Table $1000 (2 Available)
Lunch $750 (Both Days)
Coffee/Network Breaks $500 (All 4 Breaks)
Add Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs to the Wednesday Dinner Reception $300 per bushel

All Sponsorship options include the following package:

Logo and website link on AViCON website
Logo and website link present on all marketing materials including emails and blog posts
Logo on splash screen during event
Logo printed in event materials
Banner with logo and website prominently displayed at sponsored section
RTI has over 5000 newsletter and blog subscribers including Lawyers, In-House Counsel, Insurers, and Manufacturers in the aviation sector and related industries.

Please contact Janie Hartman at janie.hartman@rtiforensics.com to book your sponsorship today!

AViCON Recalls Ten Year Anniversary of GOL Midair Collision with Panel Discussion on Criminalization of Aviation Accidents

On September 29, 2006, GOL Airlines Flight 1907 flying at 37,000 feet collided in midair with an Embraer Legacy business jet over the Amazon jungle in Brazil. The badly-damaged business jet landed safely at a remote military base, but the GOL Airlines 737 was damaged too severely and crashed, tragically claiming the lives of the 154 passengers and crew aboard that flight. In the immediate aftermath of that tragedy, Brazilian authorities initiated criminal investigations and prosecuted the pilots of the business jet and the air traffic controllers. The actions by those authorities stand as the most noteworthy example of government criminalization of an aviation accident and caused many in the aviation industry to re-evaluate and refine their post-accident response procedures.

Aviation safety advocates have long admonished that criminalization of an aviation accident impedes cooperation by flight crews, mechanics, and manufacturers in an investigation, with negative consequences for aviation safety. Jim Hall, former Chairman of the NTSB, has testified before Congress concerning how several NTSB investigations were impeded by fear of criminal prosecution. It stands to reason: If pilots, air traffic controllers and other aviation professionals believe that their livelihood, and even freedom may be taken away by cooperation with a civil accident investigation, they might think twice before providing information to accident investigators. The investigation, and aviation safety, invariably will suffer as a result.

Brazilian authorities seized the passports of the two pilots of the business jet shortly after the accident and prevented their departure from Brazil during the pendency of the ongoing criminal investigation. They remained in custody for over two months, and returned to the United States only after a legal battle resulted in an order from the Brazilian Supreme Court requiring their release. The pilots later were indicted and, ultimately, convicted of negligently exposing an aircraft to danger. The legal drama continued to 2015, with the Brazilian Supreme Court upholding the conviction of the two pilots, Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino. Many have suggested that political factors played a key role in Brazil’s pursuit of criminal charges. The Brazilian Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA) and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which collaborated with CENIPA on the accident investigation, reached differing conclusions regarding the causes of the accident. Specifically, the NTSB did not agree that the Legacy pilots' actions were a causal factor, noting, “The crew flew the route precisely as cleared and complied with all ATC instructions.”

AViCON Recalls Ten Year Anniversary of GOL Midair Collision with Panel Discussion on Criminalization of Aviation Accidents

On September 29, 2016, the ten-year anniversary of the GOL Flight 1907 tragedy, AViCON will feature a panel discussion on the criminalization of aviation accidents, with first-person perspectives drawn from that accident.

The panel features David Rimmer, former President of ExcelAire and a passenger onboard the ExcelAire Embraer Legacy 600 business jet involved in the collision; William English, the NTSB ICAO Annex 13 representative and NTSB Investigator In Charge (IIC) who participated on the civil accident investigation, Robert Torricella, the attorney who represented the two pilots and remained with them in Brazil to manage the legal and public relations response to the accident and ultimately helped secure their return to the United States, and Sherry Ortiz, a Senior Vice President at USAIG, the insurer for ExcelAire.

The discussion will address the events after the accident, the negative effects of criminalization on aviation safety and accident investigation, and offer insight on how to assist clients with foreign aviation accidents drawn from their experiences.
AViCON is the first occasion that the members of the panel have come together to collectively discuss the events following the GOL midair collision and their first-hand experiences and their discussion should be riveting.

"Ballistic gel head? Sounds like Mythbusters.":Laboratory Testing to Support Part 107 Waivers Breakout Session

In this session we'll discuss:

The risks involved when objects come into contact with people,

How these risks become quantified by testing and analysis,

Steps that can be taken to mitigate the risks, and

What it all means with respect to Part 107.

RTI Assisted in the effort resulting in one of the first FAA waiver approval under part 107: Click here to learn more>>

Pilot Mental Health Panel

How to improve Aviation Safety in the Wake of GermanWings (and SikAir, EgyptAir Flight 900, and more)

This year, AViCON will include a session devoted to the safety and legal issues related to the mental health of pilots. The session will discuss the legal fallout of Germanwings 9505, and will discuss the efforts of Airlines to keep these issues on the ground. See below for more details.

Panelist

Scott Brooksby, Olson Brooksby PC
Brian J. Alexander, Kreindler & Kreindler
Steve Hull, RTI
Charlie Curreri, American Airlines

Pilot mental fitness is a critical aspect of aviation safety. As Jet Blue Founder and former CEO David Neeleman suggested, "nobody ever thought about having to protect the passengers from the pilots". In the wake of the tragic circumstances surrounding Germanwings 9505 and MH370, the FAA chartered the Pilot Mental Fitness Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which released its report in November 2015. But mental health issues are complex, and no system of detection, voluntary, or outside reporting is perfect. This panel will examine the circumstances in Germanwings 9505 and other notable incidents, which have spiked in the last two decades. The panel will discuss the findings and recommendations in the ARC final report. The panel will also explore the issues surrounding the current system of pilot mental health from the perspective of the flying public, the airlines, the regulators, and pilots, with a special insight into American Airlines’ “Project Wingman.”

Collision at a regional airport has just been reported!

At this time the only information we have received is that it involves a regional airline and a general aviation aircraft. We will release updates as they become available.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT A REAL ACCIDENT! THIS IS THE FICTITIOUS SCENARIO FOR AViCON

AViCON 2016 Sponsors

Keynote Speaker - Test Pilot and Astronaut, Commander Brinnie

Commander Binnie, whose visit is sponsored by RTI Group, will showcase his experiences as the test pilot of SpaceShipOne, alongside aviation leaders and senior industry officials at the conference. Keynote speeches will be complemented by interactive panel discussions structured around the key topic, with audience participation in question and answer sessions.

The Ansari X-Prize was one of the major catalysts in the development of commercial space travel. Inspired by aviation prizes of the past, X-Prize founder Peter Diamondis raised a US $10 Million prize for the first commercial enterprise to travel into space in a privately funded reusable spacecraft twice within a two-week period.

SpaceShipOne, the prototype for Virgin Galactic’s new spaceships, won the Ansari X-Prize on October 4th, 2004. The Prize was accepted by Burt Rutan (Scaled Composites) and Paul Allen who funded its original development.

SpaceShipOne was piloted into space three times, twice by Mike Melville and the third time by Commander Binnie to claim the Ansari X-Prize. Binnie made history when he reached a record 368,000 feet on that final X-Prize flight and Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic was born.

“We are delighted that Commander Brian Binnie has confirmed. Avicon has always explored new ideas that are shaping, changing and driving the process of accident investigations. The skills and expertise needed to be a successful test pilot directly parallel those needed to investigate aviation accident claims and arrive at resolutions. Commander Binnie's presentation is sure to be a perfect fit to this theme." says Jeremy Reynolds, the Chief Operations Officer for RTI.

AViCON 2016 will be held at RTI's Headquarters and Research Centre in Stevenville Maryland

AViCON is RTI's annual conference focused on aviation industry accident investigation, and conflict and claim resolution. This unique, two day format centers around a fictional case study and features discussions lead by legal and insurance experts. Together, the group will explore considerations and complexities of the case from accident investigation, legal discovery, multi-party litigation, and resolution.

This conference is designed for professionals involved in aviation insurance, including underwriters, claims managers, lawyers, risk managers, insurance brokers, airline flight safety directors, airline board members with flight safety responsibility, claims investigators, and aircraft product manufacturers.

AViCON case studies are set within an environment that includes many possible choices of forum and law. The accident scenario is presented with state-of-the-art interactive animation prepared by RTI's Imaging Sciences Studios, and highlights a fresh set of issues of current concern and debate within the aviation market. This event presents a unique opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of the entire range of complexities involved in aviation safety, in a concise and effective format.

Past AViCON conference attendees from various states have been granted Continuing Legal Education credits. RTI is in the process of preparing CLE credit applications for the 2016 conference.

Please subscribe to the RTI newsletter and check in online for updates. Please click here to subscribe>>

2015 AViCON TESTIMONIALS (Stevensville):

"I enjoyed last week’s outstanding conference. Your careful planning was clearly evident throughout the conference. The Bestgaté Airways fact pattern was also a lot of fun to analyze and discuss."

"AVICON was a smash. I had a great time, and I cannot think of a better aviation program anywhere, any time!"

"Thank you very much for allowing me to be a part of this event. It was great! Your staff was fantastic, very efficient, accommodating, and friendly, from start to finish."

"Thank you for putting on such a great program. I found it to be extremely informative and beneficial. Of note, I thought the mock mediation was particularly interesting. It was great to see the thought process by those in the industry applied to the hypothetical scenario. Further, the size of the group made it possible for me to speak with everybody I was hoping to meet while there.
Naturally, I was impressed with RTI’s work product. The animations were second to none and far exceeded any expectations I might have had. For that, you and the good folks at RTI deserve much praise."

2010 AViCON TESTIMONIALS (London):

"All a very interesting + informative day."

"Very impressive in terms of content and organisation"

"BRILLIANT!!!"

"I completely enjoyed the whole presentation and found it very educational."

"The format was excellent - very engaging & as a result very easy to absorb & understand. Seeing all sides of the process was particularly interesting, as was the voting analysis."

"Very good. Excellent networking."