GSA sponsors the Federal Aviation Awards to honor the safest, most effective and efficient aviation management in the U.S. federal government. On September 25, 2003, GSA presented the third annual Federal Aviation Awards at a ceremony held at the GSA Central Office in Washington, DC. These awards recognized achievements in 2002. The federal agencies nominated seven programs and eight professionals for their overall excellence and innovative achievement in all elements of a flight program-management/administration, operations, maintenance, safety, and training.

The 2002 Federal Aviation Award winners were as follows:

Federal Aviation Administration's  (FAA) Flight Inspection Flight Program, Oklahoma City, winners of the Federal Aviation Program Award (Large Program)

The FAA's Flight Inspection Team won an Honorable Mention for the Federal Aviation Program Award last year. The program owns and operates 33 specially equipped aircraft to inspect the navigation signals transmitted in the National Airspace System and to ensure the integrity of instrument approaches and airway procedures. The FAA's Flight Inspection Team helps with commissioning new navigation aids; they revalidate these aids periodically; and they also step in to fix problems and in emergencies. They develop and maintain over 14,000 procedures for flight safety; inspect 8,500 facilities; develop and maintain aeronautical charts, and do flight inspection for the Air Force and National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) space shuttle facilities as well as providing executive transportation out of Hangar 6 at National Airport in Washington, DC.

The Flight Inspection Program's aircraft have Part 135 certificates, and the program maintains a Part 145 Certificated Repair Station. In addition, they have Designated Alteration Station Authorization for Supplemental Type Certificates and SFAR 36 authority to develop major repair data.

During 2002, the Flight Inspection Team made significant improvements in all aspects of their flight program management/ administration, operations, maintenance, training, and, of course, safety. One of the reasons the judges selected FAA's program for this award was that FAA clearly addressed their performance measures in their nomination package. They have set goals and are measuring their progress toward meeting those goals.

Some of their goals have to do with effectiveness--completing inspection of Instrument Flight Procedures within appropriate time limits, for example. Some of their goals have to do with efficiency--looking at cost and reliability of maintenance. And some of their goals have to do with safety--validating current training and using the safety results to shape future training.

The bottom line is that the FAA's Flight Inspection Flight Program carefully manages their heavily instrumented aircraft so that all the other aircraft in the airspace can rely with confidence on the navigation aids installed to guide and keep them safe. Any of us who have flown or will fly safely in the airspace can thank Tom Accardi, Program Director for Aviation System Standards and Director of FAA's Flight Standards Service; Ed Lucke, who is Manager of the Flight Inspection Operations Division; Tom Pickle, Chief of Maintenance, and all the other hard-working members of the Flight Inspection Team.

Department of Energy's  (DOE) Aviation Operations Division, Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC, winners of the Federal Aviation Program Award (Small Program)

The aviation operation at Savannah River is a Government-owned and contractor-operated program. Wackenhut Services, Incorporated, is DOE's contractor at Savannah River. They operate DOE's two American Eurocopter BK-117 helicopters. The program's primary mission is to protect nuclear material. However, they also perform a range of other functions for DOE and in support other tenant activities on the site, which covers 310 square miles of mostly swamp and pine forest. During 2002, Savannah River used their helicopters for law enforcement, wildfire detection and transport of fire fighting personnel, airborne medical evacuation, and search and rescue.

The Savannah River Site's Aviation Team, like the FAA's Flight Inspection Team, has a strong program in large part because they have set goals and can measure to see if they are achieving those goals. They track their progress toward their targets, including forecasted flight hours, maintenance downtime, support to other agencies, and aircraft mission readiness. During the past seven years, they have met or exceeded all their goals. In 2002 their aircraft were available to do their missions 99.5% of the time, and at the same time, they passed their annual Part 135 audits with zero findings. With no accidents or injuries in 2002 (or in the previous 14 years), Savannah River received the HAI's annual Operator Safety Award for the 15th consecutive year.

The Savannah River Site, which won an Honorable Mention for the Federal Aviation Award for 2001, was the winner of DOE's internal awards program this year and last year. Their outstanding team of both Government and contractor personnel surely proves that small can be great!

Robert Naughton, Chief of the Aircraft Operations Division at NASA's Johnson Space Center, winner of the 2002 Federal Aviation Professional Award (Managerial/Official Category)

The NASA Johnson Aircraft Operations Division's primary mission is to train the nation's astronaut corps so that astronauts are ready to fly in space. In accomplishing this important task, NASA Johnson operates and maintains 44 specialized aircraft, including T-38N trainers, the KC-135 for simulating weightlessness, and the huge Super Guppy and 747 Shuttle Carriers to move big equipment and vehicles around the country.

Since 1990, Bob Naughton has led NASA Johnson's 400-member Aircraft Operations Team. For the past five years, he has also served as Chairman of NASA's Intercenter Aircraft Advisory Panel, which is effectively NASA's board of directors for aircraft programs and operations. During his unprecedented tenure as chair of that panel, he has provided critical leadership during realignment of NASA's aircraft operations and in the wake of major national and space-related emergencies.

A former naval aviator, Bob retired as a Navy captain in 1986 with the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, and two Purple Hearts. He flew 194 combat missions in Vietnam and spent six years as a prisoner of war. He is a renowned aviation authority at NASA, who is consulted by many both inside and outside Government for his experience and expertise.

Glenn Bissonnette, Manager of the Flight Inspection Central Operations Branch of FAA's Flight Inspection Flight Program, Oklahoma City, winner of the 2002 Federal Aviation Professional Award (Operational/Support Crew Category)

Glenn is in charge of scheduling, dispatching, and flight-following activities. He is responsible for ensuring that program personnel are following the policies and procedures that maintain safety. He also ensures that the program conducts its operations under Part 135 flight rules.

According to his bosses, Glenn always gives above and beyond what is expected. He was the first to report for duty after 9/11, and he immediately set up a systematic program to reduce the backlog of inspections that built up during that time of national emergency. During 2002, he posted workload performance measures weekly, and it became a source of pride to all members of the team to maximize their efforts to reduce the backlog of inspections.

FAA has seen a dramatic increase in inspections completed and a corresponding decrease in annual flight hours through the use of scheduling efficiency procedures that Glenn developed. These significant improvements have resulted from Glenn's intentional effort to anticipate need and allocate aviation resources accordingly.

Judges for the 2002 awards were:

Roy Resavage, President, Helicopter Association International; Jack Kelly, Senior Policy Analyst, U.S. Office of Management and Budget; Robert Blouin, Senior Vice President, National Business Aviation Association; James Burin, Director of Technical Programs, Flight Safety Foundation; and Woody Cahall, Vice President, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.