The first annual Gulf Aviation Training Event (GATE 2011), part of November’s Dubai Airshow, announced its keynote speakers - Captain Randolph Babbitt, Administrator of the US FAA, and William Voss, CEO of US-based Flight Safety Foundation.

GATE 2011is taking place over the mornings of 14 and 15 November, at the Dubai Airshow which runs from 13 to 17 November at the city’s Airport Expo.
 
GATE 2011 Conference Director Captain Ed Davidson - who is Vice President of International Aviation for global air transport consultancy Tetra Tech - expressed his appreciation that two globally-recognized leaders in the field of aviation training have agreed to share their expertise at this year’s first-ever, dedicated event.

Capt Davidson said: “Captain Randolph Babbitt, Administrator of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), will open the conference, speaking on the agency’s concerns surrounding airline pilot and technician recruitment and training in the rapidly expanding Middle Eastern air transport market.”

Capt Babbitt is formerly the President of the US Air Line Pilots Association (International) and was most recently a Partner at the international management consultancy firm of Oliver Wyman.

“On Day Two, William Voss, CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation, a world-wide aviation safety advocacy group, will give his organization’s views on the current state of air transport safety, with particular emphasis on recent industry concerns over the impact of cockpit automation on the capabilities of pilots to adequately control aircraft in the event of system failure. His remarks are, in part, brought to light by the Air France accident off the coast of Brazil in 2009,” added Capt Davidson.

Voss is a former senior FAA official and, immediately prior to his position at the Flight Safety Foundation, was holding a high-ranking operational position at the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, based in Montreal, Canada.

In addition to the conference, GATE 2011 will feature a pavilion within the Dubai Airshow exhibition halls to showcase companies providing flight training products and services.

The Dubai Airshow is set to be the biggest yet, with up to 1,000 exhibitors expected from 50 countries and more than 55,000 trade visitors.

The Dubai Airshow is organized under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President & Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and in association with Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Dubai Airports and the UAE Armed Forces.