On behalf of the International Federation of Airworthiness, Executive Director John Saull was pleased to present the 2014  IFA `Sir Frank Whittle Safety Award` to Professor David F King MBA, DEng, CEng, FRAeS at the opening of the  RAeS Human Factors- Engineering Group annual conference  held at Cranfield University on 12^thMay 2015. This prestigious award is nominated by the IFA members and honours the work of Sir Frank Whittle, father of the jet engine.  It recognises an outstanding contribution to airworthiness.  This year’s award was presented to:

Professor David King MBA, DEng, CEng, FRAes

‘In recognition of his dedicated work in the field of accident investigation and in particular his contribution to better understanding the role of human performance in maintenance related accidents.’

During David’s time at the Air Accident Investigation Branch (1972-2010), he rose to the position of Chief Inspector, he took a specific interest in aircraft maintenance human factors. Through the investigations he participated in and led, he made a significant contribution to the understanding of human error and the role of investigators, regulators, manufacturers, maintainers and operators in trapping or managing such errors, particularly within the engineering and maintenance areas. Additionally, he has chaired the UK MEMBS (Maintenance Error Management System (MEMS) Working Group and acted as a Trustee of UK CHIRP (Aviation and Marine Confidential Incident Reporting). he is now the Independent Safety Chair for Cathay Pacific and was appointed as a Board member of the UK CAA in 2013