Safety of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) Operations
February 3-6, 2009

<<    Back to Details Page    <<

Biographies for the Board of Inquiry and the Technical Panel

Board of Inquiry

Chairman of the Board of Inquiry, Robert L. Sumwalt, Board Member - Top of Page
Robert L. Sumwalt was sworn in as the 37th Member of the National Transportation NTSB on August 21, 2006, whereupon President Bush designated him as Vice Chairman of the Board for a 2-year term, ending August 2008. His term of office as Board Member will run until December 31, 2011.

Prior to joining the NTSB, Mr. Sumwalt was Manager of Aviation for the SCANA Corporation, a Fortune 500 energy-based company. He was also a pilot for 32 years, including 24 years as an airline pilot with Piedmont Airlines and then with US Airways. He logged over 14,000 flight hours and earned type ratings in five aircraft before retiring from the airline in 2005. He has extensive experience as an airline captain, airline check airman, instructor pilot, and air safety representative.

In addition to his service as a pilot, Mr. Sumwalt worked on special assignment to the US Airways Flight Safety Department from 1997 to 2004, where he was involved in the development of numerous airline safety programs, including an enhanced crew awareness program and a windshear training program. From 2002 to 2004, he also served on the US Airways Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) Monitoring Team. 
In addition, Mr. Sumwalt served as a member of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) Accident Investigation Board from 2002 to 2004, and also worked with ALPA’s Aviation Weather Committee on improving the quality of weather products available to pilots. He has chaired ALPA’s Human Factors and Training Group and was a co-founder of the ALPA Critical Incident Response Program, which provides guidance to airline personnel involved in traumatic events, such as accidents.

As a trained accident investigator, Mr. Sumwalt participated in several NTSB investigations prior to joining the NTSB, including USAir flight 427 in 1994 near Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, and USAir flight 861 near Birmingham, Alabama, in 1998. He also participated in the Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s investigation of the Swissair flight 111 accident off the coast of Nova Scotia in 1998.

From 1991 to 1999, Mr. Sumwalt conducted aviation safety research as a consultant to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System, studying various issues including flight crew performance and air carrier de-icing and anti-icing problems.

Mr. Sumwalt has co-authored a book on aircraft accidents and has written extensively on aviation safety matters, having published over 85 articles and papers in aviation trade publications. He has broad experience in writing aircraft operations manuals and airline and corporate aviation policy and procedure guidelines. Before joining the NTSB, he was a regular contributor to Professional Pilot magazine.

In 2003, Mr. Sumwalt joined the faculty of the University of Southern California’s Aviation Safety and Security Program, where he was the primary human factors instructor.

In recognition of his contributions to the aviation industry, Mr. Sumwalt received the Flight Safety Foundation’s Laura Taber Barbour Award in 2003 and ALPA’s Air Safety Award in 2004.

Since joining the NTSB, the Mr. Sumwalt has served as the Member on-scene for the following accidents: the collision between an Amtrak passenger train and a standing Norfolk Southern freight train in Chicago, Illinois (November 30, 2007); a liquid propane pipeline rupture and explosion in Carmichael, Mississippi (November 1, 2007); an aviation accident in which a twin-engine Cessna 310R airplane impacted homes in a residential area in Sanford, Florida (July 10, 2007); and the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in New Brighton, Pennsylvania (October 20, 2006). Mr. Sumwalt also accompanied the NTSB Go-Team to Lexington, Kentucky, for the on-site investigation of the August 27, 2006, crash of Comair flight 5191.

Mr. Sumwalt is a graduate of the University of South Carolina.

Thomas E. Haueter, Director, Office of Aviation Safety - Top of Page

Mr. Haueter has been employed by the NTSB for 25 years and has, in addition to serving as office director, worked as an airworthiness investigator, an investigator-in-charge (IIC) of domestic aviation accidents, and the U.S. Accredited Representative for foreign aviation accidents. Before becoming office director, Mr. Haueter was the Deputy Director for the Office and the Chief of the Major Investigations Division. As Director of the Office of Aviation Safety, he is responsible for the investigation of all domestic aviation accidents and NTSB support of major foreign aviation accidents.

Mr. Haueter was the IIC for the USAir flight 427 investigation, which resulted in the redesign of the rudder system on the Boeing 737. He served as the U.S. Accredited Representative on the accident involving a COPA Airlines Boeing 737; as the IIC for the Atlantic Southeast Airlines Embraer 120 accident at Brunswick, Georgia, which claimed the life of Senator John Tower; and as the IIC for the midair collision at Philadelphia that claimed the life of Senator John Heinz. He was the lead NTSB investigator assisting the U.S. Air Force in the investigation of the CT‑43A that crashed near Dubrovnik, Croatia, killing then-Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and 22 others. Additionally, Mr. Haueter was an advisor to the space shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation Board.

Prior to joining the NTSB, Mr. Haueter worked at Tracor Incorporated as a program manager for research and development. Before that, he was employed by Telcom Incorporated as an engineer in the design and application of composite aircraft structures and assessments of emerging technologies. Earlier, he was employed by Pratt & Whitney Aircraft as a structures engineer in gas turbine engine design.

Mr. Haueter’s educational background includes an M.B.A. in Operations Research and International Business from George Mason University and a B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University. He holds a commercial pilot’s license with multi-engine and instrument ratings, and regularly flies a 1943 Stearman airplane that he restored.

Vernon S. Ellingstad, Ph.D., Director, Office of Research and Engineering - Top of Page

Dr. Ellingstad came to the NTSB in June 1990 as Deputy Director, Office of Research and Engineering, and was promoted to Director in 1995. Dr. Ellingstad supervises the NTSB Materials Laboratory, Recorders Laboratory, and Vehicle Performance Laboratory, which provide scientific and engineering support for accident investigations in all modes of transportation. The Office also includes the Safety Studies and Statistical Analysis Division, which conducts transportation safety studies and manages the NTSB’s Aviation Accident Database. Dr. Ellingstad is responsible for primary scientific and technical review of the NTSB’s accident reports, studies, and other major products. He also represents NTSB positions on technical issues to government and industry.

As chairman of the Psychology Department and Director of the Human Factors Laboratory and graduate program at the University of South Dakota (1969-1990), Dr. Ellingstad directed a variety of human performance, ergonomics, and transportation-related research in the areas of drug and fatigue effects on simulated driving performance. He also conducted studies of human factors issues in human-computer interaction, psychomotor, and cognitive performance; and large-scale evaluations of traffic safety programs.

Dr. Ellingstad earned a B.A. in Psychology (1965) from Wisconsin State University–Eau Claire, and an M.A. (1967) and Ph.D. (1969) in Human Factors Psychology from the University of South Dakota.

David L. Mayer, Ph.D., Deputy Managing Director - Top of Page

Dr. Mayer began his career at the Safety Board in 1991 in the Office of Research and Engineering. He was initially assigned to serve as the Board’s primary resource for surface transportation safety databases. He was also responsible for the design and management of Safety Studies, and he worked on projects involving recreational boating, truck driver fatigue, and aviation safety in Alaska, air traffic control equipment reliability, and grade crossing safety.

In 1996, Dr. Mayer transferred to the Office of Aviation Safety where he was involved in the day-to-day operation of that office, and he participated in a number of accident investigations. He was extensively involved in the Board’s investigation of the in-flight breakup of TWA flight 800, being responsible for both investigative data management and serving as group chairman of the witnesses group. He also served as Deputy Chief, and later as Acting Chief, of the Human Performance Division.

In 2001, he joined the Office of the Management as an Assistant Managing Director. In January 2005, Dr., Mayer was named Deputy Managing Director of the NTSB.  While serving as Deputy Managing Director, Dr. Mayer acted for 9 months as the NTSB’s Chief Information Officer. In October 2008, Dr. Mayer led the U.S. delegation to the International Civil Aeronautical Organization (ICAO) divisional meeting on aviation accident investigation in Montréal, Canada.

Dr. Mayer has worked on accident investigations and safety projects in all modes of transportation. He was trained as a human factors specialist, and holds a doctorate from Rice University in Houston, Texas. Mr. Mayer also holds a private pilot’s license.

Hearing Officer, Lorenda Ward, Senior Investigator-in-Charge, Office of Aviation Safety - Top of Page

Ms. Ward joined the NTSB in 1998 as an aerospace engineer (structures). As a structures engineer, she worked on the investigation of four major water recovery accidents: Swiss Air, EgyptAir, Alaska Airlines, and Gulf Air. In addition, Ms. Ward worked on the investigation of numerous mid-air collisions and in-flight breakups. In 2001, she was promoted to investigator-in-charge (IIC). As IIC, she worked at the Pentagon and at the World Trade Center in support of the FBI following the events of September 11, 2001. She also assisted with the on-scene investigation of American Airlines flight 587. In addition, Ms. Ward was the public hearing officer for American Airlines flight 587 and Air Midwest flight 5481. She has worked on a number of other investigations, including the Edelweiss uncontained engine failure in Miami; the Era S76A++ helicopter crash in the Gulf of Mexico; the Executive Airlines ATR-72 that crashed on landing in Puerto Rico; Air Midwest flight 5481, which crashed shortly after takeoff in Charlotte, North Carolina; the Pinnacle Airlines CL-600 2B-19 accident, which occurred in Jefferson City, Missouri; and the Cirrus SR20 accident, which crashed into an apartment building in Manhattan, New York. She has been the U.S. Accredited Representative for numerous foreign investigations and as such has traveled to Bahrain (structures), China, Germany, England, Finland, Estonia, India, and Malaysia. Before coming to the NTSB, Ms. Ward worked for the U.S. Navy at NADEP JAX in Jacksonville, Florida, where she worked on the EA-6B and F-14 programs. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s of aerospace engineering degrees from Auburn University. She received her private pilot’s license over 20 years ago and has attended the Civilian Flight Test School in Mojave, California.

Technical Panel

Jeff Guzzetti, Deputy Director, Regional Operations, Office of Aviation Safety - Top of Page

Mr. Guzzetti, who has been with the NTSB for over 16 years, is responsible for the management of all regional air safety investigators and the conduct of nearly 1,700 investigations of general aviation accidents each year, which include all HEMS accidents. Prior to his current position, he served as a field investigator in two NTSB regional offices, as an airworthiness engineer in the Aviation Engineering Division, and as an investigator-in-charge (IIC) in the Major Investigations Division. Before joining the NTSB, Mr. Guzzetti served in air safety positions with the Cessna Aircraft Company, the Naval Air Systems Command, and the Federal Aviation Administration. He has investigated hundreds of general aviation accidents as IIC. Mr. Guzzetti graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, and he holds a commercial pilot’s license with multiengine instrument ratings.

Robert Dodd, Ph.D., Chief, Safety Studies and Statistical Analysis Division, Office of Research and Engineering - Top of Page
As chief of the Safety Studies and Statistical Analysis Division, Dr. Dodd oversees the NTSB’s research and data analysis activities. Prior to joining NTSB, he managed Dodd and Associates, a research firm that addressed transportation safety, occupational safety, air medical safety, and public health issues. Dr. Dodd also served as a consultant to the Flight Safety Foundation, serving as its Manager of Data Systems and Analysis. Dr. Dodd has more than 25 years experience as an injury prevention epidemiologist and safety researcher, having worked as an aviation safety engineer, safety researcher, and research scientist. He is an associate faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, and holds a multi-engine airline transport pilot (ATP) license.

Bruce Coury, Ph.D., Transportation Safety Analyst, Office of Research and Engineering - Top of Page

Dr. Coury’s NTSB work in the Safety Studies and Statistical Analysis Division has focused on transportation safety policy and practice and most recently, on risk factors in rural travel, including rural EMS. He earned his doctorate in industrial engineering and operations research at the University of Buffalo, New York. Before joining NTSB in 2002, Dr. Coury served as a senior scientist at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and as Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst.

Evan Byrne, Ph.D., Human Performance Investigator, Office of Aviation Safety - Top of Page

Dr. Byrne has been employed at the NTSB since 1996 and has served the Office of Aviation Safety as Acting Deputy Director, Division Chief, and Aviation Psychologist. During his tenure at the NTSB, he has served as human performance investigator in more than a dozen major investigations, including SilkAir flight 185 in Indonesia; American Airlines flight 1420 in Little Rock, Arkansas; FedEx flight 14 in Newark, New Jersey; Fine Airlines flight 101 in Miami, Florida; Emery Worldwide Airlines flight 017 in Sacramento, California; Delta Air Lines flight 1288 in Pensacola, Florida; Continental Airlines flight 1493 in Houston, Texas; the Sunjet Aviation Learjet 35 accident in South Dakota; the Air Midwest flight 5481 accident in Charlotte, North Carolina; the Pinnacle Airlines CRJ accident in Jefferson City, Missouri; and the Comair CRJ accident in Lexington, Kentucky.

Before joining the NTSB, Dr. Byrne was a research associate conducting NASA-sponsored research on automation at the Cognitive Science Laboratory at the Catholic University in Washington, DC. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. at the University of Maryland–College Park in 1993, where he studied physiological measures of mental workload. He graduated with a B.S. in psychology in 1986 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is an active instrument-rated private pilot and owner of a Cessna 172.

Ron Price, Aerospace Engineer (Rotorcraft), Office of Aviation Safety - Top of Page

Mr. Price joined the NTSB in 1988. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Mr. Price spent his years in the service flying small jet aircraft. Upon leaving the Air Force, he owned and operated his own helicopter, flew mountain/bush operations in northern Arizona, and flew corporate jets for numerous firms in the western part of the U.S. He next taught at the university level and joined the Army National guard. As part of the Ohio National Guard, he participated in several years of public-use EMS missions and also served as one of several neonatal helicopter pilots. He has deployed with the military overseas three times, most recently, for a 1-year combat tour in Iraq, where he flew UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. With a total flying time in excess of 12,000 hours, he is an experienced fixed and rotary wing pilot. He also has a total night vision goggle time of more than 500 hours. Mr. Price is an aeronautical engineer in the Aviation Engineering Division, with a specialty of rotorcraft. He has staffed numerous recommendation letters and two special investigation reports, and has investigated many airplane and helicopter accidents.

Loren Groff, Ph.D., Transportation Safety Analyst, Office of Research and Engineering - Top of Page

Since joining the NTSB in 2002, Dr. Groff has had extensive experience in the collection, analysis, and presentation of aviation safety data; including several analyses of issues related to helicopter and air medical safety. He is an FAA-certificated pilot with more than 5,000 flight hours, and prior to joining the Safety Board he held aviation positions ranging from flight instructor to airline pilot. Dr. Groff received his M.A. and Ph.D. at Wichita State University in human factors psychology.

Mitch Garber, M.D., Medical Officer, Office of Research and Engineering - Top of Page

Dr. Garber has served as the NTSB Medical Officer since 1996. His education includes an M.D. (1987) from Emory University School of Medicine; a Master’s in Public Health (1991), Harvard University School of Public Health; and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (1996), Georgia Institute of Technology. He served as a flight surgeon and as Chief of Aeromedical Services in the U.S. Air Force (1988-1994), participating in numerous Air Force aircraft mishap investigations. He is Board-certified in Aerospace Medicine, and holds a private pilot certificate. He has participated in over 1000 NTSB accident investigations in all transportation modes.

Jana Price, Ph.D., Transportation Research Analyst, Office of Research and Engineering - Top of Page

Dr. Price has worked at the NTSB since 2001 in the Safety Studies and Statistical Analysis Division, where she conducts safety studies addressing all modes of transportation and provides statistical and human factors support for accident investigations. Dr. Price leads the safety team addressing the NTSB’s Most-Wanted recommendations concerning operator fatigue, and she helped develop and coordinate a 2-day NTSB Training Center course on investigating human fatigue factors in transportation accidents. Dr. Price received her M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut in human factors psychology.

Tom Jacky, Aerospace Engineer (Aircraft Systems), Office of Aviation Safety - Top of Page

Mr. Jacky is an Aerospace Engineer (Systems) at the NTSB. Prior to joining the Office of Aviation Safety in 2002, Mr. Jacky was a flight recorder engineer and aircraft performance engineer in the NTSB’s Office of Research and Engineering. He joined the NTSB in 1985 and holds a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois.

Jim Cash, Chief Technical Advisor for Vehicle Recorders, Office of Research and Engineering - Top of Page

Mr. Cash has been employed at the NTSB since January 1983 as a cockpit voice recorder specialist responsible for developing transcripts and signal processing of accident recordings. He served as chief of the Vehicle Recorders Division from 1997 through 2008, and was responsible for 11 engineers recovering data from flight data recorders, cockpit voice recorders, train event recorders, ship voyage recorders, and truck and bus recorders. As Chief Technical Advisor for Vehicle Recorders (1999 to the present), Mr. Cash provides substantial and unique advice to the Director, Office of Research and Engineering, for recording devices in all modes of transportation. Before joining the NTSB, Mr. Cash was an electrical engineer for the U.S. Air Force from 1975-1983. He was also active duty with the Air Force from 1976-1983, where he was a pilot and instructor pilot RF4-C aircraft with 3,000 flight hours. Mr. Cash received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1975 from Syracuse University. He has received training in digital signal processing, speech recognition and signal processing with respect to speech enhancement, management leadership, and computer programming.

Aaron Sauer, Senior Air Safety Investigator, Central Region, Chicago, Illinois - Top of Page

Mr. Sauer has been with the NTSB for the past 8 years and has acted as the investigator-in-charge (IIC) of numerous high-profile aviation accidents involving both general aviation and major airline aircraft. During his NTSB tenure, he has been the IIC and has participated in more than 10 EMS aviation accidents. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Leah Yeager, Senior Air Safety Investigator, Central Region, Dallas, Texas - Top of Page

Ms. Yeager has been employed with the NTSB since 1999 and has been the investigator-in-charge of two fatal EMS accident investigations, including a CJ Systems (now Air Methods) BK-117 accident in Cleveland, Ohio, and an Air Evac Lifeteam Bell 206L‑3 accident in Arkansas. Ms. Yeager has also served as the Operations Group Chairman on a Kingair C90A accident that was operated by Southwest MedEvac (now Omniflight), in Ruidoso, New Mexico, and most recently, on the mid-air collision between two Bell 407s operated by Classic Helicopters and Air Methods in Flagstaff, Arizona. In addition to her 9-year tenure with the NTSB, Ms. Yeager came to the agency with 4 years of aviation accident investigation experience as an air safety investigator with Cessna Aircraft Company. She holds a commercial pilot rating for airplane single and multi-engine land, and instrument airplane; as well as a certified flight instructor certificate for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. Ms. Yeager earned a B.S. in Aviation Science from Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and an M.A.S. in Aviation Safety Operations from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida.

Tom Latson, Air Safety Investigator, Central Region, Dallas, Texas - Top of Page

Mr. Latson joined the NTSB as an air safety investigator in 2007. Prior to the NTSB, Mr. Latson was with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Flight Standards District Office in Houston for over 10 years, where he was a principal operations inspector. Before that, Mr. Latson was a U.S. Army pilot in helicopters and a corporate pilot in corporate jets, turboprops, and helicopters. He was the investigator-in-charge of the helicopter EMS accident investigations at South Padre Island, Texas, and Fresno, Texas, and served on the operations group of the Flagstaff, Arizona, accident investigation. Mr. Latson earned his M.B.A. in Management (1995) from Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi and graduated with a B.S. in Aviation Management (1974) from the University of Central Texas. He is an airline transport pilot with five type ratings in both airplanes and helicopters.

Jeff Marcus, Transportation Safety Specialist, Office of Safety Recommendations and Advocacy - Top of Page

Mr. Marcus has been with the NTSB’s Office of Safety Recommendations since 1999, where he evaluates responses to aviation safety recommendations and advocates for their implementation. Prior to the NTSB, Mr. Marcus was with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City, where he was the Acting Manager of the Aeromedical Research Division, and the Manager of the Protection and Survival Laboratory. Before CAMI, Mr. Marcus worked for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, where he ran the head injury research program, and he performed research evaluating crash dummy design and interpreting impact signals in terms of injury potential. He holds an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland–College Park. Jeff is the author or co-author of over 30 technical papers on biomechanics, transportation safety, and computer modeling. For over 20 years, Jeff has also taught computer science part time in the evening programs of several universities and community colleges.

NTSB Home | News & Events