Omni Air Transport of Tulsa, Oklahoma has been acknowledged by Wyvern as the newest Certified Flight Leader. The Flight Leader Program focuses less on regular auditing and more on SMS effectiveness, as well as human factors and organisational culture, areas that are involved in 70-80 per cent of mishaps but are often not well understood and often not well addressed. Operators are coached by industry veterans in a progressive, quarterly self-assessment and validation cycle with the intent of enhancing safety culture. The programme provides pathways for operators of every level of advancement, ultimately culminating in the pinnacle of the programme, Flight Leader certification. Further, the programme allows the operator to initially gain new and/or maintain existing Wingman certification without on-site audits.

Omni president and CEO Mike Skow says: “We are delighted to receive the Wyvern Flight Leader certification. At Omni Air Transport, our team works tirelessly to improve our safety management system and safety culture. For their effectiveness to be further recognised by an industry-leader in Wyvern is an achievement we are certainly proud of. The quarterly discussions with our Wyvern Flight Leader coach go a long way toward our continuous improvement efforts, and we look forward to continuing with this programme well into the future.”

Wyvern CEO Sonnie Bates adds: “Wyvern celebrates Omni Air Transport's accomplishment. To be recognised as a Certified Flight Leader, a Wingman Operator must demonstrate effective management of critical human and organisational factors that are often cited as contributing to or causal in serious incidents and accidents. The operator must also provide evidence of ongoing monitoring of its safety culture to ensure it remains positive and enduring. These commendable attributes, along with an effective SMS, are monitored and assessed quarterly by a Wyvern Flight Leader coach to prevent performance drift.”

While numerous operators have joined the programme in the last 12 months, Omni Air Transport is among the initial cadre of operators to be awarded the certificate, having demonstrated effectiveness across all necessary areas of the programme.