Former Tornado and Harrier pilot Steve Forward has been appointed Director of the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) with immediate effect.

The former RAF Air Commodore saw active service in the Middle East before assuming tactical operational roles in the region. He was also heavily involved in security planning for the London 2012 Olympics.

He takes over the role as Director from Ian Dugmore, who leaves to take over as the new head of CHIRP (Confidential Human factors Incident Reporting Programme).

Jointly funded by the Ministry of Defence and the Civil Aviation Authority, UKAB investigates and assesses over 150 airprox incidents annually involving civil, commercial and military aircraft.

Commenting on his new role, Steve, said: “UK civil and military aviation has an excellent safety record, in no small part thanks to the work of organisations like UKAB, which has contributed greatly to the understanding of pilots and air traffic controllers of how airprox incidents occur, and more importantly how to avoid them in future. It is a real pleasure to be able to lead UKAB over the next few years.”

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