Helicopter pilot and safety manager Nick Johnson from Corsaire in Perth, Western Australia, has been named a recipient of this year's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) Aviation Safety Manager Scholarships.
The annual CASA scholarship program is designed to enhance aviation safety in Australia and recognises the dedication of individuals who display a strong safety culture.
CASA CEO and Director of Aviation Safety, Pip Spence, says aviation safety is a shared responsibility across our industry and the role of safety managers is absolutely crucial to ensuring we maintain and improve our safety record.
'I congratulate Nick on receiving the $5,000 scholarship and look forward to seeing the impact it has on his ongoing development in the aviation industry,' Ms Spence says.
Nick says being awarded the scholarship will fund further study.
'I'll be doing a safety investigators course with Southpac Aerospace,' he says.
'I'm really looking forward to sinking my teeth into it and getting a greater understanding of investigating incidents or near misses and then working out how to implement change off the back of that.
'There's an inherent risk in aviation, which we're all aware of, and a lot of my colleagues are mates now. If I can implement improvements to make sure everyone gets back safely from each and every flight, that's something I'll be very proud of.'
Nick joins Hugh McBain, Adela Benhammouche and Daniel Barresi as recipients of this year's Safety Manager Scholarships.
The scholarships were first awarded in 2023 as part of CASA's broader effort to ensure aviation safety managers are well-equipped to handle the complexities of their roles and maintain robust industry safety standards.
