Florida Tech Aeronautics Professor: More Plane Crashes Will Happen Unless Safety Systems Overhauled
Shem Malmquist, Longtime Accident Investigator, Available for Interviews
As investigations continue into two deadly crashes involving Boeing 737 Max aircraft, a visiting professor at Florida Institute of Technology who has been involved in aviation safety work since 1981 suggests there will be more accidents like these unless and until changes are made to aircraft safety systems.
“The best way to prevent future accidents is to design safety controls that actually work,” said Shem Malmquist, a visiting professor in Florida Tech’s College of Aeronautics and co-author of Angle of Attack: Air France 447 and the Future of Aviation Safety (Lexographic Press). “These older methods simply cannot handle today’s complex systems.”
A second edition of Angle of Attack will be released as an e-book on June 1, the 10th anniversary of the Air France 447 crash that killed all 228 people on board.
Malmquist, a working Boeing 777 captain, has been involved in multiple aspects of aviation safety over the years, from charting procedures and aircraft design to human factors and weather avoidance. An elected Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Malmquist holds a master’s degree in human factors in aeronautics from Florida Tech and a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Able to explain complex issues in understandable terms, and with the experience to take the story forward as it evolves, Malmquist has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Public Radio, CNN, Medium and other media outlets.
He can be seen in this Florida Tech video answering several key questions about aviation safety. The video is available for credited re-use upon request.
To arrange telephone, in-person or on-camera interviews, please contact Florida Tech Director of Media Communications Adam Lowenstein at adam@fit.edu or 321-674-8964.
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