Terry Heaslip, M.A.Sc., P.Eng.
Terry has a Degree in Metallurgical Engineering (1963) with a Master's in Materials Science (1967) and a Diploma in Aeronautical Engineering (1964). He is presently a senior partner and President of A.I.R. Formerly Terry was a Navigator and investigator/failure analyst for the Canadian Air Force, the Department of Transport and then the Canadian Transportation Safety Board (CTSB). He ultimately advanced to become the Director of Engineering and designed the CTSB's renowned Aviation Safety Engineering Laboratories. With over five decades of experience in transportation technology, Terry has investigated more than 1500 aircraft accidents and over 350 motor vehicle, marine and rail accidents. He has also carried out over 1000 failure analyses for government laboratories, AIR and FAIR. He has special expertise in total accident reconstructions to establish the man, machine and environment factors.
A prominent lecturer and author, Terry's numerous publications include the United Nations ICAO Course Manual Investigation of Aircraft Accidents (as Co-author in 1981). In addition, he is a contributing author of the US Air Force Manual for Safety Investigation Techniques (1987).
Terry was also an adjunct staff member of several international schools' faculties of aviation safety (University of Southern California, International Institute of Aviation Safety - Sweden), teaching a broad range of failure analysis and accident reconstruction subjects. He has presented many papers on numerous and varied transportation investigation techniques to professional societies and associations.
As a researcher, he has been the driving force behind a number of developments in innovative investigative techniques, including the integrated use of computerized 3D and 4D accident reconstruction, the analysis of light bulbs and instruments, and the analysis of radar data, flight recorder data, computer chip data, and cockpit voice recorder data. He is one of the original ISASI Fellows.
Robin McLeod, B.Sc., P.Eng.
Robin is a materials and mechanical engineer. He is a senior partner and vice-president of computing graphics at AIR. Formerly with Rolls Royce's advanced gas turbine laboratories, he later joined the Department of National Defense as head of the Materials Failure Analysis Laboratories, and then for eight years he was Chief of Engineering Analysis for the CTSB's Aviation Safety Engineering Laboratories before joining AIR.
Specializing in materials failure analysis, scanning electron microscopy, x-ray spectrometic analysis and accident reconstruction, Robin has over four decades' experience in accident investigation and prevention. He has investigated more than 1000 aircraft, motor vehicle, rail and marine accidents, and has carried out over 1500 failure analyses. He has also developed special expertise in computer-aided engineering analysis.
Robin is an active researcher in the use of radar, CVR and DFDR data for computerized aircraft flight-track reconstruction and computerized impact dynamics analysis, and in the use of computer graphics in accident reconstruction. He is well known for his papers on failure analysis techniques, delivered to professional societies and associations, investigation schools and universities and the transportation industry.
Steven Roberts, P.Phys.
A Professional Physicist with degrees in both physics and geophysics, Steve was (IPTL) and Director of Engineering for Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) and Simulation at Teledyne Controls.
From 1988 Steve has participated in numerous aviation related accident investigations, involving material-failure analyses and materials characterizations, computer aided accident reconstructions, and sophisticated radar, flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder data analyses. Steve has undertaken extensive work into the analysis of air traffic control radar data, and into the computerized integration of radar and flight data recorder data, cockpit voice recorder and air traffic control communications, and weather and terrain information. Steve was also a Faculty Member of Sweden's International Institute of Aviation Safety Swedavia teaching Aviation Accident Prevention and Aircraft Accident Investigation in Stockholm.
He held various positions at Teledyne including Director of FDM Services and when he left the company in 2007 Steve was Integrated Product Team Leader IPTL and Director of Engineering for Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) and Simulation and was responsible for all engineering activities related to these product areas he was responsible for the management and oversight of approximately 25 engineers engaged in the development and production of Teledyne’s current and future initiatives in the field of Flight Data Monitoring and Simulation Ground Software. With over 125 customers worldwide utilizing the software for which Steve had principle engineering responsibility this includes many of the world largest airlines.
Today Steve is CEO of Applied Informatics and Research Incorporated a firm specializing in Flight Operation Quality Assurance Software design and implementation as well as Principle Consultant at Accident Investigation and Research Inc. of which he is one of the three Principle Partners. He specializes in Radar and Flight Data and Cockpit Voice Recorder Analysis, computer still graphic and animation productions as well as mathematical and statistical data analysis as applied to Accident and Preventive Investigation programs and procedures.
Larry Vance – Senior Consultant – Accident Investigation
Mr. Vance has over forty-years of experience as a professional pilot, and more than twenty-five years as an accident investigator. He completed over two hundred investigations as an Investigator-In-Charge for the Canadian Aviation Safety Board (CASB) and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB).
Also with the TSB, Mr. Vance was a standards and training specialist, and was a principle author of the TSB’s Manual of Investigation. Mr. Vance has had prominent roles in numerous high-profile investigations, both in Canada and internationally, including the investigation of Swissair 111 (Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, 1998) where Mr. Vance was Deputy IIC and principle author of the investigation report.
AIR is very pleased to be able to add this depth of knowledge and experience to our investigation team.
Bryon Mask – Senior Consultant – Accident Investigation
Captain Mask has more than thirty-five years of flying experience in both fixed wing aircraft and rotary wing aircraft including more than twenty-five years as an airline pilot in both domestic and international operations.
Along with this extensive piloting experience, Bryon has been active in the accident investigation field, including a two-year secondment to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada as an analyst and field investigator. Among his many flight safety and investigation activities, Bryon has served as Gatekeeper of the Air Canada Flight Data Analysis Program and Manager, Flight Safety with Air Canada responsible for the Flight Operations Flight Safety Program including incident and accident reporting.
Captain Mask not only brings his investigation expertise, he also provides AIR with an invaluable perspective on airline operations and flight safety programs. His extensive background and practical knowledge of the industry will add significantly to the AIR team.
Michael L. Marx – Senior Consultant – Metallurgy and Failure Analysis
Mr. Marx joins AIR with over forty years experience in aircraft accident investigation. He spent 29 years working for the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and for the most part was the Chief of the Materials Laboratory Division. In his final years there, he became the Board's sole Chief Technical Advisor for Metallurgy and Failure Analysis.
With the NTSB, Michael participated in more than one thousand Failure Analysis cases, many of which were high-profile. He was recognized by the President of the United States for his contributions toward solving the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident.
Since becoming a consultant, Mr. Marx has been sought out for his specialized knowledge, and has worked on such cases as EgyptAir Flight 990 (Boeing 767 in-flight separation), the case involving Richard Reid (shoe bomber), and the investigation of China Airlines Flight 611, a Boeing 747 that crashed into the Taiwan Strait. His experience and professionalism in his field of expertise is widely known and admired.
Olof Fritsch – Senior Consultant – Accident Investigation
Olof joined the Swedish Air Force as a pilot in 1948. Since then he has flown some 5300 hours in 33 types of aircraft and investigated several scores of accidents. In 1973, he joined ICAO as the Chief of Accident Investigation and Prevention Section, and served in that position for 18 years. Since 1970, he has been an active member of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI). He served as the ISASI International Councillor for fourteen years and as President for four years. Olof created the ICAO Accident Prevention Manual, which distills the world’s safety experience into a simple and practical philosophy of accident prevention. Mr. Fritsch brings a lifetime of professionalism and practical knowledge to the AIR investigation team.
Michael Renton – Senior Consultant – Flight Recorders
Mr. Renton joins AIR with more than thirty years of experience analyzing Flight Data Recorders (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVR), first with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and then as a consultant for companies requiring specialized services in data extraction, testing and analysis. With the NRC, Mr. Renton served as Senior Site Technologist and Electronics Technologist at the Flight Recorder Playback Centre. Mr. Renton’s scope of work has consisted of designing, building and modifying the electronic equipment used in recovering data from FDRs, and playback and analysis of ATC recordings and CVRs from civilian and military aircraft involved in incidents or accidents. Mr. Renton’s extensive experience and expertise in this field provides AIR with an invaluable resource and skill set to add to the investigation team.