The Latin American Aeronautical Training Centre comes into being, as representatives of the four organizations that spearheaded its creation and management signed the agreement to launch this important educational initiative for Latin American Aviation.
Miami, Florida (November 1st, 2012) - The Latin American Aeronautical Training Centre (CCA by its acronym in Spanish) came into being on Tuesday afternoon, as representatives of the four organizations that spearheaded its creation and management signed the agreement to launch this important educational initiative for Latin American Aviation.
Alex de Gunten, Executive Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA), Manuel Leal Angarita from the Air Transport Association in Colombia (ATAC), Capt. Kevin L. Hiatt from the Flight Safety Foundation and Eduardo Dueri from Marsh, Ltd. participated in the MOU signing of the Latin American Aeronautical Training Centre (CCA) as part of the IASS held by the Flight Safety Foundation in Santiago, Chile.
The CCA was conceived to offer a curriculum of coursework on operational safety, quality and efficiency in aeronautics. This will be the first such training center in the Latin America region, allowing high level safety training to take place locally for greater accessibility and convenience for aviation organizations and individuals in the field. “This new training center is an important project for the region and we are very excited to be a part of it,” stated Kevin Hiatt, FSF Chief Operating Officer. “With the growth in aviation in this hemisphere, a state of the art training center in Colombia that is focused on safety training is a wonderful development. Support from the key players will lead to better training access in the region.”
The Centre will initially accept 25 students and will be housed within the campus of the Universidad Externado, in Bogotá, Colombia. Candidates will be required to have a minimum of a Bachelor´s degree and be linked, directly or indirectly, with the field of aeronautics. The Centre will also be accredited by the Ministry of National Education for a period of eight years. Says ALTA´s Alex de Gunten, “The program is a welcome and timely addition to aviation in the region. It offers training on quality and operational safety in aeronautics and does it within the framework of business processes, as a discipline, giving it the full dimension and complexity that it deserves.”
Manuel Leal Angarita, President of ATAC, told us that “The Colombian Air Transport Association (ATAC) is proud to be part of the Aeronautical Training Center (CCA) and to work with strategic partners such as ALTA, Flight Safety Foundation, Marsh and the Externado University of Colombia, in favor of the progress of the industry in the region.” He further stated, “With the CCA we seek to create an academic space to promote quality of air service operational processes, where security is key for our users. We will continue to contribute to sustainable development of the sector and to promote the growth of related industries such as tourism.”
On his part, Eduardo Dueri, Managing Director of Marsh, said, “The MARSH AVIATION & AEROSPACE PRACTICE is proud to be one of the founding members of the Aeronautical Training Centre (CA), together with ATAC, ALTA, FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION and the UNIVERSIDAD EXTERNADO DE COLOMBIA. The Centre will provide specialized training on relevant topics to the industry, such as operational safety, accident and incident investigation training, and flight operations quality, amongst others. The CCA will be, in the future, the training centre par excellence for the industry at large and will become the focal point for research and aeronautic consulting services in the region.”
The CCA will offer its first training beginning 2013. For more information please visit http://www.centrocapacitacionaerea.com.
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