Release #02.073a
August 23, 2002

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), has awarded its 2001 Air Safety Award to Wheaton, IL, resident Mack Moore, a United Airlines captain. The award, ALPA’s highest honor for a line pilot air safety volunteer, was presented on Aug. 22, during the Association’s 48^th annual Air Safety Forum.

"Captain Moore is deserving of the 2001 Air Safety Award because of his career-long devotion to aviation safety," said ALPA’s president, Captain Duane Woerth. "His tireless efforts and dedication have made the skies safer for both pilots and the traveling public."

During more than 30 years of volunteer service, Captain Moore has worked on airport safety issues on the local, national, and international level. He has especially focused his efforts in recent years on preventing runway incursions, which are among the National Transportation Safety Board’s "Most Wanted" safety issues.

As chairman of ALPA’s Airport and Ground Environment Group, and as the pilot representative on an international panel that sets standards for airport lighting, markings, signs, and other visual aids, he has helped improve airport safety from Chicago to Hong Kong.

Under Captain Moore’s leadership, the ALPA Airport Liaison Representative Program has grown into an international cadre of more than 200 pilot volunteers who work closely with airport managements to improve safety at more than 180 airports in the United States and Canada.

Captain Moore has played a pivotal role in the government/industry Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST), whose specific mission is to reduce the airline accident rate by 80 percent over a 10-year period ending in 2007.

"When it comes to air safety, Mack Moore walks the walk. He helped create a set of standard operating procedures for ground operations to help airline pilots prevent runway incursions," said Captain Woerth. "No matter what the issue - signage, new surface markings, airport standards - Mack is involved to make what we do safer," he added.

Captain Moore also brings the line pilot perspective to the FAA’s Research and Development Advisory Committee (REDAC), which provides aviation industry input to the agency in setting its R&D budget priorities.

While performing preflight checks in July 1992, Captain Moore discovered a design problem with a component  that controls the rudder on Boeing 737s. The defect could cause the rudder to move opposite to the direction commanded by the pilot. This discovery led to several safety recommendations and FAA directives to deal with the problem.

Born and raised in Takoma Park, MD, Captain Moore’s first airplane ride was on a DC-3 as a member of the Civil Air Patrol. After high school graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the 82^nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, NC, for his three-year enlistment. While there, he took his first flying lesson. In August 1964, he earned his commercial pilot certificate. In January 1965, Moore became a United Airlines flight engineer and began flying Douglas DC-6s. During the last 37 years, he has flown the Boeing 727, 737, 757, 767, and his current aircraft, the 747-400.

ALPA is the union representing most commercial airline pilots in North America and is the industry’s leading safety advocate. It represents more than 66,000 pilots at 43 carriers in the U.S. and Canada. Its website is http://www.alpa.org.

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ALPA Contact: John Mazor, Anya Piazza (703) 481-4440