March 14, 2005

Sentient Jet Names Safety Advisory Board

Sentient Jet, the Norwell, Mass. firm that arranges business jet transportation on aircraft operated by Part 135 certificate holders through a private jet Membership Program, last week named a five-member independent safety board to focus on "enhancing Sentient's already-strong safety practices and standards." The five-member board will be chaired Dave Thomas, a veteran of 13 years with the National Transportation Safety Board and 14 years in senior management positions with FAA, including director of the Office of Accident Investigation.

Joining Thomas will be: Jane Garvey, former FAA Administrator, who currently is executive vice president of APCO and chairman of the company's transportation consulting practice; Larry Hecht, chief pilot for Flightworks, Inc., an Atlanta-based aircraft charter and management company; Andrew Richmond, president of TWC Aviation, Inc.; and Greg Phillips, a former lead investigator for NTSB who has more than 26 years of aviation industry experience.

The board will report its recommendations directly to Steven Hankin, Sentient's chief executive officer. In a statement last week, Hankin said the company is looking to the new safety advisory board "for their expert perspective. We think that by mining the knowledge of industry leaders like Dave Thomas and Jane Garvey, we can make an already-strong Sentient safety program even better. The members of our safety board bring an immense amount of industry experience and insight that is unmatched in the business and we are excited about working with them."