'First to the Future' Alaska aviation director leads Alaska to foremost position in world aviation.

FAA'S slogan, "First to the Future," has certainly proven true with Patrick Poe's commitments to the innovative programs in Alaska. Since his appointment in 1998, Poe has joined with the Alaska aviation community in making news and making Alaska aviation history.

In a recent interview, Poe revealed some of the accomplishments in his field during his tenure.

ABM: Mr. Poe, can you tell us about some of the successful programs you have worked with since you began your position as regional administrator?

Poe: The Capstone project has been very successful as a program for Alaska that is now being implemented in other states and countries. I am proud of our Weather Camera system, an Internet-based service that allows pilots to view clear-day and real-time images of remote mountain passes and airstrips. This might very well be our most popular service and one that is well used.

ABM: Just exactly what is the Capstone project?

Poe: Capstone is a demonstration project that has proved the effectiveness of new avionics in preventing accidents by equipping aircraft used by commercial operators. Participating air carriers had Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) installed in their cockpits, which permits flight following in parts of the state not served by radar. This allows the pilot to see other similarly equipped aircraft on a small video screen that also has a moving map of the terrain and weather data. It improves pilot "situational awareness."

After implementation of the Capstone project in the Kuskokwim/ Delta area, accidents decreased by 47 percent. This was the first time government equipment was installed in private aircraft. The FAA has been working hand-in-hand with industry.

Expectations are that this program, because of its success, will go nationwide and worldwide.

ABM: Can you give us some examples of the interest you have had in the program?

Poe: Airservices Australia has adopted the core of Capstone and is using it countrywide. Last year 13 foreign delegations came to Alaska to observe Capstone operations. These included a Chinese delegation from the Civil Aviation University that intends to use some of the equipment in its pilot-training program. The Capstone staff will host delegations from both Germany and Japan.

Chief executive officers in Japan want the Capstone equipment. The FAA Alaska Region has offered to share space so they can do tests. China has placed Capstone equipment in its flight schools. The World Bank now provides loans for the use of this program and equipment.

ABM: Can you tell us about the historical background of this project?

Poe: In 1997, the FAA developed a proposal titled, "Flight 2000," which envisioned, by analysis, that advanced avionic capabilities would lead to 38 percent reduction in commercial aircraft accidents if installed in Alaska.

The Capstone project was proposed as an operational demonstration program for Alaska with the technology being used in the Bethel and Y-K Delta areas.

The project uses new technologies that have only recently become available or are being implemented for the first time.

ABM: Why is this program so important to Alaska?

Poe: Alaska has had the highest annual aviation accident rate in the country. In the 1990s, the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health statistics showed Alaska had an accident every other day, a fatality every nine days. But by 2004, the number fell to the lowest in 20 years.

Alaska has 11,027 licensed pilots, six times the per capita number compared to the rest of the country and 14 times as many planes per capita.

Air carriers in Alaska transport the equivalent of four times the state's population each year, compared to about 1.7 times the U.S. populations carried by air commerce in other states.

Lake Hood is the largest seaplane base in the world. There are 4,000 planes just in the Anchorage Bowl.

ABM: I understand a number of airports have used this program.

Poe: The first phase of Capstone was deployed in the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta primarily serving 10 airports: St. Michael, Mountain Village, Platinum, Holy Cross, Kalskag, Kipnuk, Koliganek, Russian Mission, Scammon Bay and Egegik.

ABM: Can you explain what has been initiated since the program began in 1999?

What was the timeline?

Poe: In 1999, the Capstone office was established and staffed; program planning was under way. The project was funded with $11 million.

In 2000, installations began and 78 aircraft were modified with Capstone avionics.

In 2001, that number rose to 140 aircraft with modifications.

In 2004, the number rose to 208, nearly 100 percent of operations for the type of aircraft being used with this program in the Y-K Delta.

ABM: What have been the results of that project?

Poe: The accident rate for the last two years for commercial flights in the Y-K Delta is the lowest it has been since the beginning of the (our) accident baseline in 1990. This is significant in areas like Bethel with 100,000 operations annually.

The accident rate for the Delta fell below the rest of the state for the first time in 2003 and remained below the rest of the state in 2004.

ABM: What have been some of the comments from customers, pilots, and those in the industry about the success of this program?

Poe: "Incredible service."

"You know when, where, and how pilots are flying."

The program has helped with traffic avoidance and terrain awareness, improved diversions and reroutes, provided useful weather data; it has showed the capability and usefulness of the GPS approach.

The Alaska Weather Camera system has been successful. (Weather cameras at 65 locations are linked to the Internet via satellite allowing pilots to view real-time weather in the comfort of their office or home.) FAA's Alaska Region has been developing a network of remote video cameras since 1997. The first batch of cameras was installed on the roof of the Anchorage Federal building, at Summit near Mount McKinley, and Dillingham. With cameras at 65 locations across the state providing visual weather information, pilots can make better decisions about when and where to fly.

These cameras are available to flight service station specialists who incorporate the information in their live briefings to pilots who call or contact them on the radio.

ABM: Runway safety has been one of the programs you have worked with. Can you tell us what has been done in Alaska with that program?

Poe: Runway safety is an issue at the national level with problems of aircraft collisions on airport surfaces with other aircraft and vehicles.

I appointed Roger Motzko as program manager for the Alaska Region. He has produced two safety videos, one with Patty Wagstaff, national aerobatic champion, as narrator, and the other with Dick Rutan, another world-famous test pilot.

Our local program has pioneered the most effective tools-simulator training and the safety videos-that can be used all over the country. The program has been leading the way for airports in increasing safety and reducing accidents.

Every certified flight pilot in the U.S. now will be seeing this video. More than 200,000 copies have been produced.

ABM: You mentioned the Alliance for Safety. Can you tell us about that foundation?

Poe: The Alliance for Safety was initiated by one of my predecessors, Jacqueline Smith, in 1995 in an effort to reach out to the aviation industry and form a partnership to improve aviation safety. Based upon that foundation, the region has been able to work with industry on a number of programs including Capstone. One other result was the formation of the Medallion Foundation by the Alaska Air Carriers Association. Funded by a Congressional appropriation, the Medallion Foundation established stringent standards for air carrier operation, training and maintenance-standards above the regulatory minimums. This is what I call "raising the bar."

The carriers that reach these standards and attain Medallion Shield status can market themselves as something special and appeal to customers with their safety record.

Laser lighting, developed by an Alaska entrepreneur and demonstrated by the FAA, has made it possible to have nighttime lighting and emergency operations in remote Alaska communities.

ABM: Any other programs you would like to mention?

Poe: The FAA has introduced a program called Circle of Safety, a passenger-education program that emphasizes waiting for better weather instead of risking flying despite the weather.

ABM: I understand that as regional administrator for FAA's Alaska Region, you also serve as senior FAA and U.S. Department of Transportation official in Alaska. Can you tell us a little bit about your background before your present assignment in Alaska?

Poe: I led the FAA's European office and was posted to the U.S. Embassy in Brussels, Belgium, from January 1991 until my appointment to Alaska in November 1998. As Director of the Europe, Africa and Middle East region, I worked closely with ranking government and industry officials in those countries to promote cooperative efforts in aviation safety, security and efficiency. My region of responsibility spanned 122 countries. In addition, I served as the senior civil representative for the United States on the NATO Committee for European Airspace Coordination. Prior to my work in Belgium, I was posted at the U.S. Embassy in London from 1987 to 1991 as FAA senior representative to the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Ireland. I have served the FAA since 1977 in various capacities.

ABM: Where did you receive your degrees?

Poe: I earned my bachelor's and master's degrees the University of Oklahoma. My early graduate studies included work with the National Aeronautic and Space Administration. I was invited by the NASA administrator to the launch of Apollo 11, which resulted in the first man on the moon landing.

ABM: Anything else you might mention?

Poe: While I was an officer in the U.S Army, I served as aide to the Chief of Staff, Fourth U.S. Army. I also hold a private pilot's certificate.

ABM: Can you mention some of the awards you have received?

Poe: I have received a number of different awards, including a Department of Transportation Superior Achievement Award, and the FAA Administrator's Award.

ABM: You have also received some other accolades.

Poe: In 2001, I was made an Honorary Commander in the Eleventh Air Force, and in 2002, I was inducted into the Oklahoma Aviation and Space Hall of Fame.

During his tenure, Poe has had a tremendous impact on aviation world, not just in Alaska, but nationally, and globally.

Dick Harding, president of the Medallion Foundation, at a recent Alaska Air Carriers Association conference in Anchorage, stated the feeling of many pilots in Alaska. "Today there is a different atmosphere and a different relationship between the agency (speaking of the role of the FAA as an enforcement and regulatory agency)--that difference is Patrick Poe."

Recently, the Air Carriers Association presented an award to the FAA Capstone office for its efforts in improving aviation safety in Alaska.

Joette Storm, community relations manager for the FAA, speaks of how Poe is a great asset and has helped bring new projects to Alaska. She says he walks and talks like an Alaskan.

His boots are on the ground, says Storm. And he invites others in the field to put their boots on the ground. Poe has invited Marion Blakey, national FAA administrator, and other Washington, D.C., officials from the national office, to visit Alaska and see firsthand the use of the new technology in Bethel and other Y-K Delta communities.

Poe comes to Alaska with years of experience in his field and an international background, having served in London throughout the PanAmerica bombing events of 1989, and traveling to Russia, Africa, and many other countries.

He hopes he will be seen as a champion for Alaska's aviation interests.