Arlington, Virginia, March 27, 2009 – The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) announced at their Annual Spring Awards Luncheon that the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) has been selected as the recipient of the 2008 Robert J. Collier Trophy, “For achieving an unprecedented safety level in U.S. commercial airline operations by reducing risk of a fatal airline accident by 83 percent, resulting in two consecutive years of no commercial scheduled airline fatalities.”
The Collier Trophy will be formally presented to CAST at the Annual Collier Dinner to be held on Thursday, May 28, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia.
“We had a remarkable list of candidates, one that visibly impressed the distinguished members of the Collier Trophy Selection Committee,” stated Walter Boyne, Chairman of NAA as well as Chairman of the selection committee. “I believe that CAST is a very worthy winner, and is also an important symbol of what can still be done in the United States and globally when men and women of good will join voluntarily in a huge and extremely worth while project. The partners in this program should be proud of their important work.”
The Collier Trophy is awarded annually "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year." The list of Collier winners represents a timeline of aviation, as many of the awardees mark major events in the history of flight. This prestigious recognition of CAST is a tribute to the thousands of individuals who have worked diligently, since 1997, to produce the safest commercial aviation system in the world. During that interval, both the capacity and complexity of the air transportation system have steadily increased. Forecasts indicate that by 2016 as many as one billion passengers will travel by air every year.
CAST was formed in the late 1990s in response to a government and industry challenge in the 1997 White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security Report to reduce the commercial aviation accident rate 80 percent over the next 10 years. The National Civil Aviation Review Commission also recognized the need for government/industry collaboration on a focused, consensus-based safety agenda. Since then, the team has worked relentlessly to analyze data from approximately 500 accidents and thousands of safety incidents worldwide. From the distillation of lessons learned, the team devised critical safety enhancements that greatly reduce accident risk and ultimately save lives. As a result of this premiere program, admired and emulated around the world, 2008 topped the previous year as the safest year in commercial aviation history and the CAST team proudly reports the risk in fatal commercial accidents has been reduced by 83 percent. Today, fatal accidents have been reduced to a probability of only one in 22.8 million flights, an extraordinary achievement.
“This was as comprehensive and competitive process as I could have hoped for,” said Jonathan Gaffney, President and CEO of NAA. “The Selection Committee did a wonderful job evaluating nominations that spanned the entire spectrum of our tremendous aerospace industry, and I am very proud of the process.” For a complete list of previous recipients of the Collier Trophy, please visit the NAA website at www.naa.aero.
The National Aeronautic Association is a non-profit, membership organization devoted to fostering America's aerospace leadership and promoting public understanding of the importance of aviation and space flight to the United States.
The Collier Trophy 
Established 1911, the Robert J Collier Trophy was first granted in 1929 as a national award honoring those who had made significant achievements in the advancement of aviation. Collier, publisher, noted sportsman-pilot, and president of the Aero Club of America, commissioned the 525-pound trophy's design to Ernest W Keyser of Baltimore MD, and it was originally named the Aero Club of America Trophy. It wasn't until that organization was dissolved in 1922 and the National Aeronautic Association formed that Collier was honored in title. The name became official in 1944, and the award presented once each year by the President of the United States, with the trophy on permanent display at NASM.
Herbert Hoover presents the Collier Trophy to NACA Chairman Joseph Ames in 1929.