Don Purdy Retires from ASRS’s Callback

The Aviation Safety Reporting System’s (ASRS) monthly safety newsletter, Callback, is undergoing a changing of the guard, with Don Purdy retiring after more than 10 years as editor. Purdy, who held dual roles as Callback editor and safety analyst for NASA’s ASRS publication, wrote in the August edition, “After 50 years in the challenging, sometimes wild but always wonderful world of military, commercial and private aviation, it is time for me to hang ’em up.” Succeeding him is Ned Kintzing, who has been on the ASRS team.

Purdy, who succeeded Rowena Morrison to take the helm of Callback, has been only the third editor for the publication, which was established by former Naval aviator and corporate-aircraft test pilot Rex Hardy in 1979 to provide “lessons learned” from the ASRS in a short, readable format. Callback publishes de-identified ASRS reports with supporting commentary. Purdy called Callback a “community effort” and thanked readers “for your kind words, for your constructive feedback and, most important, for sharing your safety reports with the aviation community.”