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Embry-Riddle Introduces ‘Safer Skies’ Video Podcasts
By: Gordon Gilbert
Caption: First episode features three-time space shuttle veteranJanet Kavandi
Word Count: 264
Safer Skies, a new video podcast series from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, features safety experts revealing insights and lessons learned from their experiences in the aviation industry. The segments are hosted by Robert Sumwalt, the executive director of Embry-Riddle’s Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety and former NTSB chairman.
Each 30-minute episode offers “rare insight into the experiences of industry experts, the practices that ensure the safety of all who fly, and the ideas that are shaping the future of flight,” Embry-Riddle said. In the Safer Skies’ inaugural episode, Janet Kavandi, a three-time space shuttle veteran who completed a 25-year career with NASA before joining Sierra Space as president, shares an inside look at her career as an astronaut and scientist. 
Upcoming first-season guests include Jeannie Leavitt, the first U.S. woman to serve as a fighter pilot and commander of a U.S. Air Force fighter wing, and dean of Embry-Riddle Prescott’s College of Aviation; Tammie Jo Shults, former U.S. Navy aviator and airline pilot who, in 2018, successfully landed a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 after an engine failure, fuselage damage, and rapid depressurization; John Lauber, retired senior vice president of product safety for Airbus and former NTSB member; and Patty Wagstaff, U.S. national aerobatic champion.
“Safer Skies shares real industry stories and invaluable safety insights,” said Embry-Riddle President P. Barry Butler.