Fra IFALPA`s Annual Conference i Madrid

Captain Martin Chalk elected to lead global pilots

MADRID, Spain - Captain Martin Chalk of the United Kingdom was elected as IFALPA's 18th President during the final Plenary Session of the Federation's 70th Conference. He succeeds Captain Don Wykoff of the United States.

Capt. Chalk, who started his flying career with the Royal Air Force, currently flies A380s for British Airways. He previously served as IFALPA's Deputy President, a role he assumed in 2014, and was also President of the European Cockpit Association from 2005 until 2011.

Commenting on his election Capt. Chalk promised the delegates "I will work hard to repay your faith", and called upon on all pilots worldwide: "Unity - we must live and breathe it."

Meanwhile, Captain Chris Lynch of the United States was elected as the Federation's Deputy President succeeding Capt. Chalk.

Captain Mike Pinho from the United States follows Capt. Lynch as IFALPA's new Executive Vice President (EVP) North America, while Captain Osvaldo Neto of Brazil took over as EVP Caribbean and South America from Captain German Diaz Barriga of Mexico.

Canadian Captain Rod Lypchuk was re-elected to the IFALPA Executive Board as Executive Vice President Administration, Membership & Finance, as was Captain Ben Mansumitchai of Thailand as Executive Vice President Asia Pacific.

Pilots: Germanwings crash investigation fails to meet international standards

MADRID, Spain - Gathering for their 70th Annual Conference, representatives of over 100,000 airline pilots from around the world have expressed their great concern about the accident investigation into Germanwings flight 4U9525 so far.

Pilots are dedicated to safety every single day. The only way flying will remain the safest way to travel is to strictly adhere to internationally agreed standards.

Effective recommendations to prevent similar tragedies can only be obtained from a final accident report, not from piecemeal evidence released or leaked during the process of investigation. The drafting of such recommendations can only result from a combined effort by investigators, regulators, the aviation industry and the community of pilots.

IFALPA urges the French Authorities to fully adhere to the provisions of ICAO Annex 13.

The full Conference Statement of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA):

We, The world's professional pilots are united in our sadness about the tragedy of Germanwings flight 4U9525. The alleged fate of this flight, as outlined by the French prosecutors, is beyond our comprehension, and would constitute an extremely isolated case.

Every day, we accept the trust placed in us by our passengers. As pilots, we have flown and will continue to fly them safely, efficiently and comfortably to their destination - every single flight, every single day.

Any accident investigation has to be performed according to internationally agreed principles as laid out in ICAO Annex 13. So far, this investigation has not met these standards. Leaks of protected information, media pressure, and political considerations all damage the hard won environment in which the aviation industry has agreed to cooperate in analyzing accidents and developing solutions. The latter is the very basis that makes flying the safest way of travel.

Only the final outcome of the investigation will allow firm conclusions to be drawn and to identify adequate solutions. The process of drafting such solutions has to be done in a combined effort by regulators, the aviation industry and the community of pilots.

This is a prerequisite to ensure that our passengers can continue to trust in the highest level of safety in air travel.