Here at Heli-Expo 2016, Bryan Smith will receive the 2017 BLR Aerospace Safety Award. Smith is a pilot and safety program manager for the Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA). He has also spent time as an instructor pilot for the Seminole County sheriff’s office and chair of the Safety Management System (SMS) Working Group. The award, which will be presented at the Heli-Expo Salute to Excellence Awards dinner on March 8 at the Hilton Anatole Dallas, recognizes individuals or organizations that have promoted safety in the helicopter industry.

Smith has spent his career developing and implementing safety solutions for operators and pilots since 1992. As an instructor pilot for the Seminole County sheriff’s office in Florida, he flies rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft. He has 11 years of experience in law enforcement aviation and eight years of experience flight instructing at aviation events around the world. He works as an instructor in law enforcement tactics; aviation safety; accident response planning; flight training and unit management; and marketing strategies.

Smith currently serves as the ALEA safety program manager. Created in 1976, the organization values and supports safety and education training as well as networking, integrity, public service, professionalism and ethics. ALEA also offers awards, scholarships and citations to deserving individuals who have proven their excellence in aviation. Since 2012, Smith has supported safety outreach and education, development of risk management tools and resources and ALEA members’ safety management and program development efforts.

The pilot’s work doesn’t stop there, and Smith also participates with the United States Helicopter Safety Team and chaired the SMS Working Group. During this time, he led a volunteer team of industry experts to help reduce accident rates around the world and implement SMS. He published various articles in industry trade publications, including “The Real World SMS” in Air Beat Magazine, Law Officer, Vertical 911 and Rotor Magazine. Besides working as a flight instructor, Smith also gives safety presentations and leads safety courses worldwide.

Last year, the BLR Aerospace Safety Award went to Boston MedFlight, a nonprofit organization that provides hospital transportation to patients who may not be able to afford it.