ATA, NASA AND THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY


Founder and CEO of ATA Associates, Mr. Swint spent twenty-five years with the NASA space program, which included extensive work on both the Apollo and the Shuttle programs, including the position of lead project engineer for the shuttle avionics integration laboratory. He also received the Apollo 13 Presidential Medal of Freedom Award. Mr. Swint has always kept close ties with the Johnson Space Center and utilizes several of his old NASA "teammates" as technical consultants on ATA case work.

In fact, ATA has established relationships with Jacobs Technology and Bay Tech to expedite and assist private sector use of NASA JSC test and analysis facilities to evaluate products. These facilities provide a mechanism to utilize one-of-a-kind aerospace test facilities for product analysis. The following links identify the capabilities available - Structures Test Lab, Advanced Materials Lab, Battery Test Facility, Vibration & Acoustic Test Facility and Receiving Inspection & Test Facility (RITF).

In view of of the skills and experience of our in-house staff coupled with the relationships that we have cultivated and maintained, ATA has decided to gather and organize all of our resources and bring them to bear in assisting you with all of your aeronautics and aerospace needs. Please review the qualifications of our team members and let us know how we can help you.

THE ATA AVIATION AND AEROSPACE TEAM

Founder and CEO of ATA Associates, Mr. Swint spent 25 years with NASA JSC Space Programs, which included extensive work on the Apollo, Shuttle, and Space Station programs. His positions included Manager of Apollo Displays and Controls Subsystems, Shuttle Integrated Avionics System Integration Manager, and Space Station.Safety Manager. Mr. Swint has kept close ties with NASA and has agreements with NASA to utilize their engineering and test facilities. During his career as an accident investigator he has worked on over 6000 cases.


Mr. Fritsch is a licensed, professional engineer with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from
Rice University. He has worked at ATA Associates for over 17 years after gaining broad engineering experience in prior jobs with two NASA contractors. Mr. Fritsch has experience and expertise in the areas of spacecraft mock-up design, lighter-than-air technology and scientific ballooning. He also has extensive experience in the use of accelerometers and other electronic instrumentation, including global positioning system (GPS) technology. In addition to his credentials and experience in mechanical engineering, Ed has also passed the professional engineer’s exam in naval architecture and marine engineering.


Mr. Vaughan has received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Wright State University with a focus in design engineering. Allen has developed proficiency analyzing accidents using engineering tools such as a the FARO 3D scanner, FARO Zone 3D, Context Capture and ArcGIS software, V-Box data collector and surveying equipment.


Ms. Yergin has been an accident investigator since 1994, when she went to study under forensic physicist Thomas L. Bohan, a past president of the Academy of Forensic Sciences. April has two degrees, one of which was a bachelor of science in aeronautical engineering from Arizona State University.

Ms. Yergin has extensive experience in vehicle systems download, dynamics analysis and computer-aided simulation tools, and is ACTAR certified.


Mr. Alexander has experience in a variety of disciplines which include military and civilian aircraft flight control systems, electrical and mechanical systems, industrial equipment control systems, OSHA electrical code compliance and general safety issues. Bob spent 20 years at NASA working in various positions on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs, as well as having worked at Lockheed Martin specializing in safety product assurance. Additionally, he is trained in accident investigation with a focus on failure and cause identification.


Dr. Andre is a professor at James Madison University. His expertise centers on visual perception and human factors. He has been conducting vision research in university settings since 1988 and has over 20 publications and 55 conference presentations and invited addresses. Dr. Andre’s expert witness consulting activities provide him an opportunity to apply his research and interests in visual science and human factors to the legal community.

In his 20 year career, he has provided expert opinions on issues such as, but not limited to, nighttime conspicuity, lighting conditions, perception-reaction time, and alcohol’s effects on vision, expectation and attention.

Mr. Bonanti served as the Director for the Office of Hazardous Materials at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as well as Investigator-In-Charge (IIC) at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). While at FAA, his oversight included all Part 121 and 135 air carriers that transported hazardous materials, as well as Part 145 repair stations. As a federal investigator for the NTSB, Mr. Bonanti was instrumental in finding safety failures in the transportation industry that placed the traveling public in harms way.

As CEO and Principal at the Baluster Group, Mr. Bonanti has been a consultant to the aviation sector regarding safety, risk analysis, as well as regulatory and compliance matters. Mr. Bonanti has served as an expert witness for litigation cases involving commercial and general aircraft operations and has testified in both federal and state courts throughout the U.S.


Dr. Goong Chen is Professor of Mathematics and a member of the Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering at Texas A&M
University and he received his PhD in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin. He specializes in applied and computational mathematics.

He and his collaborators have done computational modeling and supercomputer simulations for the accidents/crashes of Malaysia
Airlines flight MH370, Germanwings flight 9525, terrorist airplane bombing, and the implosion of the Argentinian submarine ARA
San Juan S42 undersea. He and his team have also done modeling and computational work for small industrial firms using advanced software.

He is an editor-in-chief for the Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications and has published over 170 papers in applied
mathematics , physics and engineering.

Barry G. Dickey is the certified forensic expert for Audio Evidence Lab, a laboratory specializing in the analysis of audio/video evidence. With over 20 years of experience, Mr. Dickey has provided testimony in federal and state courts on issues involving audio, video, and voice identification. His responsibilities include audio/video authentication, digital enhancement/restoration, voice identification/elimination, speech/phonetic analysis, and transcription of evidentiary recordings. In association with The American College of Forensic Examiners, Mr. Dickey has served on the Executive Committees for both the Forensic Audio and Forensic Video Divisions of the American Board of Recorded Evidence.


Ms. Julianne Fox is a Principal Scientist who specializes in providing human factors consultation with a focus upon human visual and auditory perception, cognition, attention, decision-making, memory, and learning. Her work has included the scientific study of the effects of stress, time pressure, inattention and distraction, spatial disorientation, workload, training, risk perception, fatigue, and age on human performance, including reaction type and time. Ms. Fox also has over 35 years of flight experience in both aircraft and simulators. For over the past fifteen years, she has investigated accidents, provided expert testimony in the court room, and has been solicited to provide interviews on the news after some of the most notable accidents of our time.


William "Bill" Gossard has 48 years of experience as a consultant in transportation safety issues and has extensive background in the area of drone safety. Bill has worked for the Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation and the independent National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Additionally, Mr. Gossard has completed twelve national reports adopted by the five member NTSB Presidential Board - a task not equaled by any other staff member of the NTSB.


Mr. James is an international Aviation Safety and Security Consultant. He has extensive experience in performing aircraft accident investigations, incident reconstruction and in providing expert witness testimony. Mr. james also has expertise in the development and implemention of business/corporate and commercial aviation flight safety and security programs, including crisis management, safety evaluations and compliance audits. He served more than 16 years with the FAA as an Air Safety Investigator working more than 900 high-profile aircraft accidents, incidents and occurrences; personally conducting the investigations of general aviation and commercial air carrier aircraft incidents and accidents that included the reconstruction of all pertinent facts, conditions and circumstances.


Dr. Lasseigne serves as the Chief Technical Officer of G2MT Laboratories. She has extensive experience in the fields of metallurgy, hydrogen, corrosion, and materials science and is a world renowned expert in hydrogen embrittlement and corrosion.

Angelique places great emphasis on taking an ethical approach to her work and has published over 90 papers and co-authored three books in the fields of welding metallurgy, corrosion, and non-destructive testing for materials characterization. She received bachelors degrees in physics and metallurgical engineering and her M.S. and Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.

Richard A. Marquise retired as a Senior Executive in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after a 31-year career. He is an expert in crisis and major case management having worked and later managed major federal criminal investigations around the globe. He led the American task force created to investigate the 1988 terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland that involved searching for aircraft debris and evidence in a crime scene of over 845 square miles. He is also an expert in international terrorism and has provided training, often based on his “Lockerbie experience,” to police officers all over the world to assist them in developing the skills to prevent terrorist attacks.



PharmaFlight is a Hungarian aviation-based research and development organization that has been doing human subject testing for over
30 years with over 300,000 subject tests. Due to the highly qualified set of professionals working at PHARMAFLIGHT, our company is
able to complete tasks in several fields, such as physiology, cognitive function, evaluation of decision-making methods or even accident investigations, such as aircraft accidents.





PHARMAFLIGHT STAFF EXPERTS


GYULA GYŐRI – FOUNDER AND CO-OWNER OF PHARMAFLIGHT, HONORARY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT HEAD
Founder of the PHARMAFLIGHT project. Head of Department as PHARMAFLIGHT is the Aviation Engineering off-site department of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Debrecen. Leader of the research department, diplomatic representative of PHARMAFLIGHT
in corresponding with international partners.



GERGELY NAGY – DEPUTY CEO
Departmental coordinator, research partner at PHARMAFLIGHT. Responsible for the logistical, economical and administrative tasks. Supervises the works of the Finance Department, tends to the tasks related to tenders and is responsible for the correspondence
with our international partners.



DR. KRISZTINA SZABÓ – HEAD OF PHARMAFLIGHT AEROMEDICAL CENTER
Specialist in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterologist and Aeromedical Examiner, research partner at PHARMAFLIGHT. Head of Research
and Medical team related to the development of PHARMAFLIGHT’s medical devices and measurement system under the agreement with ICAO.



BOTOND SZŰCS – BIOLOGIST, EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGIST
Expert in exercise physiology, performance management and fatigue risk management. He is PHARMAFLIGHT’s chief physiological
expert of the Research and Medical team related to the development of PHARMAFLIGHT’s medical devices and measurement system
under the agreement with ICAO.



GYÖRGY TÓTH – PROFESSIONAL PILOT, CAPTAIN
Mr. Tóth is a highly experienced captain with more than 27 years experience as an airline instructor, 27 years of examination experience
and 2 800 hours teaching time in the simulator. Total flight time of 25 820 hours. Currently he is teaching and examining airline pilots,
also participates in the recruitment of prospective pilots and is the senior examinator in an airline company.



ANDREA WASSER – HEAD OF SECRETARIAT
Handling and supervising the secretarial tasks that are related to the Head of Department and the CEO of PHARMAFLIGHT. Responsible
for specific aspects of PHARMAFLIGHT’s Marketing and Sales activities. Organizing company events, corporate travels abroad and the
presence at different exhibitions.



DÁVID DEZSŐ – DESIGN ENGINEER
Involved in PHARMAFLIGHT's physiological measurement development during his years at the University. Responsible
for system integration, testing and the automation of data acquisition, processing and evaluation especially for ECG and EEG measurements.



GABRIELLA FARKAS – BUSINESS POLICY ANALYST
Responsible for Marketing and Sales. Company representative at international meeting and conferences. Business consultant by
profession with a specialization of Marketing Analytics.


Mr. Shirey is an Analytical Chemist and the owner of Shirey Analytical Services. SAS is a material analysis consulting agency focusing on the compositional analysis of coatings/paint, elastomers, plastics and oils.
Lynn's capabilities in the use of microscopes include 40X and 200X visual microscopy as well as micro-FTIR analysis.

Lynn conducts root cause failure analysis of coatings, plastics and elastomers on a routine basis.


21st Century Forensic Animation is the oldest forensic animation firm in the nation and is one of the pioneers in the forensic animation field. They work in conjunction with experts across the globe to create sophisticated 3D computer visualization of their expert opinion. They have generated countless animations for cases involving motor vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, trucking, motor coaches and trains. They also have extensive experience in cases involving maritime, aviation, construction, OSHA, FELA, product liability, maintenance, electricity, explosions, fires, environmental, oil & gas, roadway design, patents, floods, hurricanes, capital murder, death penalty, mass shootings, and even war crimes, plus many others. 21st Century utilizes the latest technologies such as UAV (drone), laser scanning and close-range photogrammetry to insure the accuracy and verifiability
of their animations.


Mr. Thurman retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) following a 20-year career as a forensics examiner of explosives and bombing investigator in the FBI Laboratory. He has extensive experience in the identification and reconstruction of Improvised Explosive Devices and determination of explosion effects on aircraft. He led the United States forensic investigation into the bombing of Pan American Flight 103 and contributed to other aviation investigations to resolve whether the aircraft crash was the result of a bomb or other causes. He is also completed an 18-year career as an academic professor who taught the nuances used in post blast investigations.



Soraya Wall is an international mentor and trainer in forensics and quality assurance to various ISO Standards. She is the former director of the West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory.During her tenure with the West Virginia State Police, she gained >experience in serology, DNA analysis, microscopic hair examination, and crime scene investigation. Ms. Wall has worked with the International Forensic Strategic Alliance (IFSA) and its partners, Interpol and the UNODC, on developing minimum standards for emerging forensic laboratories.

Soraya is a highly experienced DNA Lead auditor and ISO 17025 Assessor. She has more than 10 years of experience participating in ISO 17025 assessments and has successfully prepared laboratories at the national and international level for ISO 17025 Accreditation.


Mariusz Ziejewski, PhD, is a Professor in the College of Engineering at North Dakota State University where he is the director of the Impact Biomechanics Laboratory and the director of the Automotive Systems Laboratory. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University Of North Dakota School Of Medicine.

Dr. Ziejewski has performed human body dynamics research for the Armstrong Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory, Human System Division which is part of the United States Air Force. He has been a member of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Collaboration Group on Human Brain Modeling. He has been involved in Emergency Room (ER) Biomechanical Brain Injury Evaluation, at Meritcare’s Trauma Center, Fargo, ND. Dr. Ziejewski was also named the founding chair of the Blast Injury Institute of NABIS.