“Every time, driving here (to Northwestern), my heart races,” said Benny Perelman, father of the late Weinberg freshman Daniel Perelman, who passed away almost two years ago in a solo flight crash.
Daniel Perelman was on his second solo flight, a requirement for a private pilot license, when his plane crashed in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, on May 26, 2022.
Benny Perelman, who runs the nonprofit Daniel Gives Back, partners annually with the Northwestern Aviation Club to host an aviation safety seminar in Daniel Perelman’s memory. This year’s seminar was held Thursday evening at Harris Hall.
“In an event like this, when there’s a connection to a unique story or a person or a face, I think it’s much more memorable,” Benny Perelman said.
McCormick Prof. and Aviation Club Faculty Advisor Laurence Audenaerd spoke at the event, along with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Prof. James Sulton III. They discussed a range of issues, including commercial aviation safety, shortages of workers and lack of diversity in the industry and more.
The seminar was moderated by Weinberg senior Elie Clark, the president of the club.
“You know that saying: ‘You die twice, once when you actually die, and the second time when somebody last says your name,’” Clark said. ”My goal is to never let that happen to Daniel.”
Clark said she and Daniel were friends and ran in the club’s executive board elections at the same time.
She said the seminar is a way of talking about under-discussed topics in the aviation industry. These included the safety regulations of the Boeing 737 Max jets, one of which suffered a sudden depressurization when an exit door flew off minutes after take-off on Jan. 5 in a highly publicized malfunction.
“Any time there’s a deviation with the safety management systems that are in place — you end up in a consequence like this,” Sulton said.
He said ensuring the effectiveness of a safety management system requires identifying the problem, fixing it and returning to monitor it.
Audenaerd added that the 737 Max aircrafts are designed very differently from other aircrafts. He said when an aircraft is as new as the 737 Max, regulators don’t always stay up to date, especially when there is a lack of oversight.
“They get lazy, in a nutshell,” Audenaerd said. “Without proper oversight, you yourself may make mistakes and not realize you’re making them.”
Sulton added that the industry needs to diversify by looking at women and other groups that may be interested in aviation but rarely end up pursuing it as a career.
McCormick sophomore Ryan Beam, the vice president of engineering for the club, echoed Sulton’s statements, adding that the industry needs to reduce the barriers to entry in aviation.
Beam, who will take over as president of the club next year, told The Daily the club will continue holding these annual seminars.
“I think this is a great event,” he said. “It keeps Daniel’s memory going.”
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