Terrance Pearce Award Citation

Terry’s industry-leading expertise is the result of a 25-year focus on Flight Test Safety and Accident Investigation at Boeing, Eclipse Aviation, Learjet, and Bombardier Aerospace.  While at Boeing, Terry served as a key technical investigator for the highly-public B-52 and AWACs aircraft accidents, which claimed the lives of all 24 airman onboard.  These events changed the course of Terry’s career.  He joined Learjet and earned a position as Flight Test Engineer on the prototype Challenger 300 and was then asked to be the company’s Lead Safety Investigator.

In 2004 Terry was hired by Eclipse Aviation as Lead Safety Investigator and flew as a Production Test Pilot.  In addition to forming Eclipse’s Safety Investigation Team, he managed the Flight Test Safety Review Board program and served as Chairman.

In 2009, Terry joined the Bombardier Flight Test Center and was promoted to Flight Test Safety Officer, responsible for all safety aspects of Bombardier’s flight test programs.

Terry’s initiative has revamped every aspect of the company’s test planning, safety review, and test execution.  To enable a proactive safety culture, Terry established the Test Center’s Safety Committee.  Since its inception, the Committee has successfully resolved over 800 safety issues, successfully preventing numerous potential mishaps.

His proactive safety focus is vital to Bombardier’s success. Under his watchful eye for nearly a decade, Bombardier has successfully certified many Part 25 aircraft including Bombardier’s first full fly-by-wire aircraft, the C-Series. Terry’s oversight has been instrumental in the ongoing Global 7000 certification testing as well as many new capabilities added to the existing product line.  Terry’s leadership as Bombardier’s Flight Test Safety Officer has ensured the safe and effective execution of over 1,600 flight test sorties annually.