Steve is an ex-RAF fast-jet pilot who joined the RAF in September 1981 after graduating with a BSc(Hons) in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Leeds University. He flew over 3500hrs in the RAF as a front-line pilot and Qualified Weapons Instructor (mostly in Harrier and Tornado aircraft), commanded the RAF’s ground-attack operational evaluation squadron, spent many years involved in campaign planning, command and control, and finally retired from the RAF as an Air Commodore in 2013, with his final role being to conduct a study that resulted in the establishment of the RAF’s Safety Centre.
As a civilian, Steve then moved into the Aviation Safety environment as Director of the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) where he led a jointly sponsored and co-funded Civil Aviation Authority/Military Aviation Authority team charged with assessing and reporting on near-mid-air collisions in the UK in order to help prevent future incidents and accidents. Steve became a member of the CHIRP GA and AT boards in 2013 on taking up the UKAB role and, on retiring from the UKAB, joined CHIRP as Director Aviation in April 2020. In his spare time, Steve has been a budding glider pilot in the recent past, and graduated with an MSc in Aviation Safety Management from City University, London in January 2019.