Richard F. Healing

Co-Chairman, Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Foundation, Senior Partner, R Cubed Consulting, LLC

Richard F. Healing, a professional engineer and internationally recognized safety expert, joined R Cubed Consulting, LLC as a Senior Partner on August 1st, 2005 after retiring from a Senate Confirmed, Presidential Appointment as Board Member on the National Transportation Safety Board, where he served since March 2003.  In 2008, he became CTO for R³ Engineering in order to lead the development of an all weather sense and avoid system for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) under a contract with the Office of Naval Research.

During his term at NTSB, Member Healing held the Safety Engineering position, and provided key technical inputs on several investigations with major national interest – the major aviation disaster when American Airlines Flight #587 crashed in New York, the Staten Island Ferry boat crash in 2003, the US Airways commuter flight crash in Charlotte, N.C.,  and several rail and highway accidents.  Member Healing is credited with bringing new focus to air medical crashes and offshore aviation services helicopter accidents.  The NTSB and FAA have both conducted critical reviews addressing the unnecessary, increasing losses in these communities.

At the time of his nomination to the NTSB, Mr. Healing was Director of Transportation Safety and Security for Battelle Memorial Institute where, since March of 2002, he held primary responsibility for Battelle’s relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration and provided program oversight for most of Battelle’s aviation safety programs, including the Aviation Safety Reporting System, operated for NASA.

Prior to March of 2002, Mr. Healing was the Director, Safety and Survivability, for the Department of the Navy, beginning in 1985.  During his Navy civilian career, his work focused on aviation safety and emphasized benefits from sharing military safety information with others in the aviation community, including commercial aviation. He also was a founder of the Navy’s highly successful Human Factors Quality Management Board, which was responsible for major reductions in aviation accidents and savings of lives and losses of assets exceeding billions of dollars.

In 2001, Mr. Healing was presented the Navy’s highest civilian award – the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal. He also was recognized with the SAFE International “General Spruance Award” for safety education achievement, and an Aviation Week “Laurel” for bringing new awareness to the importance of wire health and condition monitoring technology in aviation. Other awards include the Navy Superior Public Service Medal for creating the Navy’s Safety Non-Developmental Items program, and the Defense Superior Service Medal for active military service during Desert Storm and Desert Shield.
From 1971 to 1983, Mr. Healing was President and CEO of an engineering, construction and contracting services firm in Connecticut. He also was Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Fairfield Precision Industries, a manufacturer of replacement parts for the military.

A licensed Professional Engineer since 1974, Mr. Healing attended the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He pursued graduate studies at the University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport Engineering Institute, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Harvard University, and Georgetown University. He graduated from the Naval War College in 1990, and was selected to participate on the President’s Commission on Executive Exchange. In 1991, he was a Senior Executive Fellow at Harvard University.

Mr. Healing served 6½ years active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard. After 30 years of service, including four commands, he retired from the Coast Guard Reserve with the rank of Captain.  He is an active member of Flight Safety Foundation (FSF), the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST), Helicopter Association International (HAI), the American Helicopter Society International (AHS), and the Naval Helicopter Association (NHA).

Mr. Healing’s work at R-Cubed Consulting has included primary safety consultant to the largest commercial helicopter operator in the world; the Executive Committee of the International Helicopter Safety Team; the executive advisory committee of Parks College of Engineering, St. Louis University; the research advisory board for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; Board of Directors of STI (Systems Technology, Inc.) of Hawthorne, CA; Executive Steering Committee of GAIN (Global Aviation Information Network); the Aviation Safety Task Force of the Department of Defense; the Private Motor Vehicle Task Force of the Department of Defense; selection to be on the Defense Safety Advisory Commission; and numerous national and international speaking engagements.  As Chief Technology Officer for R³ Engineering, he is responsible for technical oversight of a multi-million dollar effort to overcome constraints against integration of UASs into the United States National Airspace System (NAS) through development of a collision avoidance technology suitable for small UASs, that can also provide collision avoidance capability for any light or legacy aircraft operating in the NAS.  Mr. Healing also provides business consulting services to small companies, with emerging technologies, wishing to initiate or expand business with the federal government and its agencies.