SOUTH BEND — Each year, the Great Lakes Chapter (GLC) of American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) sponsors an award of valor for outstanding performance in Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting (ARFF)/safety. The ARFF award committee presented South Bend International Airport’s (SBN) Department of Public Safety with this year’s ARFF Valor Award for actions performed on March 17, 2013, by its ARFF crews while responding to the Hawker Premier aircraft crash near the airport.
The honor recognizes an individual or department who has shown exceptional skills in the workplace as demonstrated by acts of professional service and dedication that resulted directly in saving a human life. “We are all aware of the infrequency of a significant aircraft crash, however any of us in the ARFF industry come to work each day with the mindset of not if, but when it will happen and train as such,” said Mike Ornat, SBN Department of Public Safety Chief.
