ATCA's Glen A. Gilbert Award 2010

ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA) board of directors has chosen the 2010 Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award winner, Neil R. Planzer, Vice President of Boeing Air Traffic Management.

The Glen Gilbert Memorial Award is the highest honor of the Air Traffic Control Association and is one of the premier awards in aviation. It is awarded once a year to honor the outstanding, long term achievement of an individual in the field of aviation.

The award is named after Glen A. Gilbert, the father of air traffic control. Glen A. Gilbert (1913-1982) was a famed pilot and administrator who led the development of U.S. and international air traffic control and played a key role in the formation of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Mr. Planzer shares the honor of the Glen A. Gilbert award with previous winners such as Langhorne Bond, FAA Administrator; Najeeb Halaby, FAA Administrator and Chairman Pan Am Airways; A. Scott Crossfield, test pilot and astronaut; Captain Elrey Jeppesen, aviation pioneer and founder of Jeppesen and Co; Norman Mineta, Secretary of Transportation and U.S. Congressman; and T. Allan McArtor, FAA administrator and Chairman, Airbus Americas. A complete list of past award winners can be seen at www.atca.org.

Neil served with great distinction in the FAA for 26 years where he started as an air traffic controller and rose to be a member of the Senior Executive Service. While in the FAA Neil played key leadership roles in labor management relations, air traffic controller training and requirements for air traffic control systems. Neil was recruited and served six years from 1997 to 2003 in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Mr. Planzer implemented the DoD Regional Airspace Initiative in Eastern Europe and authored the DoD global policies on air traffic control. After the September 11, 2001 attack on the U.S., Mr. Planzer served as a principal aviation advisor to the Department of Defense and the National Security Council for the restoration of civil access to the national airspace system.

In April 2003 Mr. Planzer joined the Boeing Company. He has played a significant role in establishing Boeing as a key player in air traffic control transformation in the United States and Europe. Neil has served on such groups as the FAA Management Advisory Council, Executive Committee of Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO), Board of Directors and Chairman of ATCA, Board of Governors and Trustee of the Aero Club of Washington, Policy Board of RTCA and Board of Directors of the European Institute.

Neil is a well known author on the science and policies of air traffic control and an internationally sought after speaker on the changes and challenges facing air traffic control. He has been an active aviator and friend of general aviation for 38 years.

The Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award Reception and Banquet will be held on October 27, 2010 at the conclusion of the 55th Annual Conference and Exhibition to be held October 24-27 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor, Maryland.  Tickets are included in the Conference Registration.  Additional tickets or corporate tables may be purchased.

SOURCE Air Traffic Control Association