Advisory Council Member

Mark Chaffinch

Director Aviation

Norfolk Southern Corporation

Council Member since 2018

Mark Chaffinch is the Director of Aviation for Norfolk Southern Corporation, where he has worked since 1996. During that time he has risen through the ranks starting as a line pilot, assuming the role of the company's first Safety Officer, then Chief Pilot, and Director Aviation. With the department never having had a formal SMS, Mark had a clean slate to develop and implement an in-house SMS, which helped the department achieve IS-BAO Stage 3 certification followed in 2018 by BASC certification. Mark is still very involved in the safety process and plays an active role supporting a progressive safety program.

Mark comes from an aviation family and has been around airplanes and business aviation for most of his life. Early in his career he worked in the FBO business, fueling airplanes and later doing everything from loading cargo on a DC-4 to dispatching international charter flights. Mark spent several years flying medevac missions throughout Central, South, and Latin America, and his experiences during that time spurred his interest in aviation safety. This has since become a passion for Mark and he continues to try to learn, understand, and share with others anything related to aviation safety.

Mark was the recipient of the 2017 Bombardier Safety Standdown Award.