Suggested Cutline: Bob Agostino, vice president of American Aero FTW, a fixed-base operator at Meacham International Airport in Fort Worth receives the 2023 Business Aviation Meritorious Service Award from Flight Safety Foundation President and CEO Dr Hassan Shahidi. (Photo courtesy of Flight Safety Foundation)
FORT WORTH, Texas (May 12, 2023) – The Flight Safety Foundation, an international nonprofit that champions aviation safety, has awarded Bob Agostino, vice president of American Aero FTW, a fixed-base operator (FBO) at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport, with its 2023 Business Aviation Meritorious Service Award. Presented on May 9 at the Foundation’s 68th annual Business Aviation Safety Summit in New Orleans, the award recognizes Agostino’s safety accomplishments over a career that spans nearly five decades.
As a pilot, Agostino has accumulated more than 23,000 flight hours and attained 13 Type ratings for 25 different aircraft. He is also a helicopter-qualified pilot and attended the National Test Pilot School. His professional career has been spent in corporate flight departments, including 15 years as director of flight operations for Learjet/Bombardier where he created what is now known as the Bombardier Safety Standdown—a set of protocols that serve as an industry standard for reviewing and improving aviation safety practices. He is a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Grumman Owners and Pilots Association, and the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. He is currently serving his second term on the Gulfstream Customer Advisory Board.
In 2017, Agostino received the Dr. Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Award from the National Business Aviation Association, which recognizes individuals in the business aviation industry for outstanding professionalism and leadership in support of aviation safety. Additionally, Agostino is the recipient of a 2007 Aviation Week and Space Technology Laureate Award and the first recipient of the Business and Commercial Aviation Vision Award.
Under Agostino’s guidance, American Aero FTW was the first FBO in the Western Hemisphere to earn a rigorous new safety and ground handling accreditation from the International Business Aviation Council in 2015. It was subsequently among the first FBOs worldwide to reach Stage II certification in 2017 and Stage III certification in 2018. Agostino’s leadership is also a significant factor in American Aero’s consistent recognition as one of the world’s best FBOs in the Aviation International News annual survey.
In addition to his leadership position with American Aero, Agostino serves as president and aviation director for Group Holdings Aviation in Fort Worth, Texas.
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