Joseph Hendron

Staff Analyst

University of North Dakota
Master of Science, Aviation, 2022 (Projected)

University of North Dakota
Bachelor of Science, Aeronautical Science, 2015

Certifications and Ratings
Commercial Pilot—Airplane, single‑ and multi‑engine land; Instrument
Flight Instructor Certificate—Airplane, single‑engine; Instrument–Airplane
FAA Remote Pilot Certificate

Mr. Hendron has been involved with the aviation industry since 2011.  For PAI Consulting (PAI), he supports aviation‑directed studies by analyzing data, organizing his findings, and drafting technical studies and other reports and written documents.  Mr. Hendron also assists PAI’s clients by using his experience and organizational skills to track and organize records and other supplemental information.  Mr. Hendron provides meeting support to various aviation safety groups and rulemaking committees by attending meetings, facilitating discussion, tracking attendance and action items, and taking detailed notes, which he uses to draft records of meeting.  He also assists these groups in drafting recommendation reports, white papers, and other documents.

Mr. Hendron began his career in the aviation field by completing an internship with Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines.  During this internship, he gained experience working as a First Officer for a Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 135 operator.  Mr. Hendron also worked as a member of the flight training department and was responsible for assisting with revising training documents and manuals.

Between 2015 and 2017, Mr. Hendron held numerous positions within the University of North Dakota (UND) Aerospace program.  As a Flight Instructor, he provided flight and ground training to students with a wide range of experience levels.  As a Supervisor of Flight, Mr. Hendron was responsible for overseeing safe flight operations during a shift and coordinating with the on-duty manager in the event of an emergency.  As a Standards Check Pilot, he ensured Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards were met by conducting Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, and Instrument rating check rides.

In 2016, Mr. Hendron became a Lead Flight Instructor for the UND Aerospace program and served as part of its management team.  He was responsible for overseeing a team of 15 flight instructors to ensure training was being conducted safely and in compliance with all FAA regulations.  Mr. Hendron was also responsible for collaborating with other members of the management team to develop, implement, and evaluate new policies to ensure training was conducted as efficiently and safely as possible.

Upon leaving UND Aerospace in 2017, Mr. Hendron joined PAI as an Aviation Analyst.  In this role, he was part of a team of individuals to support the twice-yearly Aviation Safety InfoShare (InfoShare) meeting, which is attended by more than 1,000 participants, including a variety of aviation safety professions (Government, commercial, and general aviation operators; corporate and business operators; associations; and international operators).  In this 3-day confidential meeting, Government and industry representatives share aviation safety concerns and discuss current aviation safety issues and mitigations to improve safety in the National Airspace System (NAS) and beyond.  PAI supports InfoShare meeting logistics including venue identification and coordination, sponsorship coordination, registration, onsite staffing, presentation collection and organization, audio-visual support, session support, and meeting material document preparation.

Mr. Hendron also supported aviation safety groups, including the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST), General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC), the GAJSC Safety Analysis Team (SAT), GA Metrics Working Group (GAMWG), and General Aviation Issue Analysis Team (GA IAT).  He made use of his general aviation background while capturing notes and action items and producing records of meeting.

While at PAI, Mr. Hendron helped maintain the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) Event Database, which is used to apply the CAST/ICAO Common Taxonomy Team (CICTT) taxonomy to code important factors in aviation accidents, incidents, and events.  This work included making changes, additions, and updates to the Access database used to catalog events.  He also analyzed and cataloged incident and accident reports by applying the CICTT taxonomy to code important factors in those events.  Along with other PAI analysts, Mr. Hendron helped identify needed data standards and clarifications or improvements to the business rules usage notes in the CICTT taxonomies, which were ultimately submitted to CICTT for consideration and adoption into the taxonomies for the benefit of the international aviation community.

In 2019, Mr. Hendron transitioned to Endeavor Air, where he worked in the training department as a Flight Operations Curriculum Developer.  In this role, he was responsible for developing Endeavor Air’s Basic Indoctrination, General Subjects, and Continuing Qualification curriculums in accordance with FAA Advanced Qualification Program standards.  Mr. Hendron employed software such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Articulate 360, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier Pro, and Adobe Audition to generate engaging multimedia training content for use with Endeavor Air’s Learning Management System.  He was also responsible for evaluating the training’s effectiveness and using that feedback to improve future training.

In March 2020, Mr. Hendron accepted a position as an Aeronautical Information Specialist with Leidos.  In this role, he provided technical expertise to the FAA Aeronautical Information Group and Flight Procedures teams.  Mr. Hendron was responsible for maintaining airport and navigation aid data for Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas in the FAA aeronautical databases.

Concurrent with his position at Leidos, Mr. Hendron worked part‑time for Capitol Technology University (CTU) as a Professor of Practice.  At CTU, he was responsible for developing aviation course content for a new FAA 14 CFR part 141 professional pilot program, as well as overseeing adjunct faculty in the Aviation and Business programs.  Mr. Hendron was also tasked with several administrative functions, including course scheduling, employee reviews, and student advising.

In addition to his current Staff Analyst responsibilities with PAI, Mr. Hendron is working as an Aviation Safety Officer for GrandView Aviation.  In this role, he is responsible for assisting the Director of Safety in managing the company’s Safety Management System (SMS).  Mr. Hendron is also tasked with reviewing and investigating hazard and incident reports and helping the company develop mitigation strategies.  His duties also include measuring and tracking Safety Performance Indicators, monitoring industry safety concerns, conducting internal safety audits, participating in external safety audits, and measuring the results of safety initiatives.

Mr. Hendron is currently pursuing his master’s degree in aviation at UND.  Throughout his studies, he has taken many courses encompassing research, data analysis, and writing.  In Aviation Safety Analysis, Mr. Hendron gained experience analyzing, writing about, and presenting safety data in a clear and concise manner.  In Aviation Research Methods, he furthered his skills using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed‑method research approaches in research project development.  As part of his Aviation Capstone course, Mr. Hendron worked with an interdisciplinary group of aviation professionals to investigate the dangers of distraction caused by personal electronic device use in the cockpit.  With this group, he conducted a safety risk analysis of current regulations and drafted a recommendation for their further expansion.

Mr. Hendron is also conducting research to complete a thesis as part of the requirements for his master’s degree—a mixed‑methods analysis of the relationship between hazardous attitudes and compliance with sterile cockpit procedures in a part 141 training environment.