General aviation has been nominated for the 2010 Robert J. Collier Trophy for its role in saving thousands of lives in Haiti.
Small aircraft carried relief supplies to outlying airstrips and remote roads after an earthquake devastated the island nation in January 2010. The life-saving nature of those flights has been recognized by a joint resolution in Congress and other honors. The Collier Trophy, awarded by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), is awarded annually “for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America.”
The 2010 nominees also include the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System Fighter Risk Reduction program team, a U.S. Air Force/NASA collaboration; the MC-12W Project Liberty team; the Orion Launch Abort System development team; Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and the X2 technology demonstrator team; the Boeing Company C-17A Globemaster III team; and the hypersonic X-51A WaveRider team.
The winner will be announced March 15 at the NAA Spring Awards Luncheon, and the formal presentation of the trophy will take place May 5 at the 100th anniversary Collier Dinner. Neil Armstrong, Dick Rutan, and Richard Truly, all former Collier Trophy recipients, will participate in the selection committee for the 2010 trophy, NAA announced.
AOPA ePublishing staff
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