Steve Swift Pty Ltd

Award-winning airworthiness consulting, training and expert witness services

Steve is an aeronautical engineer with more than 40 years in the aviation business, in Australia and around the world.

Steve Swift Pty Ltd offers consulting, training and expert witness services. Our clients include designers, lawyers, maintainers, militaries, operators, regulators and universities from all over the world. We are based in Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. We are ready to serve you wherever you are in the world!

We have specialised expertise in airworthiness at all stages in the life of an aircraft, including:

  • design
  • certification
  • production
  • operation
  • maintenance
  • repair
  • modification

We cover all sizes and forms of aircraft, all construction materials, all regulatory environments (Australia, US, Europe and military as well as civil).

If you need CASA approval, we understand CASA’s requirements and approval processes (Steve worked at CASA for 26 years). We also understand the requirements and approval processes for other major airworthiness authorities.

News

Vale Dr David Hoeppner

Dr David Hoeppner

Dr David Hoeppner passed away on Friday, 18 February 2022, aged 86. Aircraft structural integrity lost a pioneer. I lost a mentor and friend.

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ICAF 2019: Plantema Lecture and Medal

On 5 June 2019, in Kraków, Poland, I was honoured to present the Plantema Memorial Lecture (the keynote address) and receive the Plantema Medal at the 30th Symposium of the International Committee on Aeronautical Fatigue and Structural Integrity (ICAF).

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IFA Conference and Workshop, Dubai

The ‘IFA’ is the International Federation of Airworthiness, for which I am a Board member and Vice-President for Australasia. This year’s Conference brought together participants from the Middle East and around the world to discuss the theme, ‘Best Practices in Safety Risk Management’.

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HOLSIP 2018

From 4th to 8th February 2018, I attended the 17th Annual Workshop on the Holistic Structural Integrity Process (HOLSIP) at Snowbird Lodge, near Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Briefly, HOLSIP says that when you analyse the strength and stiffness of any structure, not just for aircraft, you should consider:

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IFA Conference on training and Safety Management Systems

On 14th and 15th November I attended the annual conference of the International Federation of Airworthiness (IFA), for which I am the Vice-President for Australasia. The conference was kindly hosted by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department at their headquarters near the Hong Kong International Airport.

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NANDTB Seminar on Aircraft Inspection and Maintenance

NDT and maintenance experts from around Australia met for two days of presentations, discussions and exhibitions on the theme of ‘Higher Standards, Better Compliance’. Mr Jeff Boyd, Chairman of the CASA Board, gave the Keynote Address.

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ICAF 2017

In June I attended ICAF 2017, organised by the International Committee on Aeronautical Fatigue and Structural Integrity, in Nagoya, Japan. For more on ICAF and my active participation since 1995, please see my earlier post for ICAF 2015.

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Aviation Law Conference 2017

I attended this conference to help me keep in touch with the aviation lawyers who retain me as an expert witness. Although I always leave the legal issues to the lawyers, as I should, because it is important I don’t interfere in matters outside my expertise, I feel it is also important to understand my main audience for when I write my expert reports and give evidence in court.

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