Robert Berger is honored for his contributions to aviation safety

Safety is a top priority for Airbus Helicopters, the world’s leading manufacturer of helicopters, and, each year, the company issues several awards to programs, companies, and individuals who make significant contributions to aviation safety, and this year, 2020, one of those awards is coming to White County.

Robert Berger, with Erlanger’s Life Force 2 based at Upper Cumberland Regional Airport in northern White County, was recently announced as the recipient of the 2020 Jim Charlson Safety Award to be presented by Airbus.

According to Airbus, the Jim Charlson Aviation Safety Award is presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions promoting aviation safety within the air medical transport community.

Tim Perry, Life Force’s Regional Operations Supervisor, has worked with Berger since 1995 when Life Force first called Upper Cumberland Regional Airport home and said the award couldn’t have gone to a more deserving person.

“This is a big award, and I am very proud to know that Robert is this year’s recipient,” he said, adding that Airbus is a global company and looks at persons and organizations around the world when determining who they will award each year. “This really speaks to Robert’s commitment to safety.”

Berger has been a member of Life Force’s Safety Committee since its beginning, in 1996, and was named chairperson for the committee, in 2009, a position he still holds, but air safety has been a concern for him since his teen years.

He witnessed several traumatic events as a high school and college student, which he said left him feeling helpless and unprepared. These events, however, were pivotal in deciding Robert’s career path as a paramedic. In addition, he has always been fascinated by helicopters and especially helicopter safety. Growing up in North Carolina, he followed the Army’s deployment of the Blackhawk helicopter, which had several safety issues, and, even in those early years, Berger began compiling and studying reports of the crashes at Fort Bragg.

 Despite his diligence and preparedness that has been a lifetime commitment for him, Berger said the award isn’t just about him.

“This really speaks well for our program,” he said. “I may facilitate the program, but the majority of the issues that arise are taken care of by the various staff at each facility. Safety starts at the top, but it is definitely implemented by the line staff.”

Berger was awarded earlier this month when a representative from Airbus visited the Life Force 2 hangar at Upper Cumberland Regional Airport and then later was recognized via a virtual national ceremony.

“Upper Cumberland Regional Airport would like to congratulate one of our based pilots and a leader in the aeromedical services field and in aviation safety,” airport manager Dean Selby said about the announcement. “Being associated with such a professional group of pilots, flight nurses, flight paramedics, and mechanics reminds us daily of the contributions this group makes to society. From my office, I watch Erlanger/ Life Force depart multiple times daily, and, as I stop to watch them depart, I am torn between the feeling of awe watching the helicopter depart and sadness when it hits me that someone is having the worst day of their life.”

Selby expressed that maneuvering a helicopter is not an easy task, and to do so in high-stress moments with time rooting against you and often in a field, under less-than-ideal conditions rather than at an airport, makes the job even harder.

“To safely and effectively perform operations of this magnitude requires the utmost attention to safety,” Selby said. “This award being presented to one of our local professionals makes all of us very proud. Congratulations Robert.”

As for Berger, he said it is an honor to be considered among the 30 previous recipients of the Jim Charlson Safety Award.

“I looked back on the previous winners, and those were the people who drove me to do what I do,” Berger said. “Those are my heroes. To live up to them and the precedent they set was surreal. It is such a huge honor to have my name mentioned with theirs.”