Profile

I was born in Spain from Italian parents.  I grew up in Madrid.  I flew fighter jets and helicopters for the Italian Air Force.  I live in Ayr since 2003.  I like motor racing and football. When I am not away for work, I like to take long walks to keep fit.  I like cooking and baking. I like amateur photography and I am member of a local Photo Club

I am a Pilot, Air Accident Investigator, and a full time Auditor in the field of Aviation.

My job consists in visiting airlines and helicopter companies all over the world to verify that their organization, safety management system, flight operations, training, and maintenance are conducted in accordance with applicable rules, regulations and international standards. I also inspect airplanes and helicopters to verify that they are in acceptable flight conditions, have all the equipment required and their maintenance history is up to date.

My job also includes inspecting airports, heliports on land and helidecks offshore to verify that they are constructed, operated and maintained in accordance with applicable regulations and standards.

I have conducted audits and inspections in 59 different countries over 5 continents.

I flew fighter jets and combat search and rescue helicopters for the Italian Air Force for 25 years.  I left the Air Force with the rank of Colonel.

After the Air Force, I worked at the United Nations in New York for 8 years as Chief of the Aviation Safety Unit in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO).

I have been an independent auditor for the last 17 years.  My company is called AviaSafety Consulting International.

All in all, I have 50 years of experience in Aviation.

I have two typical days, one when I am working from home in Ayr, one when I am travelling to conduct an audit, normally abroad.

When I am home I wake up around 7:15 I listen to a morning program on the Spanish Radio Cadena Cope for about 20 minutes in bed (I like to enjoy the first minutes of the day still in bed slowly waking up) then I do my morning exercise routine using elastic bands for 45 minutes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays I do stretching  for about 10 minutes. On  Sundays I rest 🙂

I then have a shower, shave, get my medicines and have breakfast with cereals, fruit, goats milk and yogurt. In the morning I work at my computer until lunch time preparing audit reports or preparing training material, normally in the form of Power Point presentations.

This is my work space at home.

In the afternoon I go for my daily walk (minimum 3 km – maximum 8 km) then I relax reading or playing with the Xbox or doing some work at home. In the evenings I watch a bit of TV and then I go to bed about 10:30 pm.  When there is football or F1 or Moto GP races I watch them.  I support Real Madrid and AC Milan and watch their games every time I can.

When I am abroad for work I normally stay at hotels with the other members of my team.  I get up early, around 6:30, shower, shave and then go for breakfast, where I meet with the rest of my team. After, we go to the offices of the company we are auditing.  We introduce ourselves and start the working day with a briefing to illustrate the audit procedures and to establish the actions for the day.  The audit work is very intense and times literally flies away.  Lunch is normally based on sandwiches or similar and takes 30 minutes or less.   Then we continue work until 6 or 7 pm. I then return to the hotel and have dinner chatting about the events of the day with my team. When abroad there is not much chance to watch TV or relax, but I like to read for a while before going to sleep to wash my mind from the events of the day. I normally go to bed around 10 pm to have a nice night sleep and be ready for another long day at work.