Prescott Flight Team Wins Regionals for 30th Consecutive Year

SAFECON is a national competition that brings together more than 300 students from 30 colleges and universities from across the country to vie for team and individual pilot honors. The competition develops and advances aviation education through a strong emphasis on aviation safety. The Golden Eagles Flight Team now advances to the finals, to be held May 9-14, 2017, at The Ohio State University Airport. The team won their 10th national championship at last year's competition.

The Golden Eagles participated in the Region II competition, which included a total of six teams from Arizona and California and was hosted at San Jose State University in San Jose, Calif. Six students won individual first-place awards and the team finished first overall with 385 total points. San Jose State finished second with 110 points.

"Every member stepped up to the plate and proved that we have the skill and work ethic to not only win at regionals, but to make another strong run for a national championship in May," said team captain Nick Moore.

The National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) was established to develop and advance aviation education; to promote, encourage and foster safety in aviation; to promote and foster communications and cooperation between aviation students, educators, educational institutions and the aviation industry; and to provide an arena for collegiate aviation competition.

"This impressive performance was a complete team effort and is a testament to the dedication and hard work of the team members, and the quality flight training and instruction our students receive here at Embry-Riddle's western campus in Prescott, Arizona," said Chancellor Dr. Frank Ayers.

Top finishes for individual Embry-Riddle Prescott team members include:

Top Pilot: 1st place: Rachel Hutzell

Top Scoring Contestant: 1st place: Rachel Hutzell

Aircraft Preflight Inspection: 1st place: Nick Moore

Aircraft Recognition: 1st place: Nick Moore

Computer Accuracy: 1st place: Kevin Fickenscher

Ground Trainer: 1st place: Nick Moore

Instrument Precision Flight: 1st place: Stephen Anderson

Navigation: 1st place: Ryan O'Connor and Jake Cobian

Power-Off Landing: 1st place: Jake Cobian

Simulated Comprehensive Aircraft Navigation: 1st place: Bella Batbileg

The 2016-2017 Golden Eagles Flight Team are: Captain Nick Moore, Rachel Hutzell, Jake Cobian, Maddy Mearsch, Lorenzo Cabral, Spencer Thomas, Bella Batbileg, Matthew Hallock, Stephen Anderson, Daniel Sullivan, Connor McNicholas, Kevin Fickenscher, Ben Klinkman-Sinatra, Colin Kennedy, Ryan O'Connor, Jane Possell, Shannon Burns, Daniel Lee, Becca Laub, Matthew Masangcay, Jason Fung, Colin Ho-Tseung, Kamia Bradley, Arin Ojehomon, Daniel Fierro, Anthony Platt, Josh Rebel, David Lin, Head Coach Bert Aagesen, Assistant Coaches Samuel Morris and Farrel Harris.

For the entire list of results from the 2016 Region II SAFECON, visit

https://nifa.aero/wp-content/uploads/2016-Region-II-SAFECON-Official-Results.pdf

For more information on the Golden Eagles Flight Team, go to www.flygoldeneagles.com.