Baines Simmons appoints Mike Da Silva as consultant

Baines Simmons, part of the Consulting & Training division of global aviation services group Air Partner, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mike Da Silva as consultant. He will report directly to Mike Wallace, Head of Operations.

Mike is a practitioner and manager in Initial Airworthiness, Certification, Test and Evaluation, and Safety Management Systems (SMS), covering both military and civil environments. Having successfully achieved design and flight test approvals and implemented a SMS, Mike has practical experience in understanding the requirements and expectations of regulators and can advise clients on the best course of action to achieve success in gaining approvals.

Mike started his career in aviation in the RAF as an Avionics Technician before becoming a Flight Test Engineer, supporting flight trials on Tornado Radar and Weapons Systems at both BAE and DERA Boscombe Down. He became Head of Test & Evaluation at Marshall Aerospace in 2001 before being appointed Head of Airworthiness at Raytheon in 2011, where he had responsibility for the management of governance issues within Airworthiness across the organisation.

Commenting on the new appointment, Ian Holder, Managing Director at Baines Simmons, said: “We are delighted to welcome another highly skilled individual to the growing Baines Simmons team. Mike’s extensive experience in Initial Airworthiness, Certification, Test and Evaluation and Safety Management Systems will be complementary to our service offering, as well as beneficial to a number of our customers.”