InterPilot Aviation Safety Foundation
Who We Are
The InterPilot Aviation Safety Foundation (“IPASF” or “the Foundation”) – is an independent, non-profit, international organization engaged in research, education, advocacy, and communications to improve aviation safety. IPASF was established in 2020 as a Canadian charity.
The Foundation’s aim is to connect, influence, and lead international civil aviation safety, security, and environmental sustainability.
Its purpose reads:
“To advance education by providing publicly available scholarships, bursaries and other forms of financial assistance to individuals for aviation safety courses.”
Initial funding was donated by the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA).
Board of Directors
Rod LYPCHUK, President
Airline Pilot, Jazz
Captain Rod Lypchuk has flown for Jazz Airlines for nearly 4 decades and is currently a CRJ Captain based in Vancouver. A graduate of Selkirk college Aviation program in 1982, Rod has worked throughout Canada and the North as a pilot and flight instructor.
At Jazz and its subsidiaries, he has had the opportunity to work and volunteer with ALPA-I(Airline Pilots’ Association-International) in the areas of safety, negotiations, and finance since 1992. Rod participated in the Air Canada restructuring in 2003-2004 and has worked on the negotiations of several contracts as well as with a 4-way merger of airlines.
Rod joined IFALPA (International Federation of Airline Pilots’ Associations) in 2000 as a member of the Administration & Finance Committee. . Rod has served the Federation as Chair of the Administration & Finance Committee, Executive Vice-President Administration, Membership, & Finance, and currently, as Executive Vice-President Caribbean & North America.
In Canada, Captain Lypchuk has been Vice President of ALPA Canada (Airline pilots Association, International) since 2019. He works with the Canadian government, regulators, and other unions and helps in the organizing of independent pilot groups to get the representation they require. Rod previously served ALPA Canada as Vice President Administration & Finance.
Rod lives in Vancouver BC with his wife Sandy where they enjoy the outdoors, especially hiking, and spending time with their children and grandchildren.
Ron HAY, Director
Airline pilot, Delta Air Lines
Captain Hay flies for Delta Air Lines and is based in Los Angeles. He has been an instructor and line pilot for over 30 years with four different airlines. He currently serves as Executive Vice President Administration, Membership & Finance of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA), and as an instructor for the IFALPA Negotiations Seminars, after being IFALPA’s Regional Vice President US/Central Pacific. At the Air Line Pilots’ Association International (ALPA-I), Cpt Hay negotiated several contracts to include the merger of Northwest and Delta Air Lines, and served as a local council representative, as well as on multiple committees, including Merger, Grievance, Strategic Planning, and Government Affairs.
John Israel Galambos
Lawyer, Partner, KPMG Law LLP
John Israel Galambos is a lawyer and a partner with the national law firm of KPMG Law LLP, and is the practice leader of the KPMG Family Office (Quebec). He specializes in tax and corporate law and has significant experience with charities and not-for-profit corporations. He also teaches on a part-time basis at the Faculty of Law of McGill University and at the Ordre des CPA du Québec. As a home-grown Montrealer, he is fluently bilingual, and in his spare time acts as assistant coach for his son’s hockey team.
Amornvaj MANSUMITCHAI, Director
Airline Pilot, Thai Airways
Amornvaj “Ben” Mansumitchai is the President of IFALPA, the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations. In this role, Captain Mansumitchai is responsible for all aspects of IFALPA’s activities and guides the governance of the Federation. Prior to be elected as the President in 2023, Captain Mansumitchai was the Deputy President between 2017-2023, the Executive Vice President for the Asia/Pacific Region between 2011 and 2017 and the Regional Vice President for Asia East region between 2007 and 2011.
Capt. Mansumitchai received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. He joined Thai Airways in 1990 as a pilot cadet. Over the course of his career with Thai Airways he has spent time on the A300-B4, A300-600, B744, B734 (TRE and TRI), A330&A340 (TRE, TRI and test pilot). His currently type rating is the Airbus A380-800 and A350-900.
Christoph SCHEWE, Director
Born in Northern Germany, Christoph Schewe started his professional career in 1985 in the German military. 14 years as an active officer in the German Air Force in various assignments, including earning a diploma in business administration, shaped Christoph’s planning, leadership, and training skills. Subsequently, he expanded his experience in the private sector in a two-year trainee program at the Allianz Insurance.
Passionate about aviation safety, in 2002, Christoph decided to return to this field and became Technical Director of the German Air Line Pilots’ Association/ Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) in Frankfurt, a non-profit professional organization; his responsibilities included managing national working groups of pilot volunteers, organize their meetings and external engagements, and to advocate for aviation safety. In addition, he served as Head of Personnel for several years.
Since July 2013, Christoph resides in Montreal, Canada, and held the position of Managing Director at the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Association (IFALPA) for over 10 years. In this international non-profit organization, he oversaw the personnel, organizational matters, finances, and activities of the Federation with its over 70 member associations, representing over 110,000 airline pilots.
Christoph continues his military career with the German Air Force Reserve where he holds the rank of a colonel. He loves to travel the world and to engage in international networking.
Strategic Partners
IPASF and Aéro Montréal recognize the mutual benefits arising from the operation of the Foundation and are jointly committed to collaborating closely in a strategic partnership and have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in April 2021.
Created in 2006, Aéro Montréal is a strategic think tank that groups all major decision makers in Québec’s aerospace sector, including companies, educational and research institutions, as well as associations and unions.
