Flyht Aerospace appoints new CEO

A Calgary company selling technology that can send an aircraft’s flight data — the critical information stored in black boxes — from the air to the ground in an emergency is undergoing an executive suite reorganization.

Flyht Aerospace Solutions Ltd. announced Monday that Bill Tempany is retiring from his role as chief executive after 12 years to become chairman of the board. It said Matt Bradley, who took over as president of the company from Tempany in January 2014, has resigned to pursue new career opportunities.

Flyht announced Tom Schmutz, a decorated U. S. army captain with 30 years of experience in aerospace and telecommunications industry leadership, has been appointed the new CEO. Most recently, Schmutz spent nine years with L- 3 Communications Corp. in the Aviation Recorders division. He is a graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and also has an MBA from the University of South Florida.

“My retirement is the culmination of work to structure Flyht for success including changes to the board, a solid team to deliver solutions, opportunities to make Flyht a global force in aviation and a new CEO to lead the charge,” said Tempany in a news release.

Flyht’s premier technology, called AFIRS UpTime, allows airlines to monitor and manage aircraft operations. If an aircraft encounters an emergency, Flyht’s triggered data streaming mode, FlyhtStream, automatically streams black box data to sites on the ground.

The company’s share price has varied with perception of need for its products, with stock spiking at more than 75 cents in early 2014 after a Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared on a flight to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. A piece of wing from the plane recently washed up on Reunion Island, thousands of kilometres from the main search area.

The shares were little changed at 21 cents on Monday. They’ve varied between 13 cents and 53 cents in the past year.