Captain Mark Tatton currently holds the position of Check and Training Captain for Bonza and has held numerous training leadership roles over the years. Mark hales from Tasmania and started his training journey as an instructor with the Tasmanian Aero Club in 1987. Mark’s passion for training and imparting his knowledge and high standards has continued from that first instructional role.

Mark quickly moved into airlines, flying with Skywest as a Twin Otter Training Captain in Kununurra, amongst other key flying roles and then a move on to the Boeing 737-300 with Ansett Australia. Mark conducted Simulator instruction in his six years with Ansett before a number of flying roles on Kingairs, Boeing 727s and Boeing 737NG before making the move to Dubai to fly the Emirates Boeing 777. In the eight years with Emirates, Mark became a Boeing 777 Type Rating Instructor and Examiner and conducted other roles including contributing on the Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) Steering Committee and as a LOSA Observer.

Mark left Emirates to return to Australia as an Airbus A320 pilot with Tigerair and with his wealth of training knowledge and experience was called upon to prepare for the transition of Tigerair from the Airbus A320 to the Boeing 737NG. Mark was the Aircraft Introduction Team Technical and Check and Training Captain for the Boeing 737, culminating in Mark holding a number of management positions, including Standards Check Captain, Training Manager Boeing 737, Deputy Head of Training and Checking. Unfortunately, in 2020 with the industry impacted by COVID, Tigerair closed the doors and Mark moved on. Mark’s passion and enthusiasm was not stifled at that point, he quickly renewed his CASA Grade 2 Flight Instructor rating with multi engine and IFR training endorsements, qualified as a lead auditor and commenced casual and contract instructing and charter flying. In addition, Mark gained his Senior Flight Instructor approval through Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus) and worked with a local flying school.

More recently Mark has ventured back into airlines, spending time as a B737NG Type Rating Instructor with Qantas and in the last 10 months as an inaugural Check and Training Captain for Bonza on the Boeing 737 MAX8. Mark often freely dedicates his time to continuously learning about aviation, attending aviation and safety forums and being available as a mentor for people at all stages within their flying journey.

A summary of some of his key achievements:

• Development of manuals and training programs ranging from RAAus and GA to International Airlines. 
• Management and of the aircraft Check and Training systems through transition from Airbus A320 to Boeing 737NG, including frequent checking and training in simulators and on the line.
• Contributing as a start-up Check and Training Captain with Bonza, including Operating Bonza’s inaugural passenger service. 
• Contributes to safety forums as a flight operations subject matter expert to continuously improve airline safety.
• Interviewed and approved as a Head of Training and Checking postholder by CASA. 
• Mentoring flying school owners and new pilots.

For his service to Recreational Aviation, General Aviation and the airlines, through developing and imparting high training standards, Captain Mark Tatton is awarded the Captain John Ashton Memorial Award.

2019  Captain David Evans

2020  Captain Graham Stokes FRAeS

2021  Royal Flying Doctor Queensland Section

2022  not awarded

2023  Captain Mark Tatton