March 14, 2013
Regional aviation groups across the country are hosting a bevy of collaborative safety and training programs this spring to help business aircraft operators enhance their already-strong record of safe flying.
NBAA Southwest Regional Representative Steve Hadley noted two upcoming events in Texas, beginning March 18 to 20 with the Partnership for Corporate Aviation Training’s Safety Smackdown in San Antonio, TX. In addition to offering numerous beneficial safety seminars, Hadley pointed out that these events also offer a valuable opportunity for flight departments to work together to build upon the industry’s overall safety record.
“This is training that smaller flight departments with fewer resources may not have the time and ability to perform,” said Hadley. “The ability to share training with larger flight departments offers these smaller operators the chance to focus on overall safety and efficiency at a very low cost per person.”
That event will be followed April 3 by the inaugural “Safety Show-Down” hosted by the North Texas Business Aviation Association (NTBAA). “Since NTBAA was founded in 2008, it’s always been a goal of ours to host a safety forum,” said group President Marj Rose. “Over the past year we’ve had more people become involved from the operational side of the industry, and that really helped bring this event together.”
To be held at Addison Airport (ADS) near Dallas, TX, the NTBAA Safety Show-Down will include morning and afternoon sessions, with presentations on a range of topics, including fatigue, upset recovery, handling in-flight emergencies, and proper development and implementation of a safety management system (SMS).
“[NTBAA member] Eric Carson really helped bring our safety subcommittee together and was instrumental in suggesting topics for discussion,” Rose noted. The event will also feature a lunchtime presentation by NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen.
The next day, April 4, the Pacific Northwest Business Aviation Association (PNBAA) will host its Fifth Annual Safety Day at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, WA. “This is the leading and most value-added educational safety event offered in the Pacific Northwest,” said NBAA Northwest Regional Representative Kristi Ivey. “The level of dedication that PNBAA commits to delivering a full day of exceptional learning opportunities is commendable.”
Multiple topics affecting the business aviation industry will be addressed at the PNBAA Safety Day, including an industry update on recent general aviation security and safety initiatives, presented by Doug Carr, NBAA vice president for safety, security, operations & regulation.
The next few months will also bring regional safety events to business aircraft operators near Tampa, FL; Chicago, IL; and Washington, DC.
In addition to these events, a series of comprehensive fatigue-management seminars – hosted by NBAA and the Connecticut Business Aviation Group (CBAG), Morristown Aviation Association (MAA), Massachusetts Business Aviation Association (MBAA), Teterboro Users Group (TUG) and the Massachusetts Airport Management Association (MAMA) – will be offered June 17 at New Jersey’s Morristown Municipal Airport (MMU); June 18 at Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport (BDR) in Bridgeport, CT; and June 20 at Bentley University in Waltham, MA.
Presented by researchers at Alertness Solutions, each free fatigue-management seminar will run from 8 a.m. to noon, and is an approved course under the Certified Aviation Manager (CAM) program. To register for one of these events, email NBAA’s Dean Saucier at dsaucier@nbaa.org for more information.
Additionally, the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) regularly offers its Fundamentals of IS-BAO workshops at locations across the U.S. and around the globe.
“While these safety events are often held by individual associations separate from NBAA, it’s important for our Association to help promote these efforts that help improve safety, training, and efficiency of flight operations of all sizes,” Hadley concluded.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.