Nov. 7, 2014
NBAA was quick to respond to the biased and inaccurate characterizations of the safety of general aviation (GA), published in a recent article in The Gannett Company’s flagship publication, USA Today, alleging that GA manufacturers and federal regulators have deliberately withheld safety improvements to reduce the risk of post-impact aircraft fires.
Within 24 hours after publication of the article – headlined “Investigation: Post-crash fires in small planes cost 600 lives“ – NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen submitted an editorial not only to USA Today, but also to every Gannett-owned media property nationwide that published all or part of that original article.
Bolen’s response began by noting that it was particularly unsettling that the story was published without any reference to the most recent data from the National Transportation Safety Board, published just a month before the article ran, demonstrating that GA safety is, in fact, the strongest it has ever been.
On Nov. 6, USA Today responded by running a portion of Bolen’s letter, properly noting that “[our] industry has invested significantly in a host of new safety technologies over the past 20 years. Furthermore, these technologies – and the aircraft – must adhere to rigorous government certification standards.”
Equally important, as of this writing, approximately eight other newspapers across the country have published this letter, including the Lafayette (IN) Journal & Courier; Battle Creek (MI) Enquirer; the [Fort Myers, FL] News-Press; The [Salinas] Californian; the [Cherry Hill, NJ] Courier-Post; the Baxter (AR) Bulletin; the Vineland (NJ) Daily Journal; and the St. Cloud (MN) Times.
This latest mischaracterization of GA aircraft safety came on the heels of another USA Today report that ran this summer, “Unfit for Flight,” in which the newspaper implied the general aviation is inherently unsafe. In that instance too, NBAA sent letters to the editor of USA Today and to the more than 50 Gannett properties that published all or a portion of the article.
“NBAA is committed to dispelling media distortions about general aviation,” said Dan Hubbard, NBAA senior vice president, communications. “We know that for our Members, and the industry as a whole, safety is priority one. Misguided media stories like these create a negative perception of our industry for the public, and the Association will continue to correct inaccurate information and present accurate, truthful data.”
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.