NBAA Update Archive

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NBAA Update #02-09
Monday, March 4, 2002

PART 135 OPERATORS MAY FILE CREW/PAX MANIFESTS VIA NBAA.ORG
NBAA has completed an online Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) submission service to allow Part 135 operators to comply with new requirements to electronically transmit passenger and crew manifest to U.S. Customs before arriving in the United States. On February 18, the U.S. Customs Service began issuing fines of up to $10,000 to Part 135 operators that failed to electronically transmit passenger and crew manifests to U.S. Customs, despite that fact the neither the operators nor Customs had a system in place to deal with non-airline information. NBAA's online APIS submission service was developed an interim solution to the problem. NBAA has requested that U.S. Customs suspend enforcement of the regulation until U.S. Customs can develop a long-term solution.
https://www.nbaa.org/part135/customs/

NBAA HOLDS THIRD DCA ACCESS UPDATE
Over eighty people attended NBAA's third DCA Access Update held at Reagan National Airport (DCA) earlier today. NBAA President Jack Olcott, in addition to DCA Airport Manager Chris Browne and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Director of Civil Aviation Policy and Planning Lee Longmire updated attendees on progress towards restoring general aviation access to DCA. Longmire briefed the group about a meeting held last week, attended by FAA, TSA, US Secret Service, Homeland Security and Department of Defense personnel that discussed possible solutions for DCA, including lessons learned from Salt Lake City Olympic procedures, establishment of designated airports through which GA aircraft must travel and procedures to validate that any accepted procedures are in place and are being used. Longmire also stated that he hopes to have an implementation and approval timeline in place by NBAA's next DCA Access Update, scheduled for April 8, 2002. Any proposal submitted to restore GA access to DCA must be approved by the TSA and the US Secret Service. Jack Donovan, recently appointed by Longmire will act as the general aviation security staff point of contact within TSA.
www.nbaa.org/airports/DCA

NBAA REQUESTS MEMBER SUPPORT TO RESTORE GA ACCESS TO DCA
NBAA has developed a template letter for use by business aircraft operators to communicate to Congress the importance of restoring general aviation access to Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The template calls for action by the Office of Homeland Security and Departments of Transportation and Treasury no later than March 31, 2002.
www.nbaa.org/gov

DON'T DELAY YOUR DRVSM PREPARATIONS
It is vital that the business aviation community start preparing now for Domestic Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (DRVSM) implementation. Learn more on the NBAA Web site at:
http://www.nbaa.org/digest/2002/02/top.htm

IRS ACQUIESCES ON PERSONAL USE ISSUES
The IRS has acquiesced to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Sutherland Lumber-Southwest, Inc. v. Commissioner. The IRS had attempted to limit a company's business deduction relating to aircraft used for employee vacation flights to the amount the employer had imputed in income; however, both the U.S. Tax Court and the 8th Circuit, on appeal, held in favor of the taxpayer company and against the IRS. The IRS acquiescence, published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin No. 2002-6, is not an affirmative statement of IRS position, is not intended to serve as public guidance and cannot be used as legal precedent in court proceedings. Rather, it lets IRS personnel working on the same or similar issues know that they should follow the holding in the Sutherland case in disposing of other cases with the same controlling facts.
http://www.nbaa.org/taxes

NEW ASIAN BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION HOLDS RECEPTION
On February 26 at the Singapore Air Show, NBAA sponsored a reception for the newly formed Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA), which attracted more than 50 business aviation representatives, including operators, manufacturers, service providers, and civil aviation personnel. NBAA President Jack Olcott spoke on the value of business aviation around the world, and Don Spruston, director general of the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), emphasized the importance of regional associations to the international business aviation community. For information regarding membership in the AsBAA, contact NBAA's Bob Blouin at rblouin@nbaa.org.

AVIATION FUNDING AT RISK IN IOWA
On February 28, the Iowa Legislature Joint Assembly Subcommittee on Infrastructure and Transportation released a recommendation for the 2003 budget, which eliminated all funding for aviation programs administered by the Iowa DOT Office of Aviation, including all funding for general aviation airports. The legislature was scheduled to reconvene today to consider this recommendation, and debate may extend into Tuesday, March 5. NBAA encourages all persons interested in the health and vitality of Iowa aviation to respond as quickly as possible. For further information, visit the Iowa Public Airports Association at www.iowaairports.org or contact Mike Salamonel, Iowa Public Airports Association secretary/treasurer, at (515) 256-5100 or NBAA's John Balsiger at jbalsiger@nbaa.org.

AVOID DELAYS AND CONGESTION AT ATLANTA-AREA AIRPORTS
On the afternoon of Thursday, March 7, approximately 360 aircraft will arrive at Clayton County-Tara Field (4A7) in Hampton, GA for a NASCAR race. These aircraft are scheduled to depart immediately following the race, the afternoon of Sunday, March 10. Arrivals and departures on these dates also could be delayed at Hartsfield International (ATL), Fulton County (FTY), DeKalb-Peachtree (PDK) and Falcon-Peachtree (FFC) airports in the Atlanta, GA area. For more information about how NASCAR racing schedules could affect
your travel plans, visit www.nascar.com or contact NBAA's Dean Saucier at dsaucier@nbaa.org.

TEB NEIGHBORS PLAN TO SUE FOR AIR POLLUTION STUDY
Thirteen towns in Bergen County, NJ have filed notice that they plan on suing the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in an attempt to persuade the Port Authority to spend about $300,000 to perform a study to determine if air pollution will increase as air traffic increases at Teterboro Airport (TEB) in Teterboro, NJ. For more information, contact NBAA's Dean Saucier at dsaucier@nbaa.org.

FIRST CALIFORNIA GENERAL AVIATION BILL NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
California Assemblyman Maldonado has introduced AB 2719 (2001-2002), which attempts to use California Transportation Commission (CTC) Technical Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (TACA) recommendations to develop aviation-friendly legislative proposals and transfer taxes already being paid via jet fuel excise taxes from the general fund to the Department of Aeronautics for use in airport safety and security grants. However, the bill significantly reduces the discretion of the Department of Aeronautics, the CTC and the CTC-TACA. For information contact NBAA's Dan Burkhart at dburkhart@nbaa.org.

LAS RNAV DEPARTURES AND ARRIVALS UNDER REVIEW
The FAA has scheduled a Las Vegas Four Cornerpost Strategy Meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 19 at the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) Commissioners Conference Room, 5th Floor, Main Terminal. Items for discussion are short- and long-term changes regarding area navigation (RNAV) departures and arrivals at LAS. To date, the FAA officials have received valuable industry feedback from NBAA Members and they welcome continued Member input. Direct questions or concerns to David Tyson, SM, L30, at (702) 262-5945 or NBAA's Dan Burkhart at dburkhart@nbaa.org.

TEXAS AVIATION ASSOCIATION TO CREATE AUS TENANTS GROUP
The Texas Aviation Association (TXAA) board of directors met on February 27 to discuss the formation of an Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) Tenants Group to procure insurance for the newly constructed hangars at the airport, which are ready for occupancy but are standing vacant due to city insurance requirements. For more information, contact TXAA at www.txaa.org or NBAA's Paul Smith at psmith@nbaa.org.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: HUMAN FACTORS PROGRAM
At the NBAA 55th Annual Meeting & Convention this September in Orlando, NBAA will present a program on issues related to human factors in business aviation, such as fatigue, crew resource management, automation in the cockpit and maintenance human factors. This Human Factors Program will be either one or two days in length and either precede or follow the Convention. If you would like to participate in this event as a presenter, contact NBAA's Jay Evans with your proposal by March 18 at jevans@nbaa.org.
www.nbaa.org/conventions/2002

BASICS EVENT THIS WEEK IN SOUTH DAKOTA
NBAA is hosting a free Business Aviation Seminar for Information, Concepts and Solutions (BASICS) in Aberdeen, SD on Wednesday, March 6 in conjunction with the Annual South Dakota Airport Conference. For more details about this week's activities in South Dakota, contact NBAA's Paul Smith at psmith@nbaa.org. To register for the BASICS, contact June DeFontes at jdefontes@nbaa.org.
www.nbaa.org/seminars/basics

APRIL REACHBAC EVENTS IN TEXAS
NBAA will host several Texas REACHBAC events this April. To RSVP for these free events, contact NBAA's Benjamin Jones at bjones@nbaa.org. For details about individual REACHBAC events, visit:
www.nbaa.org/reachbac

BUSINESS AVIATION SECURITY BRIEFING IN VAN NUYS MARCH 6
Global Aerospace Underwriting Managers (Associated Aviation Underwriters) and Universal Weather & Aviation will host their third Business Aviation Security Briefing on Wednesday, March 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Airtel Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Van Nuys, CA. Ed Williams of Global Aerospace/AAU, Dick Kimm of Universal Weather & Aviation and aviation consultant "Pen" Pendarvis will present sessions on international terrorism, FAR Part 91 and 135 security, FAA and other security issues, and weakest links, threats and risks. Pre-registration is mandatory for this free event, which includes refreshments and lunch. For details or to pre-register, contact Williams at ewilliams@global-aero.com or NBAA's Dan Burkhart at dburkhart@nbaa.org.

NBAA MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN DALLAS SECURITY BRIEFING
NBAA Regional Representative Paul Smith reports that the recent Business Aviation Security Briefing held in Dallas (hosted by Global Aerospace Underwriting Managers and Universal Weather & Aviation) was an "outstanding success." NBAA Member Company representatives from Austin, Houston, New Orleans and San Antonio and representatives from local business aviation groups such as the Addison Business Aviation Association (ABAA) and the Love Field Pilots Association (LFPA) were in attendance. Smith was on hand to discuss NBAA's best practices for business aviation security. To attend future Business Aviation Security Briefings, contact Ed Williams at ewilliams@global-aero.com.