No Plane No Gain Message to Be Focus at BASS

April 1, 2013

In addition to promoting operational safety throughout the business aviation industry, an upcoming seminar also aims to mobilize support for the No Plane No Gain advocacy campaign.

Attendees of the 58th Annual Business Aviation Safety Seminar (BASS), to be held from April 10 to 11 at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada, will hear the message of No Plane No Gain featured prominently.

NBAA has co-sponsored BASS – formerly known as the Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar – since 1998. Kevin Hiatt, president and CEO of Flight Safety Foundation, said his organization changed the event’s name for 2013 in order to promote greater collaboration with NBAA and its business aviation members.

“The foundation recognizes there is synergy to be gained by working together on important safety issues that affect the business aviation community,” he added. “By opening our 2013 BASS with the ‘No Plane, No Gain’ video, it further solidifies both organizations’ commitment to each other.”

The two-day event focuses exclusively on safety issues affecting business aviation users, pilots and flight departments. A wide range of topics will be discussed, including international flight operations, operator training and professionalism, criminalization of accidents and complacency in business aviation safety.

“Business aviation has its own nuances and scenarios that require safety programs that are tailored to them, instead of lumping those operations in with other segments of the industry,” Hiatt noted. “In addition to those challenges, business aircraft operators often must perform several different roles at their company, without the benefit of the larger staffs at major air carriers.”

BASS allows operators to collaborate with peers about best safety practices, with smaller outfits benefitting from the lessons and practices of larger operations.

“One of the most noteworthy topics of discussion will be evidence-based training, provisions of which were recently approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices,” Hiatt added. “This allows operators to focus in on specific areas for improvement, rather than taking a broad-brush approach as in the past.”

This year’s seminar will also carry an international flair, with the Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA) co-sponsoring the event.

“We are pleased to have partnered with Flight Safety Foundation on the first-ever BASS to be held outside the United States,” said Debra Ward, director of marketing & industry relations at CBAA. “Our members hold themselves to the highest safety standards at home and abroad, and the Business Aviation Safety Seminar in Montreal gives them easy access to critical new information from the leading experts in this field.”

Doug Carr, NBAA’s vice president of safety, security, operations & regulation, noted that NBAA values the leadership of Flight Safety Foundation on important safety issues affecting the business aviation industry.

“This annual seminar is not only a unique opportunity to hear from business aviation safety leaders, but also allows operators to network with peers on other matters of vital importance to the industry,” Carr concluded.