ICAO released a business aviation fatigue management guide last week that contains recommendations made by the International Business Aviation Council, NBAA and the Flight Safety Foundation. It includes elements of principles and guidelines for duty and rest scheduling in business aviation that were produced in collaboration with NBAA’s Safety Committee, as well as guidelines for business aviation duty and rest developed by the Flight Safety Foundation.

“We are pleased that ICAO has endorsed this comprehensive guide, which now provides a global guide for best practices addressing fatigue in business aviation,” said NBAA vice president of regulatory and international affairs Doug Carr. “Three years ago the NBAA Safety Committee identified fatigue as a key safety issue for business aviation and partnered with the Flight Safety Foundation to update its standard-setting guide, which has long served the business aviation industry as a guide to minimizing the risks posed by fatigue.”

NBAA is encouraging business aircraft operators to combine the science-based information provided in this new manual with training to develop fatigue-mitigation programs, as well as fitness-for-duty programs that will reduce the safety risks associated with fatigue. “The 24/7 nature of business aviation, the severity of the consequences of fatigue and the frequency with which fatigue is being reported a concern are all evidence of the need to proactively manage this hazard,” said NBAA senior manager of safety and flight operations Mark Larsen.

Genesys Aerosystems received FAASTC approval for retrofitting its HeliSAS stability augmentation system and two-axis autopilot on Robinson R66s. It has been an option on factory-new R66s since last year and was previously STC’d for the Airbus Helicopters EC130 and AS350 series; Bell 206B JetRanger, 206L LongRanger and 407; and Robinson R44. EASASTC approval for the R66 is pending, Genesys said.

Weighing less than 15 pounds, HeliSAS reduces single-pilot workload while providing precise “hands off” control of the aircraft during all modes of flight, regardless of wind conditions or shifts in the aircraft’s weight, according to the company. Its attitude stabilization and force feel features also enhance the helicopter’s handling characteristics to mitigate inadvertent cyclic control inputs that could result in dangerous attitudes or loss of control, it added.

With the addition of the optional two-axis autopilot, HeliSAS can provide altitude hold, NAV hold, heading hold and vertical modes, which can track an ILS approach. HeliSAS with the two-axis autopilot costs $71,509, not including installation or attitude source. Without the autopilot, the price is $62,530.

The company plans to add at least three more helicopter models to its HeliSAS FAASTC list this year.

FlightSafety International, celebrating its 65^th anniversary today, recently introduced a master aviator certification program that builds on its initial and recurrent training. This program involves a series of advanced aircraft-specific and elective courses, as well as the completion of either initial or recurrent training once every eight months. The advanced courses include rejected takeoff go/no-go, crew resource management/human factors line-oriented flight training, and energy management. Other courses include upset prevention and recovery training.

The company was incorporated in New York on March 29, 1951, and by the end of that decade was involved in training programs for the first aircraft built specifically for business aviation—the Lockheed JetStar. “We will always be truly thankful to Al Ueltschi for founding this outstanding company,” said chairman, president and CEO Bruce Whitman. “Al’s vision, leadership, and commitment to safety are best summarized in his, and our, belief that the best safety device in any aircraft is a well-trained crew. This is as true and important today as it was in 1951.”

Since then, FlightSafety has grown to provide training for business aviation, commercial airlines and governments and military agencies worldwide, with nearly 1,800 instructors delivering more than 4,000 courses for 135 aircraft models.

The new Sapphire Pegasus Business Aviation Awards will be presented for the first time at an event in the Czech capital Prague on April 8. According to organizer Media Tribune, the awards attracted 87 nominations for the following categories: business jet operator, business aviation airport, lifetime achievement, woman in aviation, aircraft or charter broker, MRO facility, handler/FBO, innovation in business aviation, outstanding business aviation performance in Russia, business aviation journalist, innovation in business aviation, integration of social media and charity effort.

Award winners will be chosen through a process based on open voting (counting for 40 percent of scores) and the opinions of an advisory board of industry professionals and journalists (60 percent), including the following: European Business Aviation Association CEO Fabio Gamba, Russian United Business Aviation Association executive director Anna Serejkina, Central Europe Private Aviation chief executive Dagmar Grossmann, ABS Jets CEO Vladimir Petak, Media Tribune CEO Antonia Lukacinova, consultant and editor Bud Slabbaert, editor Elizabeth Moscrop, and Aerospace Media Dinner organizer Peter Bradfield. More details about the awards and how to vote can be found at www.spbaa.com.

The Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) will hold its third annual conference in Saudi Arabia on May 1 and 2. The event, to be held at Jeddah’s Hilton Hotel, will cover topics of local interest, including business aviation regulations, the gray charter market, airport access and aircraft registration.

Meanwhile, the main MEBAA Show in Dubai is expected to be 10-percent larger than previous editions of the biennial event when it returns to the Dubai World Central site from December 6 to 8. The 2014 show attracted 8,314 visitors and more than 420 exhibitors. This year’s show will again feature the “business aviation around the world” panel led by Kurt Edwards, director general of the International Business Aviation Council. Another feature is futures day, aimed at encouraging young people to pursue a career in the industry.

“A lot of feedback that we get from exhibitors is that the MEBAA show is the place to meet the right people in the industry, the decision makers and influencers from the key OEMs and suppliers,” said MEBAA founding chairman Ali Alnaqbi.

Charter booking platform Stratajet today introduced the option for customers to use Apple Pay to pay for flights. Apple Pay is a digital wallet that offers secure checkout for iPhones and iPads using Touch ID.

According to the UK-based company, the Stratajet app allows users to search for and book flights based on their current location and presents users with an array of charter options based on the most suitable airports for a particular journey. Customers are shown real-time pricing for these flights that they can lock into when they book online. The system can incorporate available empty legs, which brings down the cost of flights.

“We have seen a huge growth in demand for the use of our app and we know that most of that demand is coming from people who have iOS mobiles,” said Stratajet founder and CEO Jonny Nicol. “Offering Apple Pay to our customers adds to the many other ways Stratajet is making private jet travel accessible to a wider market.”

Textron Aviation has expanded its sales relationship with Santiago, Chile-based Aviasur to include Cessna products, allowing the company to offer the complete Beechcraft and Cessna product lines to the Chilean market. The announcement was made today at FIDAE International Air and Space Fair at the Santiago International Airport, where Textron Aviation is displaying its new Citation Latitude and M2, as well as a Beechcraft King Air 350ER, Cessna Grand Caravan EX and T-6 Texan military trainer/attack aircraft.

“Aviasur has proven to be a strong partner for Textron Aviation,” said regional vice president of sales for Latin America and Caribbean Bob Gibbs. “Its reputation for providing excellent customer support will bring added value to our customers in the region.” Aviasur has supported Beechcraft products as an authorized sales representative for more than five years and as an authorized service facility since 2012.

Textron Aviation claims to lead the Latin America jet market with more than 800 Citations based in the region. Sister company Bell Helicopter is also displaying a 505 Jet Ranger X, 407GXP and 429 at FIDAE.

Gulfstream Aerospace has received STC approval for installation of a Future Air Navigation System (FANS) 1/A+ upgrade on the GIV-SP. The manufacturer’s FANS package includes a Honeywell Mark III communications management unit and L-3 datalink cockpit voice recorder, required for storing datalink messaging. The system integrates with satcom via an Arinc 741 interface. 

“Like our solution for [the] GV, this system was developed by Gulfstream and Honeywell to fully integrate with the GIV-SP flight deck,” said Derek Zimmerman, president of Gulfstream product support. “It is not a stand-alone system. The full functionality of the flight management system—autothrottle, autopilot, vertical navigation—is retained. Operators will save time and fuel with access to preferred routing across the North Atlantic Ocean, and training on the system is fast, since flight crews are already proficient with the flight management system and control display unit.”

The GIV-SPFANSSTC allows operators to meet mandates for FANS equipage on certain North Atlantic routes and all MNPS airspace after Jan. 30, 2020. A more near-term advantage is the ability to obtain digital departure clearances (DCL) at some airports, now including Teterboro. Unlike the current pre-departure clearance system, which requires voice readback for any changes less than half an hour before departure, DCL is done entirely via the FMS in FANS-equipped airplanes, eliminating the need for pilots to try to break into crowded clearance delivery frequencies at busy airports. DCL will be available at 56 U.S. airports by year-end. 

“Voice communication is replaced by digital communication—text messaging,” said Zimmerman. “This reduces the potential for operational errors caused by language difficulties and results in more efficient and faster departures.”

The FAA has taken the next step toward its goal of transitioning to unleaded aviation gasoline (avgas) by the end of 2018, narrowing the field of potential replacement fuels to two for further testing. The agency selected unleaded fuel possibilities from Shell and Swift Fuel for Phase 2 of its Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI). These fuels were chosen from the four that the agency initially selected for testing in 2014, which themselves were selected from 17 possibilities offered for the PAFI program.

Phase 1 testing, which was completed in December, included conducting basic fit-for-purpose and chemical property laboratory evaluations, six rig tests, materials compatibility testing, engine testing and a toxicity and environmental impact evaluation of the chemical components of the fuels. According to the FAA, Phase 1 data enabled companies to update their feasibility assessments and examine production and distribution costs, along with environmental factors.

Following this testing, the FAA selected the two fuels that would have the least impact on the general aviation fleet and on the fuel production and distribution infrastructure, the agency said. The next round of testing is set to begin this summer and run through 2018.

Data derived from Phase 2 testing will be used to develop an ASTM International product specification and clear the way for the FAA to authorize the general aviation fleet to use the replacement fuels. Congress appropriated $7 million for the PAFI test program, which is being conducted at the FAA's William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J.

“Government and industry are successfully working together to lower aviation emissions,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “We’re on track to have unleaded aviation gasoline fully evaluated and ready to be authorized for use by the general aviation fleet in 2018.”

The agency estimates that approximately 167,000 general aviation aircraft in the U.S. currently rely on 100 octane low-lead avgas. General aviation is the last mode of transportation that still relies on leaded fuel, making it a target for environmental groups seeking to eliminate sources of lead. Environmental groups have petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency and filed lawsuits to speed up the introduction of unleaded fuels.

“We’re committed to finding safe fuels that benefit the environment and our general aviation community,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

General aviation groups lauded the move to the next phase. “It’s important for general aviation to be ready to move away from leaded fuel, and [the] announcement that two fuels have been selected for further testing is another key step down that path,” said David Oord, v-p of regulatory affairs for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. “The program is on track, and the candidate fuels are promising, which is good news for GA.”

“The long-term viability of the existing GA fleet and future of the marketplace depend on the success of this program,” added Experimental Aircraft Association chairman and CEO Jack Pelton.

General Aviation Manufacturers Association president and CEO Pete Bunce agreed, saying, “A successful transition from leaded to unleaded avgas will mean the continued safety and utility of the fleet, a reduced environmental impact and lower economic transition costs for our industry.”

SmartSky Networks, a new air-to-ground 4G LTE airborne connectivity platform that is scheduled to go live later this year, has published equipment and service pricing. “Early bird” customers will be able to begin using SmartSky in the fourth quarter, according to company president Ryan Stone. But they won’t be charged, he added, “until we have achieved sufficient continental U.S. coverage to deliver a 4G experience in most of the country [expected by mid-2017].”

The airborne hardware will cost $93,000, not including installation. That includes a cabin wireless access point (single-network router with Wi-Fi capability), a duplex blade antenna and high-performance blade antenna and the transceiver. Buyers will be able to choose other qualified multiple-network routers from Kontron, ICG/Rockwell Collins, TrueNorth Avionics and Satcom Direct, which cuts $3,000 off the purchase price.

Service will be sold in three monthly packages. These include five gigabytes (GB) basic for $2,500 and $1 per additional megabyte (MB); 15 GB for $3,800 and 75 cents per additional MB; and enterprise with 25 GB for $4,500 and 50 cents per additional MB. These package rates equate to roughly 50 cents per MB for the basic plan to 18 cents per MB for the enterprise option.

The first SmartSky STC is expected in the fourth quarter, and multiple partners are developing installations for a variety of aircraft. Typical installation weight is 34 pounds, not including the router and wiring. Full U.S. coverage in 2017 will be provided by 250 ground stations, and the company plans to expand coverage into Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and other parts of the world.

SmartSky doesn’t provide network speed information, but Ryan told AIN, “Customers will have a true 4G experience anywhere in our network; [they will] be able to stream movies, conduct live video calls, send/receive large files, make phone calls, text and surf the Web.”

Bombardier Business Aircraft's service center network completed approximately 120,000 hours of training last year, and its U.S.-based centers earned the FAA’s 2015 Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) Diamond Award Certificate of Excellence, the company announced yesterday. Last year, the Bombardier service network supported more than 8,000 maintenance events, which represented a 17 percent increase on 2014's numbers.

The FAAAMT Diamond Award is the highest award for aviation maintenance given to U.S.-based AMT employers who are involved in training all technical staff. Several of Bombardier’s service centers have received the award in the past: the Tucson facility received six consecutive awards; Fort Lauderdale, eight; Dallas, 14; Wichita, 15; and Hartford, Conn., 17 consecutively.

“Our network is more flexible than ever and prepared to accommodate all our customers' needs, be they drop-ins or major scheduled inspections,” said Stan Younger, vice president of Bombardier’s Aircraft Service Centers. “Our consecutive FAAAMT Diamond Awards are a testament to our network’s outstanding skills and abilities. We are extremely proud of this recognition and its significance.”

Fractional provider Flexjet has officially introduced Global Access, a flexible-lease program that provides access to a large-cabin fleet for long-range international travel. The program’s cost structure does not entail buying shares in a particular jet and “reflects the efficiencies of long-range travel,” with hourly rates that decrease the longer the distance flown.

Global Access can be added to existing fractional ownership contracts or acquired through stand-alone leases, according to Flexjet. Participants will be able to access Flexjet’s fleet of large-cabin jets, currently composed of Bombardier Global Expresses and Gulfstream G450s, with the most mission-suitable aircraft provided for each requested international trip. The Gulfstream G650 will join the Global Access fleet this year, followed by the G500, scheduled for entry into service in 2018 and the Aerion AS2 in 2023.

“We began offering Global Access on a test basis in early 2015, and have been carefully refining it since then based on the response of fractional owners and corporate flight departments,” said Flexjet CEO Michael Silvestro. “As we publicly launch Global Access, the program is primed to serve a segment of the private jet travel market that needs a flexible means of accessing large-cabin aircraft for nonstop international travel.”

According to Flexjet, Global Access offers benefits for corporate flight departments. “Companies that primarily operate domestically would not have to take aircraft offline for international trips,” the company said. “They also do not need to worry about arranging repositioning legs for international flights. Additionally, they can rely on Flexjet’s international flight planning expertise to manage the details of global travel.”

Service provider AirSatOne said it has “certified its network for compatibility with Wi-Fi calling,” and that smartphones capable of Wi-Fi calling can be used for telephone calls and texting during all phases of flight on business jets equipped with Internet-capable satcom systems. According to AirSatOne president Jo Kremsreiter, “With Wi-Fi calling, when the mobile phone loses cellular coverage but Wi-Fi is available, it automatically switches to Wi-Fi for calls and text messages, allowing the phone to work the same as it does every day on the ground. Testing of Wi-Fi calling over AirSatOne systems has revealed extremely clear voice and virtually no background noise.”

The Wi-Fi calling feature on many modern smartphones uses Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB), “which is an audio codec with compression optimized for speech coding,” according to Kremsreiter. The user does not need to install a third-party application, and the phone uses the same cellular number for Wi-Fi calling and texting, he explained, with full use of other features such as call waiting and multi-party calling, all at no extra charge beyond the normal satcom service fees. 

Inmarsat SwiftBroadband systems have plenty of bandwidth to handle Wi-Fi calling, he said. “The satcom system must be Internet-capable. Iridium does not have the bandwidth. Basically, passengers and flight crew can receive calls and place calls anywhere their aircraft is located in the world, at 45,000 feet and even over remote oceanic regions. If someone calls their cell number, it will ring in the aircraft. The most important thing is this is ‘baked in’ to smartphones now so the application is fully integrated, which means it is seamless and people using it won’t have to do anything to make it work [after they have activated it]. In the air it will automatically switch and calls keep coming in.”

Business jet retail transactions slowed as 2015 came to a close, bringing the overall number down from a year earlier, according to data released yesterday by market analyst Amstat. Available pre-owned business jet inventory crept up slightly toward the end of 2015 to 11.1 percent, but still remained below the 20-year average of 12.6 percent, reported Amstat general manager Andrew Young.

In the fourth quarter, 2.5 percent of the active business fleet changed hands, down slightly from the 2.6 percent in the third quarter and a 3-percent drop from the same quarter in 2014. The fourth quarter also dipped below the 20-year quarter average of 2.8 percent of the active fleet. This pushed the total number of transactions in 2015 to 9.8 percent of the business jet population, down from 10.8 percent in 2014.

The midsize jet market proved strongest last year, at 10.8 percent of the fleet were dealt. While down from 11.3 percent in 2014, the sector logged the smallest decline. Meanwhile, 7.6 percent of large-cabin business jets changed hands last year, compared with 8.5 percent in 2014; and 10.4 percent of the light jets turned over, a significant drop from 12 percent in 2014.

Turboprop transactions, which increased quarter-over-quarter in the fourth quarter at 2.1 percent, were still down from the 2.3 percent in the same period in 2014. For the year, 7.7 percent of turboprops turned over versus 8.3 percent in 2014.

Argus International is now the exclusive charter operator ratings provider for online charter marketplace SimpleCharters.com. This arrangement, announced earlier this week, allows SimpleCharters.com users to limit their searches to Argus-rated charter operators.

“Argus wants to make sure that web-based consumers have the ability to perform high-level due diligence while checking availability and price,” said Argus president and CEO Joe Moeggenberg. “The Internet’s ability to connect charter brokers, end consumers and suppliers in an efficient manner has become very important to the overall charter marketplace. Argus performs its own research on every website that seeks an integration with our ratings, and we were impressed with how quickly and efficiently users can do trip searches and bookings on SimpleCharters.com.”

According to SimpleCharters.com founder and CEO Charles Denault, “Integrating the Argus ratings into our platform was a high priority for us, as many of our customers fly only with Argus-rated charter operators.”

Two Bell 505 Jet Ranger X signings this week at FIDAE 2016 in Santiago have boosted the order backlog for the in-development light single helicopter beyond 360 units, Bell Helicopter announced today. Eagle Copters, which has a base in Colina, Chile, and an undisclosed private Chilean operator each signed for a single corporate/VIP-outfitted Bell 505 at the show.

“The Bell 505 is suited to fit the needs of the Latin American market, and we are pleased to see the growing numbers of customers signing for the aircraft,” said Bell vice president of global sales and marketing Patrick Moulay. In fact, Latin American customers account for nearly a quarter of the backlog for the five-seat helicopter.

Meanwhile, three flight-test Bell 505s have logged more than 575 flight hours and work has begun to prepare for initial production at the company’s assembly center in Lafayette, La. The company is aiming to have the light single FAA certified in the first half of this year and plans a fast production ramp-up that could increase to 200 helicopters per year by 2018.

Business aviation in the UK faces two significant issues: dispelling the image of business aviation as a luxury for the rich and privileged rather than a business tool, and addressing such challenges as access to airports and taxation. That was the message from the annual conference of the British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA), held recently in London.

“People have a negative perception of the industry, one we’re working hard to change,” said Marwan Khalek, BBGA chairman (and group CEO of GAMA Aviation), in his opening remarks. Brian Humphries, president of the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), expressed a similar sentiment. “We see our sector poorly portrayed and even vilified in the press,” he noted. He lamented commentary made by the BBC in its Oscars coverage after Leonardo DiCaprio made his remarks about the environment. “They said, ‘But he did go home in a private jet.’”

“We have to find a way of communicating [better]. We think we know what people think of us, but we don’t. So we [EBAA] did a perception study and an update to our economic impact study.” The perception study targeted a representative sample of people in Europe.

He said that 65 percent have a “good or excellent impression” and less than 4 percent hold a “poor” impression of bizav, and “most thought the image had improved over the past 10 years; 97 percent of policymakers and 90 percent of customers recognized that it is a good business tool; but 40 percent thought it represented poor environmental performance.” He continued, “This was not really fair as we represent only 7 percent of the traffic and less than 1 percent of emissions.”

He added some stats from the economic impact assessment: the bizav sector in Europe, EBAA research suggests, supports 371,000 jobs, €21 billion in labor compensation, €98 billion in economic output; Germany, France and the UK are the key players (accounting for approximately 25 percent, 25 percent and 10 percent of the market, respectively). In addition the sector serves more than 25,000 city pairs “that scheduled carriers don’t serve. And one in four of the cities has no scheduled connection at all.”

“We’ve got a very good story to tell; and we know that the more people that know about us, the better the impression. We need to focus the message on productivity gains,” said Humphries. “And we really need to work on the environmental sustainability [message]: economic benefit versus the environmental impact.”

Opportunities in China

The UK government is “looking for high-value opportunities” in China, reported Jim Gilhooly from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), and has tasked his company with “matching them up with UK capabilities. We have a project right now looking at the GA market in China; the next step will be for me to see if there are things [the British business and general aviation sector] can help with.”

“The Chinese GA market is in its infancy but the government [there] understands it is an economic enabler… the 13th Five-Year Plan was endorsed in the past few days.” He said that low-altitude airspace in China is the issue mentioned most, but “there is a need to improve everything they’re doing.”

Gilhooly said the Chinese civil aircraft fleet now numbers some 2,125 aircraft (around one-tenth the size of the UK fleet alone) in service with more than 300 operators, “But they are springing up all the time.” There are 515 airports, he said, with “plenty of space and hangars.”

“Just moving up the trend line would move the fleet up to 100,000 aircraft, everything from lighter-than-air to large bizjets.” He mentioned the recent signing of an accord between China’s CAAC and Europe’s EASA on airspace regulation. “They recognize that they don’t have the understanding or experience to turn theory into practice.” He said that the Chinese also see that their infrastructure is not yet adequate to support a growing GA/bizav fleet, so–for example–it has “created a company to put fuel into remote airfields.”

Gilhooly concluded by saying that UKTI had established “a strong network [of contacts] around China,” and that the UKTI research would be completed by the end of last month  “so they’ll have a database of opportunities.”

Daher announced record annual revenues yesterday, largely due to the growth last year of its aerospace business, which includes the TBM 900 turboprop single. Revenues last year surpassed €1 billion for the first time, at €1.17 billion. It delivered 55 TBM 900s in 2015, up from 51 in 2014.

In new programs, Daher manufactures the tail section of the Airbus Helicopters H160 medium twin and the main landing gear doors of the Gulfstream G500 and G600. It recently expanded the latter contract into other, undisclosed components. Daher is also in charge of the design of the Airbus E-Fan electric two-seater.

The company has been actively pursuing a supplier contract with Boeing and hopes to reach a successful conclusion this year. It would then establish a factory in the U.S., something it has been seeking to do for the past two years.

Meanwhile, Patrick Daher is passing control of the company to Didier Kayat, who is being promoted from deputy CEO to CEO. Effective April 1, Patrick Daher is retaining only his chairman role. Last February, the company announced that Kayat’s transition to CEO would happen over the 2016 to 2017 period.

In addition, Daher will unveil two new aircraft models during an event to be held at its Tarbes, France headquarters on Tuesday evening.

U.S.FAA deputy administrator Mike Whitaker is encouraged that a series of initiatives to curb general aviation fatal accidents is beginning to take root, but says more needs to be done to improve the accident rate. Whitaker participated in a GA Safety Summit on March 31 with a number of general aviation organizations to discuss the safety priorities of the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC), as well as efforts to promote ADS-B equipage. The government/industry-based GAJSC has been tasked with taking a data-driven approach to tackling safety issues.

“While we still have more work to do, the GA Joint Steering Committee’s work on voluntary safety measures is making a difference,” Whitaker said. The fatal accident rate during Fiscal Year 2015 dropped to 1.03 per 100,000 hours and has declined further in the first four months of Fiscal Year 2016. The GAJSC had set a goal of a 10-percent reduction by fiscal 2018, bringing the rate to one accident per 100,000 hours.

“While the fatal accident rate is beginning to decline, too many lives are still being lost. Last year, 384 people died in 238 general aviation accidents,” Whitaker said. He pointed to efforts to address that rate, including the Fly Safe campaign, progress on the recently released proposed Part 23 rewrite and implementation of ADS-B. 

“There’s also no question that ADS-B is one of NextGen’s most important safety technologies, and we’re continuing to work closely with the Equip 2020 team to get it into more general aviation aircraft,” he said. ADS-B IN provides free in-cockpit weather and traffic information to pilots.

As for the GAJSC team, “Our focus remains on reducing the risk of loss of control in flight,” said Jens Hennig, v-p of operations for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and co-chair of the GAJSC’s Safety Analysis Team. The GAJSC also has been focusing on powerplant accidents, which the team has seen as a growing area of risk. The group approved a series of recommendations to address that risk. That report, which is undergoing final revisions, is expected to be available within the next couple of weeks.

The safety summit also reviewed another key initiative: the new airman certification standards that are set to take effect in June.

Continuing its focus on the general aviation accident record, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board released a safety alert highlighting issues facing pilots at major fly-in events. The alert, Arriving at a Major Fly-In event: Keep Your Focus on Safety (SA-053), was issued as Sun 'n' Fun was preparing to kick off in Lakeland, Fla., and in advance of this year’s Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis.

“Arrivals at major fly-in events…pose unique challenges for pilots (and air traffic controllers), including extremely high-density traffic, special flight and communication procedures, a rapidly changing environment, and changes to air traffic control separation standards,” the safety alert says, adding that fly-in ATC procedures can involve reduced runway separation, minimized radio communication and shared control of arrival and departure aircraft on the same runway.

“Pilots may focus so much on complying with ATC instructions in this challenging environment that they lose control of the aircraft, which can lead to a stall,” NTSB said, adding, “accidents have occurred when pilots were too slow and stalled, used an excessive bank angle (resulting in an accelerated stall) or overshot the runway.”

The Safety Board noted several preventable loss-of-control accidents that occurred on arrival and pointed to three crashes over the past decade that took place at either Sun 'n' Fun or Oshkosh.

The NTSB provides a series of common sense guidance for pilots, such as studying the event Notam, being mentally prepared for a challenging and dynamic environment, knowing the limitations of aircraft and keeping radio traffic to a minimum.

“Events like these are a great way to celebrate the joy of aviation,” said John DeLisi, director of NTSB’s Office of Aviation Safety, “[and] a little extra planning will help ensure a safe arrival.”

The alert is the latest in a series that the NTSB has issued on general aviation safety. General aviation safety has remained on the agency’s “Most Wanted” list for the past several years, with the recent focus on loss-of-control accidents.