NBAA Update Archive

NBAA Update #03-26
Monday, June 30, 2003

NBAA Update is the National Business Aviation Association's weekly e-mail newsletter, providing the latest operational, regulatory and political news for the business aviation community. Send your comments about NBAA Update to update@nbaa.org.

NBAA BOARD APPOINTS SHELLEY LONGMUIR PRESIDENT
Last Tuesday, June 24, the NBAA Board of Directors appointed Shelley A. Longmuir as NBAA's new president. She is the twelfth person to serve as NBAA's chief staff officer, and the fourth to hold the title of president. View a video welcome message from Longmuir online at:
www.nbaa.org/news/video/200306/longmuir

HOUSE AMENDMENT DESIGNED TO REOPEN REAGAN AIRPORT TO BUSINESS AVIATION
NBAA commends the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for approving an amendment that is now part of HR 2144, the Aviation Security Technical Corrections and Improvements Act of 2003, which intends to reopen Reagan National Airport (DCA) to non-commercial business aircraft operations, prohibited since September 11, 2001. For more information, visit:
www.nbaa.org/news/pr/2003/20030626-035.php

NBAA'S VIEW: AS DCA GOES, SO GOES LIBERTY
Prior to September 11, 2001, regulated access to airspace or to specific airports was limited on rare occasion by congestion or noise. Historically, business aircraft, for the most part, had been able to travel at will in the United States. Today, however, security concerns threaten that access with increasing breadth, as a seemingly endless stream of presidential and vice-presidential, nuclear power plant, city, sporting, "national security event" or other temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) are announced daily. More than 20 months after 9/11, the continued closure of Reagan National Airport (DCA) to secure general aviation (GA) operations concretely indicates the concerns of certain Bush Administration officials about the potential threat business aviation poses, as well as the level of resources they are willing to apply to solve the problem. Congress soon may mandate the reopening of DCA to general aviation, at which time reasonable and effective security procedures (such as those supported by NBAA) will have to be implemented. Without this access, the terrorists will have won, the value of business aviation will have been diminished, and every business aircraft operator at every airport nationwide will have cause to worry as to whether they -- the victims of the same security "concerns" -- will be the next to be restricted. Security is an imperative national interest, but it simply cannot and should not be secured at the cost of liberty. It is well past time to reopen DCA to secure GA operations.

TSA ACCESS CERTIFICATE PROGRAM TO BE EXPANDED
NBAA has been informed that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has invited Part 91 operators based at Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, NY and Morristown Municipal Airport (MMU) in Morristown, NJ to begin training for TSA Access Certificates (TSAACs). Currently restricted to a proof-of-concept that was launched earlier this year at Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey, participation by these operators in the TSAAC Program will provide the TSA with additional data for eventual expansion of the program nationwide. TSAAC holders are granted international access without the need for a waiver, and NBAA anticipates additional benefits in the future, such as access to temporary flight restriction (TFR) airspace. For more information, visit:
http://www.nbaa.org/news/pr/2003/20030630-036.php

NBAA'S BOARD AND ICAO'S KOTAITE VOICE STRONG SUPPORT FOR IS-BAO
Last week during its June meeting, the NBAA Board of Directors again voiced its ongoing support of the International Business Aviation Council's International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO), a code of best practices designed to help flight departments worldwide achieve high levels of safety and professionalism. Dr. Assad Kotaite, president of the International Civil Aviation Organization Council, also has strongly commended IS-BAO; download a copy of his endorsement at www.ibac.org/HomeNews/New_Item_15.pdf. Introduced in 2002, IS-BAO was developed over a period of two years by IBAC-member organizations, including NBAA and its Membership. The IS-BAO audit program is the basis upon which flight departments qualify to receive an IS-BAO Certificate of Registration, which more than 130 NBAA Members currently are pursuing. For more information about IS-BAO, visit:
www.nbaa.org/ops/is-bao

NBAA SAFETY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION #1:
HOW CAN MY ORGANIZATION REDUCE THE RISK OF AN ACCIDENT OR INCIDENT?
Develop, implement and maintain a documented flight safety program. An effective safety program begins with a written set of policies and standards developed by the operator to formally define risk-management activities. The NBAA Safety Committee recommends a program based upon the industry's consensus of best practices as defined by the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO), which will be featured in a session during the NBAA 56th Annual Meeting & Convention in Orlando on October 8. In addition, NBAA provides several resources to ease the burden of establishing an outstanding safety program, including the NBAA Management Guide and the Safety Committee's Prototypical Business Aviation Safety Program Manual, available online at:
www.nbaa.org/member/safety/manual

NJ LEGISLATURE PASSES BACKGROUND CHECK RULE FOR FLIGHT INSTRUCTION
On June 23, the New Jersey Assembly passed a bill, S. 432, that would require criminal history background checks for flight instruction. This measure, if signed into law, not only will complicate the process for flightcrew members to receive flight instruction in New Jersey, but also will burden every business conducting any type of flight instruction in the state. NBAA urges Members to review the legislation and call New Jersey Governor James McGreevey's office at (609) 777-2200 to register their opposition and to ask the Governor to veto the bill, which is more properly subject to Federal jurisdiction. For more information, contact NBAA's Doug Carr at dcarr@nbaa.org or visit:
www.nbaa.org/govt/nj/s432

HAZARDOUS MATERIAL TRAINING COMMENTS DUE
Comments are due by next Monday, July 7, on a proposed rule that changes and expands the hazardous training requirements for Part 121 and 135 operators. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) calls for extensive training in 13 subject areas regardless of whether or not a certificate holder transports hazardous materials. NBAA Members are encouraged to submit a comment to the proposed rule. For more information, contact NBAA's Eric Ramsdell at eramsdell@nbaa.org. Download the NPRM in PDF format at:
www.nbaa.org/safety

WHERE CAN I FIND MASTER MINIMUM EQUIPMENT LISTS?
On the FAA's Flight Standards Service web site at www.opspecs.com, users can find draft and final Master Minimum Equipment Lists (MMELs) for rotorcraft, small aircraft and transport-category aircraft. For more information, contact the NBAA Operations Service Group at info@nbaa.org.

CAM APPLICATIONS FOR OCTOBER CAM EXAM ARE DUE NEXT TUESDAY
NBAA will offer the Certified Aviation Manager (CAM) Exam for the first time on the morning of Monday, October 6, 2003, in Orlando, FL, in conjunction with the NBAA 56th Annual Meeting & Convention, to be held October 7 to 9 at the Orlando/Orange County Convention Center. Applications for the October 6 CAM Exam date must be mailed to NBAA postmarked no later than next Tuesday, July 8. For more information or to download an application, visit the NBAA CAM web site at:
http://www.nbaa.org/cam

MEET NBAA'S NEW PRESIDENT AND DENVER TSA DIRECTOR AT JUL. 24 REACHBAC
NBAA will host a complimentary REACHBAC luncheon on Thursday, July 24 at Denver's Centennial Airport (APA). All members of the business aviation community are invited to attend and meet Shelley Longmuir, NBAA's new president, and Patrick Ahlstrom, acting TSA federal security director for the Denver area. The event will be held at 12:00 noon, Signature Flight Support, 8001 South InterPort Blvd., Centennial Airport, Englewood, CO, tel: (303) 799-8388. To RSVP, contact NBAA's June DeFontes at jdefontes@nbaa.org. For more information, contact NBAA's Paul Smith at psmith@nbaa.org or visit:
http://www.nbaa.org/seminars/reachbac/rb_2003_07_24.htm

HAVE YOU DISCOVERED NBAA AIR MAIL YET?
NBAA Air Mail is a series of e-mail mailing lists, or "users groups," set aside for collaboration and discussion on topics of interest to business aircraft operators. Through Air Mail, NBAA Members can communicate their concerns, questions, gripes and insights with their fellow Members on nearly any topic relevant to the group. This Member benefit is a particularly useful communication tool during periods of heightened national security, since any e-mail message sent to an Air Mail list address is immediately broadcast to every subscriber on that list, allowing for near-instant dissemination of information to fellow list members. More than 37,000 Air Mail messages are archived on the NBAA web site, providing a wealth of real-world information for NBAA Members. Learn more or subscribe to an Air Mail list at:
www.nbaa.org/airmail

ILLINOIS INSTITUTES NEW AIRCRAFT USE TAX
On June 20, the Illinois Governor signed into law a new Aircraft Use Tax, which imposes a 6.25-percent tax on the privilege of using, in Illinois, any aircraft acquired by gift, transfer, or purchase after June 30, 2003. The effect of the new legislation is to eliminate for aircraft most exemptions from sales and use tax, including the occasional sale exemption. However, the rolling stock exemption appears to be preserved. For a full text of the law, see Public Act 93-0024, available on the NBAA Tax, Finance & Insurance web site in PDF format at:
http://www.nbaa.org/taxes

LENGTH OF RUNWAY 24 THREATENED AT SIKORSKY MEMORIAL AIRPORT
The FAA has proposed the addition of a 300-foot safety area to the departure end of Runway 24 at Sikorsky Memorial Airport (BDR) in Stratford, CT. However, without cooperation from the Connecticut Department of Transportation and Stratford town officials, this safety area cannot be added without reducing the runway's length from 4,700 feet to 4,500 feet. The position of NBAA and several Connecticut-based companies is to maintain the current runway length. For more information, contact NBAA's Dean Saucier at dsaucier@nbaa.org.

LONG ISLAND GROUP WORKS TO MAINTAIN RUNWAY SAFETY AT FARMINGDALE
The FAA has sent a letter to the builder of a proposed structure and parking lot off the approach end of Runway 14 at Farmingdale, NY's Republic Airport (FRG) that informs the builder that the proposal does not conform to obstruction standards for airports and runway approaches and departures. Runway 14 is the airport's only ILS runway. NBAA and particularly the Long Island Business Aviation Association have been actively involved in an attempt to maintain the integrity of the runway environment, which if compromised, would raise minimum landing standards and be a potential safety hazard. For more information, contact NBAA's Dean Saucier at dsaucier@nbaa.org.

TETERBORO GROUP'S EFFORTS RESULT IN RNAV APPROACH FOR RUNWAY 6
The Teterboro Users Group (TUG) at Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey has been instrumental in having an RNAV GPS approach installed to Runway 6. Operators should consider this approach as an alternative to other, less desirable approaches, especially in circle-to-land procedures. For more information, contact NBAA's Dean Saucier at dsaucier@nbaa.org.

HIGH-ALTITUDE REDESIGN BRIEFING TO BE HELD IN GREENSBORO, NC ON JUL. 23
A lunchtime High-Altitude Redesign (HAR) Program briefing will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 23 at VF Corporation's hangar, Piedmont Triad Airport (GSO), Greensboro, NC. HAR will affect all those operating at FL290 and above. This HAR briefing was arranged by NBAA's Bob Lamond and will be presented by FAA representatives. For more information or to RSVP, contact Lamond at rlamond@nbaa.org or NBAA's Dean Saucier at dsaucier@nbaa.org.

NBAA ANNOUNCES FLIGHT ATTENDANT SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
The NBAA Flight Attendants Committee presented Flight Attendant Scholarships to 28 recipients during the NBAA 8th Annual Flight Attendants Conference, held June 27 and 28 in Philadelphia, PA. For more information, visit:
www.nbaa.org/news/pr/2003/20030630-037.php

ONLY ONE WEEK LEFT TO COMPLETE NBAA COMPENSATION & BENCHMARK SURVEY
The 2003 NBAA Compensation & Benchmark Survey is currently in progress with a deadline of July 7 for entries. To take part in this online survey, NBAA Member Representatives should visit:
www.nbaa.org/surveys/cbs

NBAA CLOSED THIS FRIDAY, JULY 4
NBAA's Washington, DC offices will be closed Friday, July 4, in observance of the Independence Day holiday. They will reopen on Monday, July 7.

ALL ANGELS HAVE WINGS; SOME HAVE JET ENGINES, TOO
Become a Corporate Angel and help cancer patients access potentially life-saving, specialized treatment. Through Corporate Angel Network (CAN), your organization can join 500 other top U.S. corporations that use the empty seats on their routine business flights to offer new hope to cancer patients, allowing them to travel free to recognized treatment centers throughout the United States. Corporate Angel Network volunteers work with your flight department to match patient needs to available seats. You accept a patient as your guest only when it suits you. All patients are fully mobile, properly dressed for a business environment, and very grateful for your help. Call CAN at (914) 328-1313 to learn how easy it is to make a difference. For current destinations and date range of rides needed, visit:
www.corpangelnetwork.org/corporate/seats.html