Flying Safety Awards Rules

The NBAA Flying Safety Award program rules are intended to provide uniformity in the submission of applications. Both general rules and individual award rules are provided below. All rules should be thoroughly reviewed prior to the preparation and submission of award applications.

General Rules

1. Applicants must be a member of NBAA at the time of application.
2. Only accident-free business flying hours flown by all aircraft owned, leased, the direct responsibility of, and under the operational control of the applicant will be considered. Foreign-owned aircraft may be included.
3. Application data will be shared with the NBAA member company representative or a designated company officer for review.
4. NBAA may request NTSB, FAA, insurance and company records when a reasonable question arises about accidents and hours claimed. It is the responsibility of the applicant to furnish all documentation requested.
5. Some reportable accidents during the award period will disqualify applicants from consideration. A reportable accident is an occurrence associated with the authorized operation of an aircraft in which any person suffers death or serious injury or the aircraft receives substantial damage as defined by the NTSB. Such an occurrence must take place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all such persons have deplaned. Accidents are not reportable when:
   • The aircraft is damaged while properly parked.
   • The aircraft is flown, taxied or towed by other than designated company personnel.
   • Damage is caused by hail, lightning or turbulence not resulting in a crash or impact with some object.
6. Determination of an accident will be made by the NTSB/FAA or foreign accident investigation authority. If neither agency has informed you that you had an accident, then the occurrence need not be reported to NBAA. Copies of accident reports can be obtained from the NTSB at 800-877-6799 or on the NTSB website.
   • If an operating company-employed individual is not responsible for an accident, (e.g. material failure or maintenance error), the individual remains eligible for an award. NBAA reserves the right to request a copy of the accident report that indicates the individual was not cited in the probable cause.
   • If a company-employed individual is cited in the NTSB probable cause for the accident, the individual and the company will be ineligible for the award.
7. All flight hours must have been flown by pilots possessing airline transport, commercial or private pilot licenses with an appropriate instrument rating who are an equity owner of, employed by, or are directly responsible to, and under the operational control of, the member company.
8. Awards are made for accident-free hours/years. Therefore, only hours flown without an accident or after a disqualifying accident will be creditable.
9. The 12-month period commencing Jan. 1, 2023, and ending Dec. 31, 2023, will be used for calculating years and yearly hours.
10. All award applications must be submitted by May 15, 2024.
11. When an award application is submitted, an email will be sent to the member company representative and any designees for reviewing the member company’s award applications. It is the responsibility of the member company to verify the data and notify NBAA of any corrections.
12. Do not submit an application if you are not eligible for an award due to an accident or not meeting other eligibility requirements.
13. Individual applicants are eligible for only one employee-level award per year, even if they have multiple roles within their company. For example, if an applicant holds both a maintenance/avionics technician license and a pilot certificate, they may apply only for either the “Maintenance/Avionics Technician Safety Award” or “Pilot Safety Award” – not both.

Rules for Company-Level Awards

There are three Flying Safety Award categories presented to NBAA member companies for accident-free years and hours flown:

• Corporate Business Flying Safety Award
• Commercial Business Flying Safety Award
• Aviation Maintenance Department Safety Award

Corporate Business Flying Safety Award

1. This award is granted to NBAA member companies that have completed a minimum of one year of flying business aircraft without a reportable accident. Additional awards are given at each one-year interval thereafter. This award will include both years and hours. (Note: See General Rule #6 for exceptions.)
2. Applicants must comply with all general rules.
3. Only a company’s non-revenue flying will be considered for this award. Flying company personnel and cargo on a non-revenue-producing basis, including necessary training time for crew, is allowable. This does not include military flight time, charter, flight instruction, agricultural operations or demonstration flights.

Commercial Business Flying Safety Award

1. This award is granted to NBAA member companies that have completed a minimum of one year of flying business aircraft without a reportable accident. Additional awards are given at each one-year interval thereafter. This award will include both years and hours. (See General Rule #6 for exceptions.)
2. Applicants must comply with all general rules.
3. Only non-scheduled revenue-producing flights will be considered. This category includes, but is not limited to, non-scheduled air taxi, charter, contract carriers, product development and aircraft demonstrations. It does not include scheduled revenue-producing operations in the following categories: air carrier, cargo, contract mail, aircraft flight testing, flight instruction, pipeline patrol, agricultural operations or industrial flying.

Aviation Maintenance Department Safety Award

1. This award is granted to the aviation maintenance department of NBAA member companies who have qualified for either the Corporate or Commercial Business Flying Safety Award.
2. Applicants must comply with all general rules.
3. Company must have an identifiable maintenance department headed by a full-time, properly certificated manager of maintenance. The maintenance department must be capable of performing routine repairs, scheduled maintenance and inspections.

Rules for Employee-Level Awards

In addition to the company-level awards above, there are four additional award categories presented to owners or employees of NBAA member companies.

• Pilot Safety Award
• Maintenance/Avionics Technician Safety Award
• Aviation Support Services Safety Award
• Scheduler/Licensed Dispatcher Safety Award

Pilot Safety Award

1. Pilot Safety Awards are granted to pilots of NBAA member companies with airline transport, commercial or private pilot certificates who have completed a minimum of one year of accident-free flying in command/control of a business aircraft.
2. Applicants must be owners or employees of an NBAA member company and fly aircraft listed with NBAA when the application is submitted. Previous flight hours accumulated with non-NBAA companies may be counted, provided they meet the criteria below.
3. Only those hours permitted under the Corporate Business or Commercial Business Award Rules will be counted for this award.
4. Applicants must currently possess at least a private pilot certificate with an appropriate instrument rating.
5. A reportable accident will affect only the pilots who were in command at the time of the accident. (See General Rule #6 for exceptions.)
6. The following specific flying times will not be counted for this award:
   • Military (active or reserve)
   • Personal private flying
   • Time while receiving flight instruction, unless in direct support of the employer’s operations
   • Scheduled revenue-producing flights (i.e., scheduled air taxi, air carrier, cargo, contract mail)
7. Applicants must use only flight hours that can be substantiated by company records or certified flight logs.
8. NBAA recommends rounding minutes off to the nearest hour. Do not estimate hours flown (e.g., 100 hours). NBAA reserves the right to request verification.
9. First-time applicants must have data to substantiate all hours/years claimed, including the current year.
10. Remote pilots need only provide years of accident-free flying for their safety award application.

Maintenance/Avionics Technician Safety Award

1. This award is for accident-free years of employment as a maintenance/avionics technician, primarily in support of business aviation flight operations. This includes corporate, business, on-demand charter and fractional ownership flight operations. This does not include employment by the military, scheduled air carriers, commuters, personal employment and flight schools.
2. Maintenance technicians must have a valid “A” or “P” or “A&P” license to be eligible. Avionics technicians must have at least a general class license.
3. Only maintenance/avionics technicians employed by NBAA member companies primarily are eligible for this award. To maintain eligibility, the NBAA member companies must list their aircraft with NBAA.
4. First-time applicants must have data to substantiate all years claimed, including the current year.

Aviation Support Services Safety Award

1. This award is for accident-free years of employment in an aviation support services role (e.g., flight attendants, clerical assistants, aircraft refuelers/cleaners and repairmen, etc.) primarily in support of business aviation flight operations.
2. Aviation support services personnel may apply for this award based on cumulative years of service in that capacity.
3. Only accident-free years of employment, primarily in support of corporate/business flight operations, may be counted. This does not include employment by the military, scheduled air carriers, commuters, personal employment and flight schools.
4. Only aviation support services personnel employed by NBAA member companies primarily are eligible for this award. To maintain eligibility, the NBAA member companies must list their aircraft with NBAA.

Scheduler/Licensed Dispatcher Safety Award

1. This award is for accident-free years of employment as a scheduler or licensed dispatcher, primarily in support of business aviation flight operations. This includes corporate, business, on-demand charter and fractional ownership flight operations. This does not include employment by the military, scheduled air carriers, commuters, personal employment and flight schools.
2. Schedulers and licensed dispatchers may apply for this award based on cumulative years of service in that capacity.
3. Only schedulers and licensed dispatchers employed by NBAA member companies primarily are eligible for this award. To maintain eligibility, the NBAA member companies must list their aircraft with NBAA.