March 5, 2018
Each year the FAA collects safety data through its General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey, and the agency recently sent out a request to aircraft owners for information on their operations in 2017.
NBAA asks its members to contribute to this effort, which helps measure safety and influences government funding for general aviation. said Mark Larsen, CAM, NBAA senior manager of safety and flight operations.
The survey is sent randomly to operators listed in the FAA civil aviation registry, but many NBAA members operate aircraft in categories that are sampled at 100 percent, in order to better understand general aviation activity of high-use groups. These groups include Part 135 aircraft, turbine-powered aircraft, rotorcraft, aircraft older than five years and aircraft based in Alaska.
Members in these groups are surveyed every year, said Larsen, so it is important for all to respond to the survey request annually, even if the aircraft was damaged, sold or did not fly in 2017.
Respondents may complete the survey online or by returning the paper form in its postage-paid envelope. An independent research firm, Tetra Tech, conducts the survey for the FAA, and all responses are confidential and used only for statistical purposes. The FAA will not publish any reports or tables that would reveal specific information supplied by an individually identifiable respondent.
The survey results help the FAA identify and understand trends in general aviation activities, said Larsen. Federal, state, and local governments; aviation associations (including NBAA); private industry and individuals use the survey summary to analyze safety, make plans and implement research and development efforts.
The FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey is the only source of information on the overall general aviation fleet, number of hours flown, and the ways people use general aviation aircraft, said Larsen.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.