Contact: Cassandra Bosco
Washington, DC, February 20, 2004 – In 2003 there were no fatal accidents for corporate aviation, making it one of the safest years ever for corporate flying, announced National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Shelley A. Longmuir.
Statistics just released by aviation safety expert Robert A. Breiling indicate that corporate aviation is one of the safest forms of transportation available today.
“While we applaud this excellent safety record, corporate aviation operators don’t rest on that impressive record,” said Longmuir. “In fact, this inspires corporate aircraft operators to even higher safety standards.”
A strong safety culture has been a critical component of corporate aviation for decades. In fact, corporate aviation’s safety record equals and at times exceeds the excellent record of the scheduled air carriers. As an advocate for higher standards of business aviation safety, NBAA has been at the forefront of developing guidelines, standards and programs that recognize the specific safety needs of this community.
In order to maintain and enhance operational standards, NBAA’s Safety Committee works diligently to oversee safety issues. NBAA’s Management Guide sets forth best practices and guidelines for companies operating business aircraft, including annual recurrent training in simulators for flightcrews. The majority of business aircraft operators voluntarily set higher standards for their crews by returning to recurrent training every six months. NBAA’s Journal of Business Aviation Safety and other publications enhance our community’s excellent safety culture.
The International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO), recently adopted by the international business aviation community, provides yet another example of the proactive safety culture of business aviation. This standard, applicable to all business aviation operators, has been adopted by 25 U.S. companies. More are completing this rigorous certification every day.
For detailed corporate aviation safety records, visit NBAA’s web site at www.nbaa.org.
Note: Corporate aviation is defined as turbine-powered aircraft flown by two-person professional crews.
NBAA represents the aviation interests of more than 7,500 companies that own or operate general aviation aircraft as an aid to the conduct of their business, or are involved with business aviation. NBAA Member Companies earn annual revenues approaching $5 trillion — a number that is about half the gross domestic product — and employ more than 19 million people worldwide. The NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention is the world’s largest display of civil aviation products and services.
Members of the media may receive NBAA Press Releases immediately via e-mail. To subscribe to the NBAA Press Release e-mail list, fill out and submit the online form found on the web at www.nbaa.org/news/pr/subscribe.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.