Contact: Dan Hubbard at (202) 783-9360 or dhubbard@nbaa.org
WASHINGTON, DC, November 3, 2006 – The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) today cast its support for safety recommendations made by the National Safety Transportation Board (NTSB) earlier this week for charter operations.
“NBAA supports the NTSB’s reasonable and effective recommendations for improving the safety of charter flights,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “We are confident that industry will be receptive to the recommendations, making charter operations, which already enjoy a strong safety record, even safer.”
The NTSB’s recommendations were included in a report released this week focusing on a February 2005 accident involving a Canadair Challenger CL-600 aircraft at New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport. The accident led to an investigation of aircraft “operational control,” or assurance of proper relationships between aircraft owners and charter companies involving aircraft management and operations. In some cases, the lack of clarity in an agreement has led to a loss of operational control by a charter operator, allowing for uncertainty over the qualifications of the parties involved with the operation of an aircraft.
To address this concern, the NTSB recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implement FAA’s draft revision to the agency’s Operation Specification A008 (an FAA operational guideline), calling for more detailed specifications concerning what constitutes an appropriate operational control relationship. The clarification, developed in response to NTSB’s recommendation, is expected to assist aircraft owners and charter operators in understanding the difference between appropriate and inappropriate operational control relationships.
As the FAA developed its revised operational control guidelines, NBAA helped coordinate a series of meetings between NBAA Members and FAA officials to ensure that the voice of the business aviation community was heard on the issue, and that policies impacting operational control would be effective and workable. FAA officials listened to many of the industry’s concerns and incorporated them into the revised Operations Specification A008.
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Founded in 1947 and based in Washington, DC, the National Business Aviation Association, Inc. (NBAA) is the leading organization for companies that rely on general aviation aircraft to help make their businesses more efficient, productive and successful. The Association represents more than 7,000 companies and provides more than 100 products and services to the business aviation community, including the NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention, the world’s largest civil aviation trade show. Learn more about NBAA at www.nbaa.org.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.