2006 NBAA Annual Report

CONTINUING OUR EMPHASIS ON SAFETYThe safety of business aviation flight is the highest priority for ourindustry and NBAA alike, and the business aviation community’s recordon operational safety is a strong one – the safety record of businessaviation is comparable to that of the passenger airlines.In 2006, NBAA continued in its long-standing, two-part role ofdefending the industry’s safety record and also producing and disseminatinginformation about safety best practices. The Association alsobuilt upon its successes in bringing operators together at eventsfocused on safety.For example, in its 51st year, the Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar(CASS) had its strongest turnout ever, with more than 400 people inattendance. The event, which has been jointly hosted by NBAA and theFlight Safety Foundation since 1998, is considered by most in the businessaviation community as a leading venue for discussing andexchanging safety information for business aviation operators. Theseminar brings together industry leaders, government officials,academic researchers and aircraft operators to deliver specific informationthat can be applied directly to the business aviation environment.To build on the effectiveness of CASS, and to enhance the safetyfocus of the Association and industry, in 2006, NBAA added a secondsafety-themed event to bring operators together to address the issue.The Association partnered with Bombardier Aerospace and the FAA toproduce the annual Safety Standdown, which seeks to improve businessaviation safety by focusing on human error. Like its CASScounterpart, Safety Standdown attracts hundreds of pilots each year byoffering free, hands-on courses that provide information that can beused on the job. Each year, pilots and others in attendance explore awide variety of topics, including procedures for emergency situations,medical training and workplace psychology. The two-day event, whichis now in its 10th year, carries the official endorsement of the NationalTest Pilot School and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.In addition to the production of world-class safety events, NBAA’sfocus on the issue also has long involved the development of productsand services to benefit the industry. In early 2006, NBAA unveiled theForum for Enhanced Reliability and Maintainability Standards (FERMS),an Internet-based tool that provides business aircraft manufacturers andoperators with real-time information about business aircraft maintenanceand performance.FERMS serves as a central information clearinghouse that can helpthe entire industry enhance safety while improving aircraft operationalperformance. FERMS allows individual operators to benefit not onlyfrom the compilation of their own aircraft data, but also from informationcontributed by other experienced fleet operators. FERMS users canenter relevant maintenance information for their aircraft, includingdates for significant maintenance events, flight hours, landings and theactual amount of time aircraft are out of service. Users can mine thecollected data, allowing for review and comparison of this valuablemaintenance and performance information.In addition to its work to utilize the power of the Internet for a newsafety-enhancement resource, NBAA updated and strengthened theAssociation’s Management Guide and Airports Handbook, each ofwhich contains information on business aviation safety. (Both will bemade available by year’s end.) For instance, the Management Guideprovides information specifically on safe flight and maintenance operations,and the Airports Handbook explores safety issues such as runwayincursion avoidance and aircraft ground-damage prevention.Along with these products, NBAA has long provided NBAA’s Journalof Business Aviation Safety to Members at no cost. This excellent industrysafety resource routinely addresses the most common professional safetychallenges, including the maintenance of safety standards in the workplace,changes in procedures for operating within the National AirspaceSystem (which should be understood to ensure safe flight), and casestudies profiling effective safety practices.NBAA will continue to promote the safety record for business aviationand to serve its Membership as a clearinghouse for advancing thesafety of flight.8 2006 NBAA ANNUAL REPORT