Call to Action: Pause for GA Safety
This spring more than a dozen pilot organizations launched the 2025 National Pause for General Aviation Safety campaign with the support of the Federal Aviation Administration Safety Team.
The initiative encourages every general aviation pilot to take at least 15 to 60 minutes in the remainder of the year to sharpen their focus on safe flight operations by reviewing at least one of more than three dozen curated safety videos, articles and other resources available at gasafe.org.
According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, despite several high-profile accidents this year, GA has never been safer thanks to improved cockpit technologies, training methods, programs and tools, regulatory frameworks and industry collaboration. AOPA cited these statistics: In the past 30 years, the general aviation fatal accident rate fell by 60 percent from a high in 1994 of 1.73 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours to 0.68 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours in 2023. Early data suggests that 2024 was even safer.
“We envision a day with zero fatal general aviation accidents, and we have come a very long way already,” AOPA President and CEO Darren Pleasance said in a news release announcing the campaign. “We are launching the National Pause for General Aviation Safety now so that we can draw attention to our successes and also refocus our efforts on making general aviation even safer.”
Pilots can participate in the National Pause for General Aviation Safety individually or in groups. They can earn FAA Wings credit and receive a digital badge to post to their social media accounts.
“We think it’s important for all pilots to take a moment to think about what safety means to them, and in the context of the operations they fly,” Pleasance said. “Whether you fly low and slow or high and fast, the National Pause for General Aviation Safety will inspire pilots to sharpen their focus on being a safer pilot.”
Mike Ginter, senior vice president of AOPA’s Air Safety Institute added: “At ASI, we believe every GA pilot has a responsibility to themselves, their loved ones, the industry and the public to be as conscientious, disciplined and deliberate about general aviation safety as possible. Taking this pause will make all of us safer pilots.”
House Considers Mental Wellness in Aviation Legislation
Aviation organizations including the National Business Aviation Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and the Pilot Mental Health Coalition are commending the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee for approving a bipartisan bill to help more aviators access mental health care.
On June 11, the committee passed the bipartisan Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2025 and it now heads to the full House for consideration. The PMHC, a non-partisan, grassroots organization, urges advocates to voice their support of the act to their representatives in Congress. Find more information on the bill, the coalition’s broader advocacy efforts and an action center to easily contact your elected officials at pmhc.org.
The bill (H.R. 2591) from Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Tracey Mann (R-Kan.) and Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) directs the FAA to revise regulations for mental health disclosure and treatment, with the aim of removing barriers to mental wellness services and updating archaic policies surrounding mental health disclosures.
“We want our pilots at the top of their game and taking care of their mental health is a critical component to achieve that goal. Our pilots cannot fear that their livelihoods are at stake when taking care of themselves, nor can our air traffic controllers,” Stauber said. “If we don’t change how we handle mental health in aviation, we will exacerbate a culture of silence. Simply unacceptable.”
The Mental Health in Aviation Act would also authorize the FAA to spend nearly $40 million over three years on programs to destigmatize mental health care and require the agency to implement the recommendations of the Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Rulemaking Committee. The FAA established the committee in 2023 to address concerns about mental health from across the aviation community.
“NBAA and its members thank Reps. Casten, Larsen, Stauber and Mann for working to end the stigma surrounding mental health,” NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen said in a statement. “Addressing pilot mental health will improve the well-being of American aviators and the safety of the traveling public. We look forward to working with these members, the committee and lawmakers in the House and Senate to get this legislation signed into law.”