ATC Privatization Still an Issue On June 22, six associations representing the general aviation industry – General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), Helicopter Association International (HAI), National Air Transportation Association (NATA) and National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) – issued a statement strongly opposing the Trump Administration…
Meeting Set to Confront LOC-I On April 24, in Washington, D.C., the NTSB will meet with government and industry leaders as part of the government-industry collaborative effort to undertake loss of control in flight (LOC-I) in general aviation. The meeting will include representatives from the FAA, industry associations, flight schools and technology manufacturers who will…
ADS-B News The FAA issued Docket No.: FAA-2017-1194, Change to Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast Services which announces changes in ADS-B services, including Traffic Information Service Broadcast (TIS-B) for a small number of aircraft. The FAA is implementing a filter for certain ADS-B equipped aircraft broadcasting erroneous or improper information when the broadcast information could affect…
FAA Issues InFO on Acceptable Procedures for PED Inflight Fires In late December 2017, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued InFO 17021, which clarified its policy on the use of fire containment products such as kits/bags and acceptable firefighting and containment procedures for inflight fires involving portable electronic devices (PED). Per the InFO, several manufacturers…
NBAA Asks FAA to Pause on Proposed IAP Cancellations Considering recent flight management system (FMS) software glitches that required FMS manufacturers to pull thousands of approaches from their databases, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is asking the FAA to “hit the pause button” on implementation of its proposed policy on cancellation of certain instrument…
ATC Proposal May be Headed to a Vote Soon The latest hearsay regarding the ATC Proposal is that a vote may soon be on the Senate floor – the “first few weeks of October,” but we’ve heard many predictions before. Not only are the general aviation groups still voicing their opposition, but now there are…
ATC Update Even though Congress took its annual August recess through Labor Day, general aviation groups urged the GA community to continue its grassroots efforts by contacting their local congressional leaders and asking them to stop H.R. 2997, under which congressional oversight of the nation’s aviation system would be replaced by an entity governed by…
On May 23, the White House released a detailed budget for the Fiscal Year 2018, which included plans to cut $300 million from the FAA’s budget and a tax structure to assist in developing an independent, user-funded air traffic control (ATC) organization. Calling the House proposal, spearheaded by House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee chairman Bill…
2017 NBAA Top Safety Focus Areas The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) recently released its annual list of Top Safety Focus Areas, topics identified by the NBAA Safety Committee as primary risk-mitigation targets for all business aircraft operators. Each year during its annual risk assessment meeting, the NBAA Safety Committee reviews safety survey results, risk-based…
The Latest on NextGen and ATC While gathering with airline executives on February 9, based on a White House transcript of the meeting, President Trump expressed that he had no confidence in the FAA’s NextGen system saying, “I hear we’re spending billions and billions of dollars. It’s a system that’s totally out of whack. It’s…