Cessna Sponsors Safety Program Prior To NBAA Convention Opening

Pilots who fly their own airplanes for business face a unique set of safety considerations – different than those of company flight departments or charter operations – but keeping up with the best flight-duty practices and standards of professionalism is just as important.

"Gravity and human error don’t discriminate by manufacturer or flightcrew," advises Cessna manager of flight operations safety and security Dan Grace, "and single pilots are out there by themselves, without the extra checks and defenses of a crew environment. But they can build themselves up through continuing education and safety training." For example, Grace notes that managing fatigue is always an issue for single pilots. "As a single pilot," he says, "you’re the one deciding if you should continue on at the end of a long duty day."

To promote high standards of safety for single pilots, Cessna is sponsoring the Cessna/NBAA Single-Pilot Safety Standdown at NBAA’s 63rd Annual Meeting & Convention (NBAA2010) in Atlanta, GA, on Monday, October 18. "At Cessna, we say that safety is the foundation on which our flight operations group is built," says Grace, "from the engineers designing the aircraft to the demonstration pilot you meet when you purchase it. That’s why we joined forces with NBAA to heighten awareness of safety issues in the single-pilot arena through this Standdown."

The Standdown features an entire day of safety programming for owner/operators and single pilots, including sessions on professional airmanship, single pilot resource management, icing, aviation health and fatigue countermeasures. Held the day before NBAA2010 officially opens, the Standdown complements the Light Business Airplane (LBA) Conference jointly offered by NBAA and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) at NBAA2010 in Atlanta, GA and AOPA's Summit November 11-13, 2010.

The education sessions offered at the LBA Conference will focus on topics particularly important to owner/operators of light business airplanes, including taxes, insurance, stepping up to jets and single pilot safety. Safety is the foundation of the LBA program, to provide owner/operators with the most up-to-date resources and skills. "Here’s the bottom line," says Grace, "when the weather’s down and the stress is high, that’s when you’re going to reach into your toolbox for skills you developed at events like this Standdown."

FMI: www.nbaa.org