Discussion Centers Around Part 135 and 91 Safety Issues, Accidents

National Air Transportation Association President James K. Coyne, NATA staff and other general aviation entities met on Friday with top Federal Aviation Administration officials to address growing concerns, aggravated by recent charter and business aircraft accidents and the ensuing publicity, within the agency and other sectors of government about the safety of part 135 on-demand air carrier and Part 91 corporate operations.  
 
The FAA approached the association several weeks ago to coordinate participants for this event following a productive meeting between NATA President Coyne and FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Nicholas Sabatini where safety initiatives already under development by NATA were discussed.
 
While Friday's industry meeting was an initial step to consider the potential of proactive government-industry partnerships to enhance safety, NATA has assured members it is is working to protect the industry from the unforeseen consequences of regulatory, legislative and bureaucratic responses to these accidents by ensuring that all federal agencies have the best information available to address their concerns. NATA’s efforts are dedicated to ensuring that the diversity of the Part 135 industry is better understood and that any safety "problems" and "goals" are identified before the agency attempts to implement regulatory "solutions."  

The outcomes of this meeting, charter safety overall, and current FAA initiatives related to Part 135 operations will be discussed by Ms. Katherine Perfetti, the FAA’s National Resource Specialist for Part 135 and Fractional Ownership operations, and NATA staff during the association’s annual convention held from March 8-10 in Las Vegas.  Specifically, this topic will be addressed during the Washington Update session to be held at 1415 on Tuesday, March 8.

FMI: www.nata.aero