NBAA, EAA, NATA, Other Industry Reps Confab With FAA Leaders On Key Issues

On Thursday March 6, 2025, senior leaders in the FAA met with over two dozen leaders of aviation and labor organizations at its headquarters in Washington, DC, to identify and discuss the key safety issues facing both the agency and pilots in an effort to make general and business aviation safer.

What was billed as the General and Business Aviation Call to Action to identify concrete steps to address the recent safety incidents was held to bring together the FAA and the aviation organizations representing the vast majority of pilots, manufacturer, operators, and others.

Moderating the sessions were senior FAA leaders along with Ed Bolen, President and CEO of the National Business Aviation Association, Sean Elliott, Vice President of Advocacy and Safety for the Experimental Aircraft Association, and Janny Ann Urban, Managing Director of Air Charter and Maintenance for the National Air Transportation Association.

Chris Rocheleau, Acting FAA Administrator said, “Safety is a collective effort that requires constant, proactive collaboration among all stakeholders. Complacency is the enemy of safety and we need to be vigilant to address emerging risks before they become problems.”

The sessions addressed three general topics: IFR/VFR Interactions, Safety Drift, and Safety Management.

What came out of the meeting were the following:

• The FAA will communicate reminders to pilots through various channels
• Checking Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) for situations they can encounter during flight, including Temporary Flight Restrictions
• Being familiar with their destination airport by reviewing aeronautical charts, Arrival Alert Notices and the FAA’s From the Flight Deck video series
• Avoiding complacency by paying close attention to pre-flight checklists
• Always paying attention to onboard collision warnings even if the pilots don’t think an actual conflict will occur

The agency will also

• Initiate a safety-risk analysis of close encounters between pilots flying visually and pilots flying under air traffic control on an IFR flight plan
• Increase FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) outreach on radio communication phraseology, NOTAMs and operations in and around highly controlled Class B airspace
• Continue to work with Part 135 and air tour operators to implement mandatory Safety Management Systems (SMS) to meet the implementation dates in Part 5
• Explore additional tools for pilots to assess operational risk and their own performance

The FAA said the Call to Action will spur additional safety collaboration between the agency and general and business aviation communities. To accomplish this, the agency will leverage existing partnerships such as the General Aviation Joint Safety Committee and the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) database

FMI:  www.faa.gov/