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NATA is the National Air Transportation Association
Founded in 1940, NATA aggressively promotes safety and the success of aviation service businesses through its advocacy efforts before government, the media and the public as well as by providing valuable programs and forums to further its members’ prosperity. |
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Professional Line Service Training |
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PLST Online provides the most up-to-date training available for line service specialists – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Line service supervisors can conduct the new PLST Online training anytime and from anywhere there is access to the Web. continued |
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| General Aviation Serves America |
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| Recently, NATA became a partner and major contributor to the General Aviation Serves America campaign that was introduced in late April by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). The General Aviation Serves America campaign was created by AOPA to highlight the importance of the general aviation industry to the U.S. economy with the potential for new taxes and security restrictions.
As part of this partnership, AOPA President Craig L. Fuller and NATA President James K. Coyne recently jointly appeared at General Aviation Serves America Town Hall Meetings in Martha's Vineyard and Charlotte, NC.
NATA is asking its members also to support this critical new initiative in three ways.
- Showcase General Aviation Serves America educational materials at your facilities. These educational materials will include brochures, posters and a promotional video. To request a General Aviation Serves America FBO packet, please contact Eric R. Byer on the NATA staff.
- Contribute directly to the General Aviation Serves America campaign by clicking here.
- Host a fundraising event featuring AOPA President Craig Fuller and/or NATA President James K. Coyne. To do so, contact Eric R. Byer on the NATA staff.
NATA members having questions about the association's involvement in supporting the General Aviation Serves America campaign may contact Eric R. Byer. | |
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| GA And Part 135 Annual Activity Survey Underway - NATA Urges Participation |
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| The General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey (GA Survey) for reporting on calendar year 2008 is now underway, and we need your help. The FAA's annual GA Survey is the only source of information on the size and makeup of the general aviation and Part 135 fleets, the number of hours flown, and the reasons people fly. These data help to determine funding for infrastructure and service needs, assess the impact of regulatory changes, and measure aviation safety.
If you received a postcard invitation or survey form in the mail, please complete the survey today. You can complete the survey on-line at www.aviationsurvey.org (use aircraft N-Number to login) or return the survey form you received in the mail using the postage-paid envelope. If you already completed this year's survey, thank you! We appreciate your help.
Why is your participation important?
- Your help is needed to prepare accurate estimates of aviation safety. Data from this survey are used to calculate fatal accident rates for general aviation and Part 135 aircraft.
- A focused effort is being made by the FAA to improve the data quality for high-end, high-use aircraft, a significant part of the GA fleet. As a result, 100% of on-demand Part 135 and turbine aircraft are being asked to participate in the 2008 GA Survey.
- Your responses are completely confidential. PA Consulting Group is an independent research firm that conducts the GA Survey on behalf of the FAA and prepares statistical reports. Individual information is not shared with the FAA.
- An abbreviated survey form is available for owners of multiple aircraft. We know your time is valuable. If you own three or more aircraft and received several survey forms, please contact us!
Questions? Lost the survey form? Own three or more aircraft? Please contact Theresa Tennant of PA Consulting Group toll-free at 1-800-826-1797 or email Theresa.Tennant@paconsulting.com. | |
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| Delauter Named TSA General Manager Of The General Aviation Branch |
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| The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has announced that Brian Delauter has been selected to serve as the agency's acting general manager of the General Aviation Branch.
Previously, Delauter served as the federal security director at Savannah International Airport. According to the TSA, Delauter has an extensive general aviation background and knowledge of all aspects of general aviation (corporate/recreational aircraft operations, airports, airspace, and airmen issues) and aviation laws, regulations, polices, and/or principles. He is a leader in the establishment and implementation of comprehensive general aviation security and communication strategies through collaboration with stakeholder partners.
Prior to joining the TSA, Delauter spent more than fifteen years in the aviation community as a general aviation pilot as well as a commercial aviator with Northwest Airlines. In this capacity, he managed crew during flights and ground operations in the general aviation environment. He currently holds multiple FAA licenses including commercial single-engine land, commercial multi-engine land, airline transport pilot, flight instructor - single engine, multi engine, and instrument.
In his new position, Delauter will use his extensive general aviation experience in government and private industry to lead the TSA's strategy to enhance security within the GA sector and reduce the risk of misuse of general aviation assets by developing identification capabilities including positive pilot and aircraft identification. | |
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| FAA Upholds Decision Against The City Of Santa Monica Proposed Jet Ban |
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| In late 2007, the city of Santa Monica instituted a ban on category C and D aircraft at Santa Monica Municipal Airport because it felt those aircraft presented a threat to safety. In 2008, the FAA issued a cease-and-desist order to prevent the city's ban from going into effect until the agency had time to conduct an administrative review.
After conducting the administrative review, the FAA found in May of this year that the ban violated the city's obligation to prevent unjust discrimination against airport users. This obligation is the result of the city receiving federal funds from the FAA's airport improvement program. The city of Santa Monica appealed the ruling to the FAA Associate Administrator of Policy.
On July 8, the FAA upheld the findings of the administrative review and found that the city's proposed ban would unjustly discriminate against certain classes of airport users, in violation of the airport's grant assurances. The ruling is the FAA's final ruling on the matter; the city of Santa Monica is expected to decide within the next 30 days if it will appeal the case in federal court. | |
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| U.S. Senate Passes Fiscal Year 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill |
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| Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate passed S. 1298, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2010. The spending bill would allocate the department nearly $43 billion in discretionary spending, about 7 percent more than the current fiscal year, and $300 million more than H.R. 2892, the U.S. House of Representatives’ version of the legislation that passed on June 18.
The Senate Committee on Appropriations report on the homeland security spending bill (S. 1298) shares language with the House report urging the Transportation Security Administration to continue to work with the general aviation industry to make an October 2008 proposed rule for cargo security less burdensome.
Notable amendments to the bill included one by Senator David Vitter (R-LA) that would require the department to enforce a rule under which employers would be pressured to fire workers if their information did not match data contained in Social Security databases.
Earmarks included in the bill were also a big part of the debate over amendments on the floor. The Senate first rejected an amendment by Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) to strike $900,000 for an emergency operations center in Whitefish, Montana. The Senate later defeated an amendment by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to cut $39.7 million for the leadership academy at the Advanced Training Center in West Virginia, a training facility for U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents.
As conference negotiations proceed in the coming weeks, NATA will publish a legislative report on any changes to the bill that occur as a result of compromise between the House and Senate.
To view the Senate roll call vote on the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, please click here.
To view NATA's Legislative Report on H.R. 2892, please click here. | |
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| House Transportation Security Subcommittee Holds Hearing On GA Security |
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| On July 15, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection held a hearing titled "General Aviation Security: Assessing Risks and the Road Ahead." Representatives of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), including John Sammon, assistant administrator, Carlton Mann, assistant inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Dr. Charles Gallaway, Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, DHS, testified on the current status of the Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) and the findings of the DHS report, TSA's Role in General Aviation Security, respectfully.
Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection Chairwoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) focused on the shortcomings of the DHS report written by Mann, stating, "There were no perceived threats before the acts of September 11, 2001. How can you say in your report there is no perceived threat from general aviation." Congressman Pete Olson (R-TX) asked Mann to clarify the difference in threat levels between large aircraft such as a Boeing 747 and general aviation aircraft (aircraft less than 12,500 pounds). Mann agreed with Rep. Olson's remarks that a Boeing 747 containing 20,000 pounds of aviation fuel has considerable potential as a weapon and that general aviation aircraft are unattractive for use for that purpose in comparison.
In a separate panel before the subcommittee, Martha King of King Schools and General Aviation Manufacturers Association Chairman Mark Van Tine, President and CEO of Jeppessen, Inc. both told the committee that applying security protocols similar to those of commercial airlines to general aviation will be detrimental to the industry without improving security. Van Tine said the recently proposed Large Aircraft Security Program "missed the mark on several fronts" and reiterated that the general aviation community is not opposed to enhancing security.
To view the testimony from the witnesses of the hearing, please click here. | |
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| NFPA Removes Proposed Requirement For Sprinkler Systems In Small General Aviation Hangars |
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| Responding to comments from NATA and Mercer Dye of Dye Aviation Facilities, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Technical Committee on Airport Facilities has removed language from a proposed revision to NFPA 409 - Standard on Aircraft Hangars that would require automatic sprinkler systems to be installed in all newly constructed group III hangars. For the general aviation industry, group III hangars, depending on construction type, are all hangars under 12,000 square feet.
The new language for the NFPA 409 revision will only require automatic sprinkler systems in newly constructed group III hangars if:
- Local building codes already require the installation of sprinkler systems, or
- The hangar is also to be used as a residence
The changes to the proposed revisions were included in the committee's Report on Comments, available here, and now will go before NFPA's Standards Council for final approval and inclusion in the 2010 revision of NFPA 409. NATA staff member Mike France has applied to NFPA for membership on the Technical Committee on Airport Facilities and his application will be voted on by the Standards Council at their next meeting. | |
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| GAO Looks At FAA Inconsistencies - NATA Launches Survey |
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| The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is in the early stages of a review of inconsistencies in how field inspectors interpret and apply requirements. NATA is highly supportive of this review and asked Members of Congress to request the study so hopefully the issues members face when dealing with varying interpretations can be better understood and addressed.
NATA is asking interested aviation businesses that are certificated by the FAA to complete a brief anonymous survey that will allow the association to present summary data related to the problem.
Download NATA's issue paper.
Click here to begin the survey now!
NATA pledges to keep all information strictly confidential unless the submitter specifically agrees to be contacted and to have their information used in an identifiable way. | |
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| NATA Submits Comments On KBUR Request For Nighttime Curfew |
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NATA has submitted comments to the FAA in response to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority's Part 161 application to institute a nighttime ban on air traffic at Bob Hope Airport (KBUR) due to noise concerns. The airport authority has been preparing its application for the last four years at a cost of more than $6 million. This request is significant in that it is the first request under Part 161 for a complete ban on air traffic regardless of the noise level of the specific aircraft. If this request is approved, it could set a precedent that would have a chilling effect on airport access around the country. For the authority's request to be approved by the FAA, it must meet the following six statutory conditions:
- The restriction is reasonable, non-arbitrary, and nondiscriminatory
- The restriction does not create an undue burden on interstate or foreign commerce
- The proposed restriction maintains the safe and efficient use of navigable airspace
- The proposed restriction does not conflict with any existing federal statute or regulation
- The applicant has provided adequate opportunity for public comment on the proposed restriction
- The proposed restriction does not create an undue burden on the National Airspace System
In reviewing the airport authority's Part 161 application, NATA believes that the only statutory condition that was met is that the authority did provide adequate opportunity for public comment. In regards to the reasonableness of the restriction, NATA wrote:
"Matching the most restrictive solution possible to a problem that has been effectively managed by non-restrictive means is not reasonable on its face. Taking into account that the results and methodology of the predicted increase in 65 dBl CNEL contour sizes are in question and that other less restrictive options providing even more benefit for the cost have been evaluated (NATA does not necessarily endorse those options), the choice of the most restrictive solution possible is absurd."
NATA concluded the comments by stating:
"The National Air Transportation Association respectfully requests the FAA deny the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority's request to impose nighttime access restrictions at Bob Hope Airport on the grounds that the request does not meet the requirements of 14 CFR 161.305."
The FAA is expected to issue a ruling on the proposed curfew in November 2009.
NATA's comments can be viewed here.
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority's Part 161 application is available here. | |
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| ABJ - Now Available On The Web |
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| Aviation Business Journal is the official publication of NATA and the only magazine dedicated to the business of NATA member constituencies. Articles are written by industry experts who understand the unique challenges faced by aviation service professionals. Published quarterly, Aviation Business Journal helps its readers run more effective and profitable aviation service businesses.
Current and past issues of Aviation Business Journal are now available to view in PDF format at www.nata.aero and content is searchable through the NATA search capability. To view past issues, click here. To learn more about Aviation Business Journal or advertising opportunities for future issues, view the 2009-2010 Aviation Business Journal Media Planner.
NATA welcomes editorial input from members. What would you like to see in future editions of Aviation Business Journal that would help your business succeed? Please submit ideas or comments by email to Linda Pylant or by calling (703) 845-9000.
Look for printed copies of the 2009 third quarter Aviation Business Journal which should begin arriving the first week of August. | |
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