A major focal point at BASS 2023 was Safety Management Systems (SMSs) – and with very good reason. In January, the FAA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would require all Part 135 certificate holders, Part 91.147 air tour operators and certain Part 21 Type Certificate and Production Certificate holders to implement a SMS.
“If we’ve gotten it right from the regulatory framework, from the level of safety the public expects, and all of that comes together, then a world we only thought about in science fiction becomes science fact,” mused outgoing FAA Acting Administrator at the ‘Future of Everything Festival’ in New York City this week.
Regional Airline Association President & CEO, Faye Malarkey Black testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Aviation at the hearing titled, “FAA Reauthorization: Examining the Current and Future Challenges Facing the Aerospace Workforce”
US House of Representatives Jimmy Panetta, Mike Collins, Mike Kelly, and Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Steve Cohen introduced the Aviation Workforce Development Act, a bill to make training at FAA-certified commercial pilot and aircraft maintenance technician schools a qualified expense for existing 529 Plans.
The fiscal year 2024 Congressional hearings continue with a major difference from last year’s sessions: US Senate and US House members and their staffs are receiving an expanded perspective on aviation topics from a broad roster of industry and government executives, and subject matter experts on key technology, policy and business niches.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has published its process for “special conditions” for flight simulation training devices using new technologies such as virtual reality or new aircraft types such as electric vertical takeoff and landing ‘air taxis’.
Forget that most major eVTOL OEMs are not eyeing their first round of operational flights until about 2025. An all-hands effort of government and industry stakeholders is gaining momentum to establish the training organizations that will prepare pilots and maintainers to begin this next chapter of aerospace industry history.