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."