Just before heading to our 2025 annual conference and trade show in Orlando, the aviation industry was brought front and center on January 29, 2025 with the unfortunate airline accident in Washington, DC. Just a few weeks later, on February 17, 2025, a second airline accident made front-page news across the media world.

The United States airline industry has experienced a wonderful safety record for the past sixteen (16) years. When I received a call from a colleague about 10 minutes after the accident in Washington, DC., my thoughts immediately went into a caring and thought mode.

Who were the airman, cabin attendants and passengers on that flight? Was there something technical and/or cultural that could have been done to further improve the training and/or operating footprints that could have averted either of these, or other, accidents or incidents?

These are questions we all have to ask in our industry to avoid them in the future.

We know the NTSB will conduct their analysis, and with their history of research and knowledge base, they will provide insight and recommendations. I am very pleased that the NTSB has made several early recommendations to the FAA regarding the safety process in the DCA airspace and believe it will help.

In 2022, FSANA started an effort promoting that the GA Safety Goal needs to be

"Zero Accidents". Today, AOPA, VAI, EAA and others have agreed that the GA safety goal needs to be "Zero Accidents". The late Richard McSpadden, former Senior Vice President at the AOPA Air Safety Institute wrote about the GA goal in his January 2023 safety column. No one knew at that time that he would leave us too early in a fatal aviation accident.

Some of my friends with 25,000 total time in aircraft are the most humble pilots I know. Even with their experience, they know that on any given day, if we let our safety approach slip it can be our last. Experience is not a substitute for a safety mindset in all of our operations. This does not matter if it is in your Cessna 150 or taking to the skies as the Captain of a Boeing 787 on a 6,000 nautical mile run across the globe.

Fortunately, with everyone pulling their weight in the GA safety space, the GA fatal accident rate is down for the year ending 2024. Each segment of the aviation industry approaches every day with safety as the number one priority.

FSANA encourages all flight training providers to "Take a Pause for the Safety Cause".

Please share the new website gasafety.org with all of your staff and please be sure to include it in your local flight school newsletter.

No matter what level of new technology emerges within the aviation industry, we still need to encourage the humans (pilots) who command the flying machines to think about safety before they ever leave the ground. Approximately 85% of all aviation accidents start before the aircraft ever leaves the ground.

Have fun out there, be safe, wings level and may your flights be CAVU.

Rock

Robert Rockmaker

President & CEO

FSANA

A first meeting in the FAA's current effort to modernize the 141 training process was held virtually on March 6th with many in the industry listening in with curiosity and intrigue at exactly what the FAA was trying to accomplish. For many, the meeting raised more questions than provide answers as to the motivations behind the effort and what the end goal of the effort seems to be.

This meeting was a first in a series of meetings that will be taking place, at multiple locations (and with some virtual capacity) around the country to ostensibly help receive input from industry participants regarding what changes could, or should be made to FAA 141 training regulations.

The fact that the meetings are spread around the country, with limited attendance capability at each location, does propose some challenges for industry participants to engage with the full sequence of meetings. The hope is that each meeting will include input that is aggregated into final effort, but also that input is not missed in discussions that vary at each location when some participants who might have valuable input to offer are not able to attend.

Debbie Sparks, FSANA Vice President is the primary leader on the 141 project and will be attending the meetings for continuity of the FSANA input on behalf of the FSANA membership and the flight training provider community.

FSANA will be providing written comments on the 141 project to the "Federal Register' no later than April 25, 2025. FSANA members will be receiving the trade associations draft input for their review and comment.

For those interested in the effort, you can find more at the FAA's website:

Public Engagement for the Modernization of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) Part 141 Pilot Schoos

The tentative schedule of the meetings is a mix of locations and virtual and in-person meetings as follows:

April 1-3, 2025

Primary Public Meeting (hybrid) 

Subjects: Certification, Certificate Management, and Examining Authority: Part 61 training providers and challenges they face to become a Part 141 pilot school; Part 141 certification and certificate management; examining authority.

Location: FAA Southern Regional Office

Address: 1701 Columbia Ave., College Park, GA 30337

May 6-8, 2025

Secondary Public Meeting (Virtual)

June 10-12, 2025

Primary Public Meeting (hybrid)

Subjects: Safety: Risk mitigation, reduction of fatal accidents, and Quality Assurance System as defined by ICAO. 

Location: FAA New England Regional Office 

Address: 1200 District Ave., Burlington, MA 01803

July 8-10, 2025

Secondary Public Meeting (Virtual)

October 7-9, 2025

Primary Public meeting (hybrid)

Subjects: Technology and Learning: Emerging technologies such as aircraft, simulation, EFBs, recordkeeping; various learning and examination methods

Location: FAA Southwestern Regional Office

Address: 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Fort Worth, TX 76244

November 4-6, 2025

Secondary Public Meeting (Virtual)

Dec 2-4, 2025

Closing Public Meeting (hybrid)

Location: FAA Western Pacific Regional Office

Address: 777 S Aviation Blvd., El Segundo, CA 90245

You can keep track of the tentative schedule and if any changes are made at:

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/afx/afs/afs800/afs810/modernization_of_part-141_initiative/tentative_meeting_schedule

Registration ahead of time is required for attendance of any of the meetings.

Public comment is being accepted on this effort to the federal register. FSANA encourages flight training community members to review the effort, and the documents the FAA has provided regarding it to this point, and provide comments, concerns, and suggestions to he federal register. At this time the comment period seems to be open until April 24th, 2025.

You can find information about where to comment to the federal register on this effort at:

https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FAA-2024-2531

Despite previous testimony from aviation industry participants, FSANA included, that implementation of landing fees would be a bad move, the Kissimmee (Florida) Gateway Airport has recently implemented landing fees that will apply to all aircraft landing at the airport, including those that do touch & go landings. The landing fee became effective on February 1, 2025. The landing fees are managed by a contracted entity, Vector Airport Systems via their PLANEPASS service on behalf of the Kissimmee Gateway Airport.

The fees will be billed to any aircraft landing that is not included in their "exempt list" which includes federal and military aircraft, government aircraft, based aircraft, and operations such as air ambulance and angle flights. Outside of these exemptions, aircraft will be billed for any landings unless it is a first landing of a calendar day and the aircraft is under 5,000 lbs.

A common gross weight weight for a Cessna 172, a very commonly used training aircraft, is 2,550 lbs. Based on this, at the price proposed such an aircraft will be charged $9.00 per landing. If a typical flight lesson visited this airport or a checkride, and did 3 landings, it would be a cost of $27.00 for that flight.

Robert Rockmaker FSANA president & CEO attended the October 15, 2025, Kissimmee City Council meeting and shared the many reason why the proposed landing fee project could hinder flight training at the airport.

Rockmaker pointed out that trying to improve the airports annual revenue would be better served by having the airport begin to develop their many acres of unused land versus placing the added cost onto the backs of flight students. A student who conducts eight (8) touch and go's (T&G) at the airport will generate $72 in landing fees since each T&G is defined as a landing.

Several members have already contacted the FSANA office to describe the accounting nightmare that becomes front and center. Many flight schools do not own their aircraft thus the landing fee invoices get sent directly to the aircraft owner who in turn passes the invoice(s) along to the school which then has to attempt to collect the landing fees from the student.

FSANA is concerned that this will be a trend-setting effort and these fees will be implemented at many more airports, driving up the cost of training overall. FSANA is additionally concerned that these fees will drive aircraft away from using the airports that implement such fees, causing more dense traffic to coalesce at other airports. The unintended consequence of driving traffic to airports that do not have such fees is that it will increase traffic density at them. Driving aircraft away from using some airports, based on fees, results in increased traffic density at the other airports. This will reduce safety margins at the airports and in the airspace.

FSANA is concerned that this effort also does not necessarily bill correctly to the actual pilot of the aircraft; it will be billed to the registered owner of the aircraft. In the case of a flight training provider or a rental aircraft provider, this will be to them, not necessarily the pilot who was flying the aircraft on a particular flight operation. This will require the owner of the aircraft to track when a plane was flown, to where it was flown, and who was the pilot and then back bill them at a later date.

The logistics and cost challenges that are driven by the implementation of landing fees like this are a direct detractor and additional cost that will affect flight training operations. FSANA does not believe this is a best practice for the national airspace system.

Learn more about the policies and procedures that the Kissimmee airport implemented.

FSANA, along with other aviation organizations, is working to promote an effort to have a National Pause for GA Safety.

This FAA Safety Team-supported initiative encourages all GA pilots to take 15 to 60 minutes in the next six months to sharpen their focus on flying safely by reviewing carefully curated safety videos, articles, and more.

As the leaders of the pilot and business associations representing every segment of general aviation, we are asking EVERY GA pilot in the United States to take a few minutes to participate in the 2025 National Pause for GA Safety by completing two easy steps:

1. Scan the QR code here or go to GAsafe.org to begin

2. Select the safety topic that most interests you and review it

You will find dozens of links to curated safety content including videos, courses, publications, and websites.

FSANA is dedicated to promoting a "Zero Accident" goal in the general aviation and flight training sectors. While this may or may not be achievable, it should always be the goal.

The simple act of participating in this National Pause for GA Safety can help improve your safety preparedness by sharpening your focus in areas relevant to how YOU fly.

As a bonus, earn FAA WINGS credit after successfully completing a 15-question GA Safety quiz.

Visit https://gasafe.org/ for more information.

Last week Congressman Byron Donalds introduced a new bill focused on helping "solve the pilot shortage". HR. 2182, cited as the "Pre-Pilot Pathway Act" includes language for "flight training providers" as defined in the bill as a "flight academy certified under part 141 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations" to establish "an apprenticeship program to establish a pipeline of qualified and interested individuals to become commercial pilots."

The bill includes language that proposes that "under the apprenticeship program...each flight training provider participating in the apprenticeship program...may select up to 8 applicants, or more if considered appropriate...to serve as apprentices each academic year."

This bill raises more questions than it does provide solutions at this point. It is unclear what an "apprentice" would do in pilot training. It is also unclear how academy-style flight training would work "in an academic year," as this is not applicable unless the training is conducted in a collegiate aviation program.

Additional language is included intending to incentivize retired pilots to "become instructors, mentors, or program advisers at participating flight training providers, including through the development of pathway programs for such pilots to gain initial qualifications or concurrent qualifications as certified flight instructors under part 61 or part 141..."

The bill, should it proceed forward, requires that the Secretary of Transportation issue regulations within a year of the bills enactment.

FSANA will be working to get more information on this bill and its content, and attempt to provide input on behalf of the flight training community that might offer amendment or adjustment of the bill that would make its content more germaine to the actual conduct of flight training in the U.S. aviation training system.

Click here to see the Press Release from Congressman Donalds.

Click here to see the test of H.R. 2182.

The General Aviation Awards board of directors announced today the 2025 National Honorees. Awards for National Flight Instructor, Aviation Technician, and FAASTeam Rep of the year will be presented by the FAA at AirVenture.

Recipients of the 2025 National General Aviation Awards are:

Adam Boyd, Cabot, AR – 2025 Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year

Samuel “Beau” Hardison, Mountain View, AR – 2025 Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year

Josselyn Slagle, New Castle, PA – 2025 FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year.

Since 1962, the General Aviation Awards (GAA) program and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have recognized aviation professionals for their contributions to general aviation in the fields of flight instruction, aviation maintenance/avionics, and safety. These awards highlight the vital leadership roles these individuals play in promoting safety, education, and professionalism throughout the aviation industry. 

The FAA will present individual awards to each National Honoree in July during EAA AirVenture 2025 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and their names will be added to the large perpetual plaque found in the lobby of the EAA AirVenture Museum. In addition to being recognized at AirVenture and highlighted in the aviation media, National Honorees also receive gifts generously provided by sponsors and contributors.

“It is an honor to announce the names of the 2024 General Aviation Awards National Honorees” says GA Awards Board Chair Lauretta Webb, “These important, historic awards highlight the critical role played by accomplished individuals in building a culture solidly based on aviation safety and education,” she added, “The Board and our many sponsors are pleased that these outstanding aviation professionals will receive public recognition before their peers at AirVenture.”

On April 30, 2025, at 8:00 PM ET, GAA Live! airs. This program will feature all three of these incredible aviators sharing their knowledge in an hour-long, live broadcast.

Survival planning before flight, along with survival training, can significantly improve pilots’ chances of surviving accidents and incidents. Are you prepared, and do you have the tools you need to survive an aviation accident? Let’s look at some tips, techniques, and training resources.

Oh, this topic also happens to be a part of the Private Pilot ACS and the Commercial Pilot ACS, specifically, “Emergency Equipment and Survival Gear”.

Is your students or CFI's knowledge up to speed on this topic?

Check out the new General Aviation Survival Fact Sheet that the FAA recently released for a quick FAQ sheet on some of the topic related to this content.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is taking immediate action on key safety issues identified during a recent General and Business Aviation Call to Action.

The agency specifically highlighted an effort to communicate reminders to pilots through various outlets on the importance of:

• 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 FAA also will:

• Initiate a safety-risk analysis of close encounters between pilots flying visually and pilots flying under air traffic control.
• 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 also intends to collaborate with industry groups to discuss additional safety actions raised during the Call to Action to develop a plan that can make general aviation and business aviation safer during the upcoming General Aviation Joint Safety Committee meeting, of which FSANA is an industry participant.

You can learn more about this effort at: 

https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-takes-immediate-safety-steps-following-general-and-business-aviation-call-action

Applicants for certificate, rating, or authorization issued under 14 CFR part 47, 61, 63, 65, 67, or 107 or hold a certificate issued under any of these parts (individuals) will soon be required to comply with regulations requiring a U.S. agent for delivery of correspondence from the FAA.

Individuals with a foreign address and no U.S. physical address of record on file with the FAA must designate a U.S. agent for service. This is of critical importance to training providers and testing providers who work with U.S. citizens who do not have a U.S. address and foreign students who do not have a U.S. address.

Simply having mail sent to a U.S. address and someone sending it to them is not considered an "agent". An airman will need to have a registered agent to do this if they are not currently residing in the United States and able to receive mail correspondence.

Those who do not currently have a U.S. physical address of record and are able to provide one, may do so through the standard processes for Airmen or Aircraft Owners in lieu of designating a U.S. Agent for Service.

You can learn more about this upcoming requirement and how a to comply with it at: 

https://usas.faa.gov/disclaimer

A FAQ document for the USAS requirement is also available at this site.