ACSF executives recently met with National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman, Vice Chairman Christopher A. Hart and Member Robert Sumwalt to discuss a wide range of aviation safety issues impacting the air charter and shared aircraft ownership industries.
“Chairman Hersman, Vice Chair Hart and Member Sumwalt are not only well versed in the safety issues confronting our industry, but they were very interested in ACSF and our activities to enhance the safety of the air charter and shared aircraft ownership industries,” said ACSF Executive Director Jacqueline Rosser.
Among the topics of discussion during the meetings were:
The ACSF Industry Audit Standard - the only audit program that comprehensively evaluates both an operator’s Safety Management System (SMS) and its Part 135 regulatory compliance. The Members were encouraged by ACSF’s emphasis on SMS and lauded the foundation’s efforts to ensure a thorough regulatory and safety analysis of operators such as the IAS is available.
ACSF has commissioned an in-depth review of Part 135 accidents and incidents; the beginning of a long-term effort to collect and analyze this data in highly detailed ways, and to highlight the shortcomings in today’s methods of data collection and information categorization related to Part 135. ACSF presented the Members with a preliminary copy of this report, scheduled to be released later this month.
The Members were also enthusiastic about ACSF’s efforts to encourage operators to collect and act upon safety and hazard information reports in order to identify trends and prevent accidents. Specifically, ACSF’s Aviation Safety Information System (AVSiS), which is available free of charge to any Part 135 operator or Part 91K program manager, was enthusiastically received.
“There are many difficulties for both the NTSB and ACSF when attempting to identify the trends and risks for this diverse industry. We are pleased to have such involved, informed leadership that is interested in risk-based strategies to improve safety and look forward to continuing our relationship with the NTSB; sharing information, pursuing safety improvement, and educating the industry and public about this unique and valuable segment of our transportation infrastructure,” Rosser concluded.
SAVE THE DATE!
Air Charter Safety Symposium Is March 2-3, 2010
The third annual Air Charter Safety Symposium will be held at the Marriott Westfields Washington Dulles on March 2-3, 2010. The Westfields is conveniently located near Washington Dulles International Airport.
The symposium is the annual gathering of the air charter industry where current and emerging safety challenges are investigated. For 2010 the symposium will emphasize practical application of current safety enhancing programs.
The final program is being finalized but will include information on
• Strengthening your corporate culture
• Practical techniques to improve safety and security
• How safety systems can benefit your bottom line
• Understanding implementation hurdles before beginning a new safety initiative
• How you can use safety audits as a tool to improve your operations
ACSF has secured a limited room block at the Westfields for Symposium attendees. Reservations made on or before February 8, 2010 are eligible for a rate of $149 plus taxes per night. Easy online room reservations are available by using the ACSF Westfields Reservation Link.
The deployment of the Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) Industry Audit Standard (IAS) program has seen tremendous growth that has put the IAS on the path toward fulfilling its goal of being the single measure of safety and compliance for air charter and shared aircraft ownership companies.
Approximately 20 operators have completed the ACSF Industry Audit Standard and two operators have already achieved Registered Operator status. The IAS is a comprehensive review and it will be difficult for many operators to achieve Registry status following the first IAS audit.
Validation of an operator’s status can be done easily through the ACSF IAS Registry at www.acsf.aero/registry.
With the deployment of the ACSF Industry Audit Standard, the charter consumer can be assured that audited and registered operators are compliant with the highest standards of safety and compliance. Customers should look for the ACSF IAS-registered logo and encourage their preferred charter provider to participate in the program.
For further information on the IAS and audit process, please visit www.acsf.aero/audit. Operators wishing to initiate the audit process should contact Russ Lawton at 1-888-SAFE-135 (888-723-3135).
Take our survey!
ACSF is considering hosting on-line training events to help operators better understand the IAS process. Would you be interested in this type of on-line training? Take our survey now.
AVSiS Growing In Use By On-Demand Operators
In the year since ACSF released AVSiS, a safety event reporting and tracking system specifically for on-demand charter operators and shared aircraft ownership programs, over fifty operators are registered users. AVSiS, or Aviation Safety Information System, is a powerful software program that collects detailed safety event data for analysis, response deployment and success measurement, and provides a tool for accounting for the cost savings realized by interventions.
To encourage the wide-spread use of this safety-enhancing tool, ACSF makes the program available to all Part 135 on-demand operators and Part 91K fractional program managers at no charge. For more information on AVSiS please visit, http://www.acsf.aero/avsis/.
ACSF has also developed a version of AVSiS that is available at a cost to any operator that is not eligible for the free version, especially foreign carriers and airlines. For more information on AVSIS for Airlines please visit, http://www.acsf.aero/avsis/avsisairlines.
Survey - Should ACSF Conduct IAS Informational Webinars?
ACSF is considering hosting on-line training events to help operators better understand the IAS process. Would you be interested in this type of on-line training? Click here to let us know!
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