Persistent confusion about nuances of complying with the U.S. law1 that separates public aircraft operations from civil aircraft operations should be reduced during 2012, say officials from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), other government agencies and commercial aircraft operators.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), however, remains concerned about the pace of improvements and gaps in the safety oversight of contractors by government agencies under the law, which exempts public aircraft operations from compliance with most U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) and safety oversight by the FAA.
During the NTSB public aircraft forum in Washington on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 2011, the board questioned diverse stakeholders about oversight of public aircraft and encouraged them to adopt best practices in safety from commercial air transport and their peers. NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said, “From 2000…
