In this week’s VIP Seat podcast, we talk about:

Global Electronic Warfare Impacting Air Safety

GPS spoofing incidents in aviation are up from a dozen reports in February to over 1,100 for the year. Fake GPS jamming signals from Ukraine, the Middle East and other locations are causing errors in airline and business aviation aircraft ,like clocks resetting to earlier times, false alarms, and misdirected flight paths. Business aircraft operators, particulary those operating global flights, will nee to incorporate the new impacts of this kind of warfare into their flight training and operations.

New Aviation Safety Caucus Targets Part 380 Security

The battle between traditional airline operators and Part 380 charter operators “selling by the seat” is continuing to rage as the US House of Representatives forms a new Caucus focused on aviation safety & security, headed by Rep. Nick Langworthy. Langworthy also introduced the ‘Safer Skies Act’ bill last month that hopes to force Part 380 operators to conform to the same security program as the airlines. While Part 380 operators claim this is an obvious attempt by the airlines to reduce competition, labor groups claims these operators are conducting “outrageous attempts to skirt safety and security requirements that were put in place following September 11th,”

2018 Helicopter Settlement Pays $116 Million to Victim’s Family

Five passengers were killed in 2018 after a doors-off helicopter flight in NYC was forced to make an emergency landing in the Hudson; the accident and settlement, initially caused by a flip flop catching a fuel lever, involved flight broker FlyNYON (still in business), former operator Liberty Helicopters, and DART Aerospace, a helicopter float manufacturer. In a safety meeting a month before the crash, a pilot stated, “With your carabiner being hard attached to the upper D-ring on that yellow harness you cannot, and I repeat, cannot reach your own carabiner. You will die, drown, trapped in the bottom of the Hudson f***ing River to get that.” The broker of the flight will be held responsible for 40% of the settlement to one victim’s family, which in total reached over $116 million.

Rules Expected Soon for Powered-Lift Vehicles

Following a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in 2023, officials at the DOT expect the much-anticipated Special Federal Aviation Regulations for Powered-Lift Vehicles, such as eVTOLs to be released in the next few weeks. The announcement came at the Honeywell Advanced Air Mobility Summit in Washington, D.C. last week where many attendees are eyeing an AAM showcase to occur at the 2028 Los Angeles Olymipic Games, pending rules being published and aircraft certification deadlines.

Large operators see an increase in flight activity June-Aug 2023

As reported last week, charter flight activity has been consistently declining over the year but large operators like FlyExclusive and VistaJet saw growth this Summer over last year, according to Aviation Week Network. This is a glimmer of hope for smaller charter operators that robust activity may soon be returning to the industry, but it also highlights how strong Part 91 and 91K (fractional) operations are doing. It may represent a shift in flier preference from Part 135 charter to full or partial ownership options.