Fort Lauderdale FBO Rebrands and Expands

Sano Jet Center, one of four FBOs at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, has rebranded as Fort Lauderdale Executive Jet Center. Lynda Zur, who opened the facility in 2003, has partnered with new co-owner Marshall Myles, most recently head of Skyservice, one of Canada’s leading business aviation service providers, to expand the business.

“I’m excited to build upon this foundation that Lynda’s built during the last 17 years,” said Myles, adding that Florida is one of the top states in the U.S. for business aviation. “We’ve just re-signed a 30-year lease, and we’re making a major investment in expansions.”

The first phase of those plans began last month with groundbreaking on a 20,000-sq-ft hangar, which when completed next year, will bring the location to 120,000 sq ft spread over six hangars, including a paint shop and maintenance facility.

A second project, slated to start next year, will see the construction of another hangar and more ramp space as part of the development of an additional 4.5 acres of leasehold, which will be done in 2021.

A renovation of the terminal lobby is underway and is expected to be completed in time for the upcoming Super Bowl, which will take place in nearby Miami in early February.

As part of the changes, the FBO also joined the Phillips 66 branded aviation network.

Illegal Charters Prompt Random Ramp Checks in Mexico

Mexico’s Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil (AFAC), the regulator that recently replaced civil aviation authority DGAC, has begun performing random ramp checks on all U.S. FAR Part 91 and 135 foreign flights at all of the nation’s airports, according to Universal Weather and Aviation. Cabotage—the transport of passengers or cargo between two locations in the same country by an operator from another country—and illegal charters mostly operated by N-registered Part 91 aircraft are the reasons for the crackdown, Universal said in a blog post last week.

The random ramp checks, which began November 19, basically require the same documentation that is already required for operating into Mexico. That includes, but is not limited to, valid registration, airworthiness, and air operator or air carrier certificates; letter of authorization in the name of and signed by the aircraft owner or operator; Mexican and worldwide insurance policies; current crew medical certificates; and pilots’ licenses with type ratings.

Universal Weather and Aviation said the ramp checks typically take about 30 minutes each.

IBAC, EBAA Plan New Sustainability Initiative

A new sustainability initiative between One Young World, the European Business Aviation Association, and the International Business Aviation Council will be the focus of a webinar tomorrow. Dubbed Standards & Training for Aviation Responsibility and Sustainability (STARS), the webinar is part of a program that involves development of a new, three-tiered sustainability label and guidance that will be integrated into existing IS-BAO and IS-BAH programs.

“The IBAC board recently accepted the proposed STARS integration into IS-BAO and IS-BAH Standards,” IBAC director of environment Bruce Parry told AIN. “As the STARS development continues, the process of including sustainability guidance into these voluntary IS-BAO and IS-BAH standards will begin once the terms of reference are defined.”

STARS aims to support the business aviation industry through increased awareness of social and environmental issues that can be addressed by business aviation through the creation of partnerships, guidance, and best practices. Similar webinars are also planned for next month and in February.

Flightdocs Establishes Canadian Office

Flightdocs has opened a new, permanent Canadian office in Toronto, Ontario, to support what it says is an important and long-term growth market for the Florida-based developer of maintenance tracking, flight operations, and inventory management software. “This expansion supports the Flightdocs strategic growth plan, allowing for the strengthening of current customer relationships, as well as expanding our global sales support coverage,” said Flightdocs CEO and chairman Rick Heine.

The new office, located within 10 minutes of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), enables the company “to bring a 21st century solution to Canadian operators” and “opens the doors for expanded service and efficiencies,” added Flightdocs national sales manager for Canada Alex Hess, a Toronto native. “Being a fully cloud-based solution with advanced and effective mobile capabilities positions Flightdocs as the best product for the unique and extensive needs of the Canadian business aviation market.”

Michael Benton Honored with Aeromed Safety Award

Michael Benton, founder and managing director of VyClimb Consulting, was honored with the Jim Charlson Aviation Safety Award at the recent Association of Air Medical Services Air Medical Transport Conference in Atlanta.

The award is presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to promoting aviation safety within the air medical transport community. Benton has more than 22 years of aviation industry management and operations experience. A former armed reconnaissance helicopter instructor pilot and member of the Directorate of Evaluation & Standardization with the U.S. Army, he has served as a helicopter emergency medical services pilot, check airman, accident investigator, regional aviation director, and a director of aviation compliance before launching his own consultancy in 2015. 

During that time, he has steered organizations through a range of safety initiatives, including the FAA’s Safety Management System Voluntary Program and Aviation Safety Action Program, as well as advised on the development of operational control management, tracking, and hazard alerting systems for the aviation industry. A frequent lecturer at global HEMS conferences, Benton has served as a Helicopter Association International committee chair and an instructor at the NTSB Training Academy.

Bizav Groups Urge NTSB To Back Pilot In Drug-test Case

NBAA, AOPA, and NATA are jointly urging an NTSB administrative law judge to reject an FAA appeal for full certificate revocations of a pilot, saying the appeal fails to recognize due process.

The three associations jointly filed an amicus brief in defense of the charter pilot, James Knight, who had his certificate revoked after testing positive for drugs. Knight, who had spent an evening with his child in the emergency room, had said that at the time he had inadvertently taken a single dose of his child’s prescription Vyvanse instead of his prescribed cholesterol medication. A few days later, Knight was subjected to a random drug test and failed, and subsequently faced certificate revocations.

In September, an NTSB administrative law judge reduced the revocation to a 90-day suspension, citing the mitigating circumstance. But the FAA is appealing the NTSB ruling, arguing that its decision to sanction through certificate revocation is not reviewable by the NTSB and that the NTSB should determine that any violation of the drug testing requirement automatically demonstrates a lack of qualifications, according to the three associations.

However, the associations argue that the FAA’s arguments “would stretch its authority to preclude NTSB review in cases of inadvertent ingestion, essentially eliminating inadvertent ingestion as an affirmative defense. This goes too far.”

FAA To Eliminate HIWAS Program

After reviewing comments received about the FAA’s proposal last year to discontinue the Hazardous Inflight Weather Advisory Service (HIWAS), the agency has ruled to eliminate the program effective January 8. The broadcast allows pilots to access hazardous weather while in flight without going through an FSS.

HIWAS was conceived some 40 years ago when there was a large demand for in-flight briefings from FSS specialists and wait times could be extremely long. With the advent of digital technology, the demand for HIWAS has declined dramatically.

The FAA received 27 comments on the proposal. Thirteen either supported the initiative or were neutral about the proposal, while three comments did not apply. A number of the remaining comments focused on the inability of pilots to obtain weather from alternate sources such as EFBs or other digital products.

In addition, the FAA said, “Air traffic controllers will continue to advise pilots of hazardous weather that may affect operations within 150 nautical miles of their sector or area of jurisdiction.”

A safety risk management panel was held on February 26 to address concerns raised by stakeholders. The panel consisted of representatives from the FAA and industry, including AOPA. The panel reviewed all comments and the participants were unanimous in their opinion that “removing the legacy service would not add any additional safety risks.”

One Airport Replaces Two in Iowa

Following last year’s opening of Iowa’s Sioux County Regional Airport (SXK), the county has submitted paperwork to the FAA indicating it will permanently close nearby dedicated business and general aviation gateway Orange City Municipal Airport (ORC) on January 31. As required under the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS), which listed ORC and its 4,252-foot main runway, the FAA must formally approve the closure of the airport, located five miles from SXK.

According to Sioux County Regional Airport board member and past chairman Harold Schiebout, fueling and FBO services at ORC, which had no taxiway, had already been unavailable there for more than a year. “We discontinued those services last fall as well, but because we were going through the formal closure process with headquarters, the FAA wanted us to keep it open officially even though we were not providing services there,” Schiebout told AIN.

County-run Sioux Center Municipal Airport (SOY), a non-NPIAS airport with a 3,800-foot-long, 50-foot-wide runway was closed last year, and in a letter to the FAA, Schiebout noted the assets of ORC and SOY will be transferred to the new airport.

SXK, which replaced the two, has a 5,500-foot-long, 100-foot-wide runway and a full-length taxiway. Ground handling, hangarage, maintenance, and aircraft charter services there are provided by FBO operator AirFlair.

AIN Webinar TOMORROW: Key Steps to a Successful Aircraft Transaction

There are several steps where business aircraft deals can go sideways, including miscommunication, ethics issues, misunderstanding of regulations, and any number of traps for the unwary. Learn how to identify and assemble the right team early in the aircraft buying or selling process, a checklist of action items/steps, and caveats for financial stages. Join us for this free webinar on December 10 at 1:30 p.m. EST as AIN editor-in-chief Matt Thurber moderates a panel of experts that includes Keith Swirsky, president of GKG Law, P.C.; Keith Hayes, senior v-p and national sales manager at PNC Aviation Finance; and Jad Donaldson, past chairman of the NBAA Business Aviation Management Committee, a past co-chair of the annual NBAA Leadership Conference, and now director of aviation for Harley-Davidson Motor Company.  Sponsored by Duncan Aviation and Mesinger Jet Sales.