Australia’s New South Wales Ambulance has taken delivery of the first of a pair of Pilatus PC-24 light jets outfitted for aeromedical services it ordered in 2021. The twinjet will be used to provide service in the southeastern state, which covers an area of approximately 800,000 sq km (306,000 sq mi) and includes the country’s largest city, Sydney.

According to the operator, the PC-24—which is able to operate from short, unpaved runways—will conduct around 800 flights, transferring approximately 6,500 patients, during its first year of service.

“The PC-24 increases the capability of our aeromedical operations and is ideal for the long distances we have to cover in Australia,” said New South Wales Ambulance commissioner Dominic Morgan. “It will be a great asset to our clinical staff and patients.”

Medical cases can be loaded and unloaded from the airplane, which is equipped with a patient loading door, via an electrically-powered loading device or a ramp.

“The PC-24 is no stranger to the aeromedical space; it’s a highly sought-after platform for many of the top aeromedical organizations around the world,” said Pilatus Australia CEO Sebastian Lip. “Like the aircraft, the aeromedical configuration has proven itself in some of the harshest operating conditions anywhere.”

Two pilots who perished after crash-landing a Bombardier Challenger 604 experiencing a dual engine failure onto Interstate I-75 near Naples, Florida, on Friday afternoon are being hailed as heroes for saving the three cabin occupants and narrowly avoiding hitting a dense residential area. According to the Collier County Sheriff, the two pilots were Edward Daniel Murphy, 50, of Oakland Park, Florida, and second-in-command Ian Frederick Hofmann, 65, of Pompano Beach, Florida. The aircraft, registered as N823KD, was leased and operated by Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Part 135 charter firm Hop-A-Jet. 

N823KD was approaching to land at Naples Airport (KAPF)—its intended destination after departing from The Ohio State University Airport in Columbus—but crashed approximately two miles east/northeast of KAPF on the southbound lane of I-75 after reporting a dual engine failure to Naples Tower. The jet struck two automobiles and then caught fire.

Survivors include cabin crewmember Sydney Ann Bosmans of Jupiter, Florida, and passengers Aaron Baker and Audra Green, both of Columbus, Ohio, the sheriff's department said. “Survivors were transported to an area hospital for treatment of their injuries,” it added. Bosmans' LinkedIn page shows that she has been a contract business jet flight attendant for more than two years, completing FACTS flight attendant safety training, with emphasis on emergency egress, in December 2022.

The NTSB is investigating the accident.

Six people lost their lives in three business jet accidents in the first six weeks of 2024—a sixfold year-over-year increase in fatalities. According to preliminary information, two of the mishaps involved dual engine flameouts. In the same period last year, the sole-occupant pilot was killed in a singular business jet crash.

On January 20, a Russian-registered Dassault Falcon 10 on an air ambulance flight from Thailand to Moscow crash-landed on a mountain slope in Afghanistan after the crew reported first that one engine had flamed out, followed shortly by the other. Killed in the crash were the patient and her husband. The four other occupants survived.

Two pilots died on Wednesday in a crash of a U.S.-registered Hawker 900XP in Utah about 10 minutes after taking off from Grand Junction, Colorado, on a planned flight to Seattle. ADS-B data suggests that the aircraft had reached 20,000 feet before descending at more than 13,000 fpm before impact.

Preceding Friday’s crash landing of a Bombardier Challenger 604 while approaching Florida’s Naples Airport on a charter flight from Ohio, the crew reported that both engines had flamed out. The three passengers survived, but the two pilots were killed.

In addition to these three business jet accidents, January alone witnessed the fatal crashes of three non-U.S.-registered business turboprops, resulting in the deaths of all 17 of their occupants.

Aircraft management company Davinci Jets has completed "first-article" installation of SmartSky Networks’ air-to-ground Flagship connectivity system in one of its owners’ Citation Latitudes. The work was done by Davinci’s in-house MRO division under a Form 337 field approval.

SmartSky expects to receive an FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) for the Latitude installation in the “coming months.” Liberty Partners of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, provided engineering support for the Latitude installation. SmartSky is developing additional STCs for other business jet models and has secured 15 thus far.

Davinci Jets is installing SmartSky systems in most of the jets that it manages. After the SmartSky Flagship system was installed in the Latitude, passengers on the jet’s next flight were able to make video calls on six devices simultaneously, join a video meeting, stream Netflix and Fubo TV shows, email large attachments, work with Salesforce and Microsoft Teams, make phone calls, and run speed tests.

“Demand for SmartSky is growing in the marketplace because customers expect to be continuously and reliably connected even while in transit,” said Davinci Jets CEO Eric Legvold. “The customers who are now flying SmartSky-equipped planes are able to do just that.”

U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee and aviation subcommittee members urged FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker to take “decisive actions” that would encourage aviation professionals to seek mental health care.

“We are concerned about the FAA’s approach to ensuring aviation professionals can obtain mental health care in a timely and efficient manner,” the lawmakers said in a joint letter sent last week. “It is clear to us that talented aviation professionals...often suffer in silence because of the fear that medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment, could potentially prolong their return to work, or even prevent them from pursuing their aviation careers.”

Signed by T&I Chair Sam Graves (R-Missouri) and Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-Washington), along with subcommittee Chair Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) and Ranking Member Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee), the letter said the FAA needs to reduce the stigma around mental health care, remove barriers without jeopardizing safety standards, reduce wait times on special issuance medicals, and strengthen the trust of the workforce.

NBAA welcomed the call for action. “This issue is a priority for business aviation, and we know it’s a priority for FAA and NTSB because it’s vital to aviation safety,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. 

Meanwhile, the topic will be discussed on February 26 at a United States Helicopter Safety Team all-hands meeting on the eve of Heli-Expo.

A coalition of aviation industry companies in Canada—along with other stakeholders—have issued a letter to the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, seeking the provision of governmental financial incentives towards the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the country’s latest budget.

The letter noted that neat SAF can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 80 percent over conventional jet-A and pointed to Canada’s inherent advantages in producing the renewable fuel. “We have varied sustainable biomass in abundance, unparalleled experience in resource development and renewable energy, and most importantly, stakeholders across the entire value chain ready to act.”

Despite these, the group added that the Canadian government has yet to implement any incentives to ensure domestic SAF production.

The letter’s signatories—which include Bombardier, Airbus, Air Canada, the Canadian Business Aviation Association, and others—urged the government to follow the recommendations set forth by the Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels. They include a refundable investment tax credit of 50 percent for SAF production facilities, a 10-year production tax credit similar to the one implemented in the U.S. or other revenue-certainty mechanisms to support SAF production and boost offtake, and the introduction of a book-and-claim system for SAF use in Canada.

Sugar Land, Texas-based PrimeFlight Aviation Services expanded into the Mexico market with the acquisition of Aerocharter de Mexico through a stock deal. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

With the purchase, PrimeFlight gains Aerocharter’s operations at 16 airports across Mexico. “We are actively engaged in expanding our cargo and ground handling footprint across Mexico with the local expertise of the Aerocharter team backed by the global footprint and operational knowledge of our team,” said PrimeFlight president and CEO Dan Bucaro.

Along with cargo and ground handling, Aerocharter provides mail, security, shuttle, and ground support maintenance services. Included in the acquisition are Aerocharter’s operations at Cancun, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juarez, Culiacan, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, La Paz, Merida, Mexico City, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Queretaro, San Jose del Cabo, Santa Lucia, Tijuana, and Villahermosa.

Aerocharter CEO Luis Ramos Cabrero will remain with the business, which will continue under its current branding for the time being. Plans call, however, for folding it into the PrimeFlight branding. “Through this joint-venture partnership, our team will gain access to best practices and tremendous support from their strong corporate team with experience managing a global workforce," Cabrero said.

PrimeFlight Aviation Services provides airline and airport ground handling, fueling services, cargo handling, and a range of other ground support services, including for general aviation aircraft.

Aviation service software provider X-1FBO has released its new X-1 Landing System with New Jersey business aviation hub Morristown Airport (KMMU) as its launch customer.

The new solution uses flight tracking data to provide a fully automated monitoring system for all incoming and outgoing aircraft traffic. Based on parameters such as aircraft size, weight, or any customer-negotiated rates, it can automatically calculate the correct fees and send an invoice to the customer, eliminating the need for manual data entry. Customers can then settle their invoice via email or log into their secure customer portal to view and pay multiple landing fees at a time.

Each development phase of the software was tested at KMMU to ensure that its operation was seamless and user-friendly. “We are very excited about introducing this new product for our loyal, Morristown Airport users,” said Corey Hanlon, the airport's manager. “X-1 Landing is going to enable us to provide an even higher level of convenience and reliability for our valued customers.”

According to the software designer, the Landing product is a standalone module that will run independently of its X-1FBO management package. “We are committed to driving transformative change in general aviation, addressing a need that has long been overdue,” added Humberto Zuluaga, the Florida-based company’s chief technology officer. “We’re excited to watch the impact of X-1 Landing unfold.”