With this weekend’s NFL conference championship games determining who will meet in Super Bowl LVIII, the FAA has issued early guidelines for general aviation traffic heading to the game, which will be held in Las Vegas on February 11.

“While we’ve always been a very popular destination for Super Bowl viewing, this is the first time we have hosted it, so there are a lot of unknowns at this point,” said Clark County Department of Aviation spokesperson Heidi Hayes. The county operates the FBOs at dedicated general aviation gateways Henderson Executive (KHND) and North Las Vegas (KVGT) airports, while private traffic at Harry Reid International Airport (KLAS) is handled by the industry’s two largest service providers—Signature Aviation and Atlantic Aviation.

The city recently had what could be considered a dress rehearsal when it hosted its first F1 Grand Prix race two months ago. Hayes noted that, from November 14 to 21, KHND and KVGT combined exceeded 1,000 movements and pumped more than 350,000 gallons of fuel. “We’re expecting Super Bowl to be at least similar to F1,” she said.

The FAA stated that VFR arrivals may expect lengthy delays and potential holding during peak traffic periods and added that operators must file flight plans at least six hours, but not more than 24 hours, prior to the proposed time of departure.

The NTSB has permanently retired its “Most Wanted List” of transportation safety improvements. This list was a safety advocacy tool to bring awareness to the top issues affecting all modes of transportation. It had a good run. After 35 years, the Board will now become nimbler and use other forms of media to advocate for emerging safety issues and its safety priorities.

As an aviation safety professional, I would eagerly await the release of “the list” that was published every other year. For me, and other safety nerds around the world, it was as highly anticipated as college basketball’s March Madness tournament brackets or the publication of the annual football bowl schedules.

But now it’s gone. I didn’t wager any bets, but like my favorite sports teams (go Michigan!), I would always root for the most pressing safety issues or safety programs that I’d grown to love to make the NTSB’s list.

Based on the amount of news coverage, runway incursions and pilot mental health would be safe bets to make the list. Would that list be applicable to operators of business aviation aircraft?

To get a better understanding of the top safety threats or issues affecting business aviation, I reached out to three editors at AIN, as well as Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) president Bryan Burns and Wyvern CEO Sonnie Bates.

NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity has bitten the dust after three fruitful years of exploration on the Red Planet. According to NASA, the aircraft suffered damage to its rotor blades during a rough landing after its final flight on January 18.

The helicopter, endearingly nicknamed Ginny, arrived on Mars in February 2021 after hitching a ride on the agency’s Perseverance rover. Three months later, it became the first aircraft to conduct controlled, powered flight on another planet. Mars’ thin atmosphere presented a challenge for the little rotorcraft, which had to spin its blades up to 10 times faster than helicopters on Earth to stay aloft.

During its 72nd and final sortie, Ingenuity lost contact with Perseverance, which served as its communication relay with Earth, shortly before touchdown. When NASA reestablished contact with the helicopter, new imagery revealed that “one or more of its rotor blades sustained damage during landing, and it is no longer capable of flight,” the agency said in a statement.

The $80 million aircraft, which weighs about four pounds on Earth, was designed to perform five flights over the course of 30 days. By the end of its three-year extended mission, the autonomous rotorcraft had logged nearly 129 minutes of flight time and covered 11 miles of ground—more than 14 times farther than NASA originally planned.

FlyExclusive secured a $25.8 million two-year revolving credit facility that will help the company continue to evolve its fractional aircraft program. The facility is through ETG FE, an investment vehicle managed by EnTrust Global.

“We believe this facility is a strong vote of confidence in FlyExclusive’s strategy and continued initiatives to increase growth and profitability,” said FlyExclusive founder and CEO Jim Segrave. “We look forward to the continued partnership with ETG FE LLC and EnTrust Global, and believe this facility marks an important milestone in our journey to provide customers with the highest level of comfort, safety, and quality.”

The investment follows FlyExclusive's move to go public last month through a business combination with EG Acquisition—which was sponsored by EnTrust Global and GMF Capital. In addition, the company lined up a $30 million investment from the state of North Carolina to help fund a new headquarters and pilot training center, among the initiatives the fractional ownership provider has undertaken toward vertical integration.

Business aviation support group Clay Lacy Aviation is expanding its ambitions to be part of the advanced air mobility sector through a partnership with a second eVTOL aircraft developer. On Wednesday, Overair said it will jointly develop a concept of operations for its five-passenger Butterfly aircraft at Clay Lacy FBOs.

Earlier this month, Clay Lacy announced a similar partnership with rival eVTOL aircraft developer Joby. On Tuesday, Joby confirmed separate plans to use a Kearny, New Jersey heliport as an operating base for eVTOL air taxi services in the New York City area through an agreement with the facility’s owner and operator, Helo Holdings.

Initially, the collaboration with Overair will focus on Clay Lacy's facilities at John Wayne and Van Nuys airports in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The companies will also look at options for developing vertiports at other locations. This year, Clay Lacy is set to open a third FBO at Waterbury-Oxford Airport in Connecticut.

Under the plan, Clay Lacy will focus on charging infrastructure and aircraft operation logistics, while Overair will provide expertise on aircraft integration, maintenance, certification, user and vertiport software integration, flight path planning, and building public awareness. Overair recently announced partnerships with prospective operators and infrastructure stakeholders in locations including India, Texas, and South Korea, and with the involvement of companies including Bristow and Hanwha Systems.