EBAA Exec Shakeup Comes on Cusp of EBACE 2026 Decision

The two top leaders at the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) today announced their departures in what the group called “a series of leadership changes as part of a broader organizational reform initiative aimed at enhancing the association’s effectiveness, responsiveness, and value.” Effective immediately, Holger Krahmer has stepped down from his role as secretary general, while COO Robert Baltus has resigned and will leave EBAA later this year, the association said. Former Jet Aviation and Luxaviation executive Stefan Benz has been appointed as EBAA interim managing director.

This move comes just days before EBAA’s planned June 30 announcement about where its annual EBACE show will be held next year. An EBAA spokesman told AIN that there will be a forthcoming announcement on Monday, but did not specify whether or not this will address the future of the EBACE event.

Meanwhile, Benz “will lead an organizational change program…[that] will bring a leaner, more agile association closer to its members’ and its national associations’ partners,” EBAA said. “This is necessary during a period where several existential threats are emerging in regulation, resource availability, environmental policy, taxation, and access to airspace and airports.”

According to EBAA, Benz’s priorities are to create a stronger association attuned to the challenges of its members; enhance its value proposition; implement a new membership fee structure in January; and ensure that EBACE remains “Europe’s premier business aviation event.”

AINsight: Will Secondary Doors Be a Flying Jail Cell?

We’ve now had two situations where locked cockpit doors have either resulted in an accident or nearly allowed an accident to happen. And new requirements will see even more complex, secondary doors that could feature in future screw-ups. The only way to fix this is to put the bathroom inside the flight deck and cut slots in the doors so flight attendants can shovel food in for the pilots.

Wait a minute—now we’re talking about a flying jail cell.

This issue is coming to the fore not just because of the Germanwings accident on March 24, 2015, where the first officer locked the captain out of the flight deck and then crashed the airplane, killing all 150 on board. Nor is it because of the Feb. 17, 2024, Lufthansa Airbus A321 incident where the pilot left the flight deck to go to the bathroom and the first officer lost consciousness for 10 minutes.

In that incident, the captain was unable to open the door because of various complicated design features that are intended to keep ill-intended people from breaching the flight deck. The door didn’t open until the first officer regained consciousness and released a switch to allow the captain access.

Pro Star Aviation Opens Pilatus Sales and Service Center

MRO provider Pro Star Aviation yesterday opened its newest base, a Pilatus sales and service center, at Gerald R. Ford International Airport (KGRR) near Grand Rapids, Michigan. The facility supports Pilatus PC-12 turboprops and PC-24 jets, including sales, avionics upgrades, special mission modifications, and MRO.

The multi-bay hangar features a 17,000-sq-ft office building with a pilot lounge, flight-planning area, cafeteria, and quiet spaces.

“Completing this expansion into West Michigan is a proud accomplishment for our team, and we are delighted to celebrate such an important milestone,” said Pro Star Group CEO Henry Laughlin. “Providing our Pilatus customers in the region with exceptional service and support is of great importance, and this new facility will enable us to elevate that effort to the next level.”

Pro Star’s main facility is located at Manchester–Boston Regional Airport (KMHT) in New Hampshire. The Michigan center is one of 60 global independent Pilatus sales and service centers.

“We are delighted to see Pro Star undertake this significant expansion to the Pilatus-authorized center network,” said Pete Wolak, v-p of customer service at the company’s U.S. arm, Pilatus Business Aircraft. “We pride ourselves on delivering exceptional products, and our support network is equally important. This new facility in Grand Rapids will allow us to provide even better support to our customers in North America.”

New Pilot Privacy Bill Would Curb ADS-B Misuse

New legislation introduced by U.S. Congress would federally restrict the use of ADS-B flight tracking data for non-safety-related purposes. The Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act, introduced yesterday in the House and Senate, would prohibit the use of ADS-B data to assess fees or initiate enforcement actions unrelated to safety, and explicitly reaffirm that its intended use is for air traffic management and situational awareness.

The proposed legislation would bar the use of ADS-B data to collect landing or access fees, and would expand language in the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act preventing investigations based solely on ADS-B evidence. Also, the bills require that public-use airports make the cost impacts of any new landing fees transparent and stipulate that such fees must be used to fund airside safety improvements.

Some state governments have already begun to act. Montana recently passed a law preventing airports from using ADS-B data to collect fees, and similar legislation has been introduced in Minnesota. But AOPA cautioned that a national policy is needed to prevent a patchwork of state laws. “We appreciate the recognition this issue is receiving at the state level, but…these bills in Congress are so important,” said AOPA president and CEO Darren Pleasance.

Pleasance praised lawmakers for advancing a federal solution. “Using ADS-B data for economic reasons clearly undermines the FAA’s 2020 ADS-B safety mandate,” he said.

NTSB Faults Boeing Training in 2024 Max 9 Door Failure

Boeing’s failure to ensure adequate training, guidance, and oversight of its factory personnel led to the in-flight mid-exit door plug blowout on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, the NTSB found in a June 24 meeting. The Board also cited the FAA’s ineffective oversight of Boeing’s quality and safety systems as a contributing factor in the Jan. 5, 2024, incident involving the 737 Max 9.

The NTSB found that the plug had been opened on Sept. 18, 2023, during a rivet repair at Boeing’s Renton, Washington factory. It was closed the following day—without the involvement of technicians qualified under Boeing’s procedures to perform plug installations. Investigators also found that the work was undocumented, which meant no quality assurance inspection occurred. This lapse, the agency concluded, occurred because Boeing failed to provide adequate training, guidance, or oversight to workers performing the task.

Additionally, the Board cited “repetitive and systemic” problems in Boeing’s manufacturing quality processes, and found that the FAA had failed to ensure that the company corrected these issues. The FAA’s role was further scrutinized for its ineffective oversight of Boeing’s voluntary safety management system, which the Board described as “inadequate” and “not capable of proactively identifying and mitigating risks.”

NTSB investigators emphasized the importance of better training on the use of flight crew oxygen systems and communication equipment during emergencies.

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Photo of the Week

Shooting for the moon. Venturi Astrolab’s Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) lunar rover, captured last week at the Paris Air Show by AIN photographer David McIntosh, is slated to be on board SpaceX’s lunar mission later this decade. FLEX will be the largest and most capable rover to ever travel to the moon, according to Venturi.

Keep them coming. If you’d like to submit an entry for Photo of the Week, email a high-resolution horizontal image (at least 2000 x 1200 pixels), along with your name, contact information, social media names, and info about it (including brief description, location, etc.) to photos@ainonline.com. Tail numbers can be removed upon request. Those submitting photos give AIN implied consent to publish them in its publications and social media channels.