“Operational excellence that prioritizes preparation can transform desperate situations,” Barry “Butch” Wilmore, an ex-U.S. Navy F-18 pilot and retired NASA astronaut, told attendees this morning at the 2026 Citation Jet Pilots Association convention keynote session. Wilmore, a champion for aviation safety, knows desperate situations after losing seven of 12 thrusters on the Boeing Starliner during the crewed test flight while attempting to dock with the International Space Station (ISS).

“As a pilot, we aviate, navigate, and then communicate,” he said. “During the thruster failure, my focus was solely on aviating.” Fortunately, mission control was able to help him regain use of all but one thruster, permitting the space capsule to dock with the ISS. “The space station was our safe space,” given the malfunctioning thrusters, he added.

Because the cause of the failure was unknown at the time, the Starliner would not be used as intended to return him and crewmate Sunita Williams home three weeks later. Wilmore and Williams were stranded for another eight months on the ISS, finally returning to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule on March 18, 2025.

While the intense prelaunch preparation didn’t simulate such an extreme thruster-failure scenario, he said this training and his wide-ranging experience helped to guide him through the incident. “Superior aviators need to use their superior preparation and judgment to avoid having to use their superior skills,” he concluded.

Broker ONEflight, which specializes in pre-selling lift through jet cards and other mechanisms, has paused charter activity “for the next 30 days, or until further notice,” the company said in a note on its website. This pause will continue, the note added, “while we conduct a comprehensive evaluation of our current operations and status.”

ONEflight gained notoriety with a series of YouTube videos in which celebrities, including NFL legend John Elway and Robert Herjavec of Shark Tank fame, touted the broker’s BAJit service, which claimed access to 7,000 aircraft operated by 700 charter providers. In the Elway and Herjavec videos, the celebrities come to the rescue of charter customers who have been abandoned by their provider and show the customers how to use the BAJit app to find a timely replacement flight. Seven months ago, ONEflight and McLaren Formula 1 Team announced a “multi-year global partnership” that made ONEflight the team’s “Official Private Aviation Partner.”

According to Private Jet Card Comparisons, in an update on the ONEflight situation published September 16, ONEflight earned $232 million in revenue last year. “Based on sales volume, over $150 million in prepaid flights could be at stake. In a bankruptcy, clients with prepaid charter and jet card flights are unsecured creditors.”

Researcher Global Market Insights believes the business jet market will balloon from $27 billion in 2025 to more than $60.5 billion annually within a decade. Driving this growth are increasing global affluence, a growing preference for customized aviation services, and rising demand for more flexible options, the multidisciplinary market researcher maintained.

Global Market Insights projected the very light jet segment will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.5% between 2025 and 2035—from a $1.3 billion value to $6.3 billion, providing for regional connectivity and serving as an entry point for new private aviation flyers.

Light jets are estimated to climb at about a 14% CAGR, from $4.4 billion to $16.6 billion, while the midsize-jet sector will grow at a similar 13.9% CAGR, from $6 billion to $22.4 billion. Heavy jets, which accounted for $15.3 billion of the market in 2025, are estimated to remain flat.

By region, the North American business jet market is forecast to expand at a 7% CAGR, from $13.7 billion in 2025 to $27.7 billion in 2035. Europe is poised to increase from $5.7 billion to $11.9 billion (7.5% CAGR), while the Asia-Pacific region is projected to be the fastest-growing region at a 12% CAGR, from $5.5 billion to $17.3 billion.

Osprey Flight Solutions has warned aircraft operators of security risks and threats to jet fuel supplies in the wake of escalating conflict in the Gulf. On Wednesday, the security specialist issued an alert for anticipated missile and drone attacks on airports and oil and gas infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

On Tuesday, Saudi officials confirmed a fresh wave of drone attacks by Iran-backed Houthi forces based in Yemen, who are threatening the safe passage of ships passing through the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia has yet to reopen its East-West pipeline that was damaged on Saturday by attacks from an Iran-backed militia based in neighboring Iraq.

The tightening of oil supply routes, compounding the long-running disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, has resulted in crude oil prices passing $108 per barrel this week. For the week ending September 11, IATA’s Jet Fuel Price Monitor showed an average global price of $4.32 per gallon, which was 15.6% higher than the previous month. However, during the first week of September, business aircraft operators were already paying much higher full-service prices averaging $7.97 per gallon at FBOs, according to a report by iFlightPlanner.

Osprey has also warned aircraft operators that civil airports co-located with military bases in western and southwestern Saudi Arabia are at heightened risk from ballistic missile and drone attacks by Houthi forces. 

The best time to find a problem isn't before departure. It's after the last flight. Discover how post-flight inspections and proactive maintenance practices help operators reduce downtime, improve reliability, and better manage unexpected AOG events

Captain-in-training Colin DeBuse, who was flying as an observer with Corr Flight S. (dba Nicholas Air) captain Stacey Lee in October 2019, reported that Lee “engaged in numerous safety violations,” according to the results of a petition for review before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. After being terminated from his job, DeBuse filed a whistleblower complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that was initially dismissed, but then upheld on appeal. Corr Flight petitioned for the case to be reviewed, and ultimately the Court of Appeals denied the petition.

When DeBuse told company management that he would not fly with Lee because of these “safety violations,” managers told him “they had discussed the safety violation with Lee” and instructed DeBuse to either train with Lee or resign. “DeBuse refused to do either,” according to the court.

Corr Flight managers decided to suspend DeBuse without pay but offered him the opportunity to train at a third-party simulator provider. The offer included a training agreement and a deadline of November 27. DeBuse claimed that other Corr Flight pilots who were training in-house did not have to sign such agreements. “DeBuse did not accept or reject the offer because he considered it an unfair attempt to force him out of Corr Flight,” the Fifth Circuit said. “On December 10, Corr Flight terminated DeBuse.”

The FAA this week released an order implementing a unified safety management system (SMS) throughout the agency. Effective September 15, Order 1030.8 establishes safety management policy and the requirements for a single SMS under the Aviation Safety Management Office.

In January, the agency announced a reorganization that included a new safety oversight office tasked with implementing a single safety management system throughout the FAA. The agency said that instead of having individual offices monitor their own safety metrics, the new office would pull together and share safety data from across the agency.

At the time, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford explained to the Aero Club of Washington that there have been 14 lines of business at the FAA, and “We don’t collaborate well. We don’t share data across the silos. So we’re tearing those silos down, and we’re creating one FAA SMS.”

The order reiterated that the requirements are designed to “improve the FAA’s ability to proactively identify hazards and manage risk at the enterprise level.” It outlines the roles and responsibilities of the Aviation Safety Management Office regarding SMS, as well as those of the agency’s executive leadership, Executive Safety Council, and other personnel.

In addition, the order defines and standardizes safety management and facilitates information sharing, requiring a common approach to implementing and maturing a unified SMS that fosters a positive safety culture.

Infrastructure developer Ferrovial has embraced automated technology in the construction of a new runway at Rafael Hernández International Airport (TJBQ) in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

The $239 million project includes a 10,826-foot-long, 150-foot-wide runway, which is being built without disrupting airport operations. To meet that requirement, Ferrovial is deploying a trio of compaction rollers that have been modified to allow them to operate autonomously under the supervision of a single operator.

This enables the compaction rollers to perform multiple passes in a defined area following a programmed course. Using AI-powered vision systems and obstacle-detection technology, the equipment can automatically stop when it detects people or other vehicles, reducing the risk of incidents in high-activity work areas.

The automation enables the company to have continuous and precise control over each phase of the ground compaction, while facilitating more efficient management of resources onsite and reducing downtime typically associated with manual operations.

As these technologies continue to evolve, “an increase in collaborative models among construction companies, regulatory agencies, and technology providers is expected, with the goal of creating common standards and accelerating large-scale adoption across the industry,” the company said.

Business aviation industry professionals across Asia anticipate a growing demand for large business jets through 2030, with 30% believing that the increase will be dramatic, according to new research commissioned by Airbus Corporate Jets.

Researcher Pureprofile surveyed 60 business aviation financiers and brokers in Asia who work for companies that either own or use business aircraft. The survey revealed a growing confidence in the Asian business aviation market, Airbus Corporate Jets said, noting that 85% of respondents expect purchases of large business jets to increase through the remainder of the decade.

In addition, 62% of the respondents estimated that new business jet spending between 2025 and 2034 will be concentrated on large and long-range aircraft, results that Airbus Corporate Jets said point to a significant shift.

As further evidence of that shift, more than half of the respondents (56%) reported that at least a quarter of the aircraft they are involved in either selling or financing are upgrades into larger aircraft; they expect the 56% figure to climb to 89% by 2030, according to Airbus Corporate Jets.

As for reasons behind purchase decisions, 45% of respondents said that buyers place equal importance on range and larger cabin space, and 28% pointed to cabin comfort, passenger capacity, and aircraft customization. Additionally, 27% called range and mission flexibility a primary purchase driver.

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