Bombardier’s annual Safety Standdown—the 30th edition and themed “Evolution Fueled by Legacy”—returns to Wichita November 10 to 12, drawing flight crews, maintenance technicians, and dispatchers from across the industry. The free, three-day event is open to all aviation professionals and will run both in person and online; registration for the 30th Safety Standdown is now open.

Keynote speaker Tony Kern, CEO of Convergent Performance, will trace a line from combat aviator John Boyd’s decision-making instincts to modern algorithmic approaches to risk. Other sessions include Ivan Pupulidy of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, presenting “Risk: The Untold Story;” Jermaine Cadogan, a Marine Corps major who retired after more than 20 years of service, with “Building a Culture of Excellence & Proactive Compliance;” and Tim Wade—Flexjet’s corporate director of environmental, health, and safety—presenting “What You Lead, You Leave,” on sharing a safety legacy.

The inaugural event began 30 years ago with a group of Wichita-based Learjet demonstration pilots who wanted their team to become the industry’s safest. Since then, the aviation safety program has drawn more than 10,000 industry professionals—flight crews, maintenance technicians, dispatchers, and schedulers across corporate, commercial, and military sectors—to live seminars and webcasts.

Bombardier works with an advisory council and event sponsors to keep the seminar free. Notably, the event has never charged attendees or been restricted solely to Bombardier operators.

FlyExclusive is consolidating its leadership, finance, technology, and commercial teams under one roof at a new 24,000-sq-ft headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina’s North Hills district, a move the company says will speed internal decision-making. The private aviation company will mark the move with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, September 30, at One North Hills Tower, hosted by the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.

Raleigh hosts more than 150 FlyExclusive employees, up from nearly 30 in January, and the company expects to add more than 100 aviation jobs in eastern North Carolina. FlyExclusive founder, chairman, and CEO Jim Segrave cited access to local talent as a key driver of the move. The company says it has invested heavily in AI over the past year to streamline its operations. “Every piece of this business is being evaluated on how we can automate, streamline, and make ourselves more efficient,” Segrave said.

The company’s maintenance activities remain headquartered about 70 miles southeast of Raleigh, in Kinston, North Carolina, where it began operating in 2015. Its roughly 80-jet fleet ranges from light to large-cabin models and includes 10 Bombardier Challengers. A Jet AI deal completed after the second quarter added three light jets. FlyExclusive also plans to add a simulator training center and a 121,000-sq-ft hangar at Kinston’s North Carolina Global TransPark.

Aircraft market intelligence firm AircraftPost is hosting a one-hour session to dissect a business aircraft transaction—specifically for a Gulfstream G650—on Wednesday, October 21, at 3:30 p.m. in Room W314 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in tandem with NBAA-BACE 2026. The “Behind the Deal” discussion, featuring four panelists from different disciplines involved in aircraft transactions, is free but requires registration. (AircraftPost is an AIN Media Group company.)

Panelists will be aircraft broker Michael Barber, JetAviva’s managing director and v-p of sales operations; aircraft financier Kyle O’Donnell, sales executive at Elevex Capital; engine OEM expert Lindsey Gillen, v-p of sales and marketing at Rolls-Royce; and appraiser Jeff Dunn, president of Hawthorne Aero Valuation Services. The AircraftPost team, led by AIN Media head of data Jo-Anne Arruda, will moderate the session.

According to Arruda, “Each panelist will explain their role in getting the aircraft placed on the market and sold.” She said the session is aimed at a wide array of people in the business aviation industry, including aircraft owners and operators, those working for aircraft finance companies, aircraft brokers, and aircraft market researchers and analysts.

“An aircraft transaction looks very different depending on where you sit,” she noted. “Attendees will get an inside look at what each expert considers before a deal moves forward, where their priorities differ, and how market data helps bring the full picture together.”

Helicopter sales and industry intelligence provider Aero Asset has released its 2026 Half Year Twin-Engine Edition, which examined retail sales activity, supply, pricing, regional market dynamics, and liquidity trends across the twin-engine helicopter market.

According to the Toronto-based company, retail sales in the segment increased 8% year over year (YOY), while available inventory shrank by 33%, reaching its lowest level in five years. As a result, pricing continued to strengthen during the first half of the year, with overall median transaction prices increasing 6% YOY. While the heavy-twin median transaction pricing reached a five-year high, the light and medium segments posted mixed results. Overall, twin-engine pricing reached its highest peak since the end of 2023.

The medium-twin and heavy-twin markets recorded stronger sales activity during the period, while light-twin sales softened. Inventory decreased across all three classes, with available light and medium twins both dropping to five-year lows.

North America remained the largest sales market during the first half of 2026, with 46% of all transactions. Europe recorded the strongest growth in retail sales, increasing 75% compared to the first half of 2025.

“While transaction activity increased during the first half of the year, the most significant development was the continued contraction in supply for sale,” said v-p of market research Valérie Pereira. “Supply reached a five-year low while pricing continues to strengthen, creating a favorable environment for sellers.”

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Local officials have confirmed few details following the overrun of a Cessna Citation Latitude last Monday at Misrata International Airport (HLMS) in Libya. The country’s transport minister, Mohammed Al-Shahoubi, has set up a committee to investigate the accident that occurred at the end of an empty-leg flight from Istanbul Atatürk Airport (LTBA).

Three crewmembers survived the crash and resulting fire. The Latitude appears to have veered off Runway 15 around 4,600 feet from the threshold before crossing the runway shoulder again and before a post-crash fire. According to multiple media reports, police detained both pilots as part of the investigation; no evidence released so far backs up rumors that Libyan prosecutors may be investigating the pilots for alleged intoxication. The cockpit voice and flight data recorders were recovered from the wreckage.

The Latitude, registered as TC-AKF, is logged as being operated by Turkey-based aircraft management and charter group BknJet (also known as Bikinijet). The company, which did not respond to a request from AIN for further information, operates several other jets, including a pair of Bombardier Global Expresses and an Embraer Legacy 650.

Northwest Missouri Aero Group recently acquired a controlling interest in ATD Flight Systems, a Kansas City air charter and flight-training company. Managing partner Lute Atieh leads the buyer group; founder Bill Hays has retired after nearly three decades running ATD, and his daughter, Keara Neifach, who has led the company for the past five years, remains part of the ownership group. Financial terms were not disclosed.

ATD operates ATD Air Charter; Part 141 flight school ATD Pilot Training; and ATD Aircraft Management. The combined organization, including the FlyTech flight school in St. Joseph, Missouri, operates 25 aircraft and employs roughly 75 people across five sites in Missouri and Iowa.

ATD’s charter fleet centers on Cessna Citation XLS+ and CJ-series jets, flown by full-time, two-pilot crews under the company’s own Part 135 certificate. ATD said the Pilatus PC-12 will be the next addition to its platform, with future plans to evaluate a large-cabin jet for international missions. ATD handles pilot training and maintenance in-house.

“Our operational model is intentional,” Atieh said. “Our charter pilots are full-time ATD employees, every charter flight is operated by two pilots, and our training and maintenance teams work alongside the people managing the aircraft and serving the customer.”

Operators posting full-time positions through CrewBlast OS can now see not just who applied for a job, but why qualified candidates passed on the opportunity. CrewBlast Co-Pilot, an AI tool built into the platform, reads candidate feedback on full-time postings and turns it into reports flagging factors such as pay, schedule, location, relocation terms, and experience requirements, replacing guesswork about why a position isn’t generating interest.

CrewBlast shared an example of a recent full-time job posting that drew candidate responses at a pace of 1.22 per minute during its first hour, or roughly one response every 49 seconds, giving operators near-immediate insight into how a position is landing with the market.

Timothy Griffin, founder and CEO of CrewBlast, said the tool adds a missing layer to recruiting. “Finding candidates is only one side of the equation,” Griffin said. “Co-Pilot adds the other side: understanding what those candidates are telling us about the job itself. That information can be incredibly valuable when an operator is trying to build an offer that actually competes in today’s market.”

Recently, the platform added an AI tool to vet crew credentials and soon after added capability for A&P recruiting, expanding from pilot and flight attendant staffing services.

Farnborough Airport is seeking applicants for its third cohort of airport operations trainees. The privately owned business aviation hub in the London area will once again provide training for multiple aviation-related skills in partnership with the nearby Farnborough College of Technology (FCoT).

The free program provides the opportunity to earn a certificate in airport operations for 16 to 18 adults aged 21 or over. Training will run for six weeks from November 3 through December 15, with classes held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at the college.

Students will receive instruction from subject matter experts and FCoT instructors, starting with an introduction to the airport industry and concluding with two “Airport Insights” days at Farnborough, spending time alongside professionals to get practical experience in their preferred specialty. Topics covered include rescue and firefighting, health and safety, ground handling, airport operations and security, customer service, and air traffic control.

According to the airport, the training is part of its investment in local talent and creating opportunities for people to explore aviation career options. “The success of previous cohorts demonstrates the real value of employer-led training, with learners developing industry-relevant skills, building professional networks, and, in some cases, progressing directly into employment within aviation,” said FCoT principal CEO Virginia Barrett.

Three students from the course conducted in 2025 are now working in aviation, with two of these having jobs at Farnborough Airport. Another student has begun a course in aeronautical engineering at FCoT.

Our lunch on Wednesday, October 21, at NBAA-BACE will explore one of the most important questions facing business aviation today: do we really understand what principals expect from in-flight connectivity? Drawing on one of business aviation's most comprehensive connectivity surveys, and one of the first to compare perspectives from both industry professionals and aircraft principals, this session reveals where assumptions and reality diverge, and what that means for the future of connectivity in the air. Co-hosted by Honeywell Aerospace and Viasat.