EBAA and GAMA are demanding action from governments and regulators to help the industry achieve its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In a joint letter published today, the industry groups spelled out their key lobbying points for the 2024 to 2029 European Union (EU) legislative period.

Among the main calls to action in the document is for the incoming European Commission and Parliament to reform the ReFuelEU Regulation to include “a reliable, fraud-proof” book-and-claim system for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that would be recognized by the EU’s emissions trading scheme. According to EBAA and GAMA, this action would “send strong market signals” to SAF producers. They said this action would also help to reduce “currently excessive” SAF prices and create a single market for the fuel.

The new European Business Aviation Manifesto also calls for business aviation to be admitted to the EU’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy to give the industry access to the financing required to renew its fleet with newer, cleaner, and quieter aircraft.

Additionally, the EBAA and GAMA lobbying alliance is focused on opposing the threat of “severe taxes,” as well as operating restrictions and bans. They called on European Commission officials and members of the European Parliament to take account of how restricting business aviation could impact the competitiveness of Europe’s economy.

Global business aircraft flight activity last month rose by 1.4% from a year ago, despite decreases in key North American and European markets, according to the latest TraqPak data from Argus International. Flying in North America and Europe respectively dipped by 2.4% and 3.1% year over year, while activity in the rest of the world surged by 37.9%. Argus forecasters expect a 3.6% decrease in North American flying this month, as well as a 4.5% erosion in Europe, versus September 2023.

In North America, activity declined in every aircraft segment, with large-cabin jet flying suffering a 9.3% decrease from a year ago. Other segments had more moderate losses: turboprops, -1.5%; light jets, -1.4%; and midsize jets, -0.9%. Fractional flying was above water, logging an 8.6% gain from a year ago, while Part 91 and 135/charter activity fell 5.5% and 3.3%, respectively.

Though overall European activity was weaker than North America, performance by aircraft category was more mixed, with light and midsize jets climbing by 0.6% and 1.6% year over year, respectively. Turboprop flying dove by 12.1% and large-cabin jets were down by 3% in the region. In the rest of the world, turboprop activity surged by 61.1%, followed by midsize jets, +30.9%; light jets, +27.6%; and large-cabin jets, +8.4%.

After forming a workgroup to study the issue of GPS/global navigation satellite system (GNSS) spoofing, flight operations support provider OpsGroup has released its GPS Spoofing Final Report, identifying key issues and work underway to mitigate spoofing problems. More than 950 people—including pilots, air traffic controllers, regulatory authorities, manufacturers, GPS experts, and industry group members—helped with the report. Spoofing occurs when a GPS/GNSS receiver is tricked into calculating a false position by equipment transmitting from the ground.

According to the OpsGroup report, “The greatest safety concern is the degraded functionality of the ground proximity warning system. The system does not operate correctly after spoofing, even if GPS coverage is restored. The number of false alerts is astounding. There is an increasing normalization of risk. As a result, there was widespread apprehension in the workgroup that the decades-long work to reduce controlled flight into terrain accidents is at great risk of being undone.”

In a survey that saw nearly 2,000 responses, OpsGroup reported, “The results show that a full 1,400 crewmembers (~70%) rated their concern relating to GPS spoofing impact on flight safety as very high or extreme [and] 91% of all crew members rated their concern as moderate or higher.”

OpsGroup has noted a 500% increase in spoofing this year, now affecting an average of 1,500 flights per day.

California aviation services provider Desert Jet has sold its aircraft charter and management division to Los Angeles-based operator Advanced Air. The transaction, subject to regulatory approval, will include Desert Jet’s Part 135 certificate and the eight Textron aircraft on it, including Cessna Citation Sovereigns, Bravos, and CJ3s, as well as Beechcraft King Air 350s.

According to Desert Jet CEO Jared Fox, those aircraft will initially remain on its certificate before ultimately migrating to Advanced’s certificate. Desert Jet's certificate holds all the industry's highest safety ratings, including Argus Platinum, Wyvern Wingman, and IS-BAO Stage 3.

“We wanted an acquisition partner that would provide the very best to the Desert Jet employees that will be making the move over, to the aircraft owners, and ultimately to the Desert Jet charter clientele, and without a doubt, Advanced Air checked all of those boxes,” Fox told AIN.

Desert Jet, which operates an FBO and Part 145 maintenance facility at Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport (KTRM) in Palm Springs, began its presence at KTRM in 2006 as a charter operator and added FBO services a decade later. In 2019, it opened its permanent facility. Fox believes that the company has played a role in increasing traffic to the airport and looks to expand that success to other locations.

The Million Air aircraft maintenance team has meticulously restored a historic Douglas A-26 Invader bomber aircraft. This twin-engine light bomber, which played a crucial role during the later stages of World War II and in the post-war years, then flew transatlantic for the anniversary of D-Day, piloted by Million Air's CEO.

An NTSB preliminary report released on Friday provides few clues as to why a Cessna Citation II failed to climb after takeoff and hit power lines before crashing, killing the pilot and passenger and injuring a person on the ground. The twinjet departed Runway 16 at Odessa-Schlemeyer Field Airport in Odessa, Texas, on August 20 on a planned IFR Part 91 flight to Houston Ellington Field. Weather was day VMC with a calm wind from the south.

The report cites a pilot witness who said the airplane’s engines at takeoff sounded “unusual.” He saw the twinjet as it flew near-level down the last one-third of the 5,003-foot-long runway at about 10 feet agl. The airplane crossed a road then collided with power lines and a restaurant before stopping about 150 yards south before a post-impact fire consumed most of the Citation.

Remnants of all the primary flight controls were located at the accident site. According to the report, a parking brake valve was found “in the disengaged position.” The cockpit voice recorder was located in the wreckage and sent to the NTSB recorders lab for analysis.

The 33-year-old accident airplane was registered in 2022 to TechCorr of Pasadena, Texas. Killed in the crash were Joseph Summa, the pilot and TechCorr CEO, and passenger Joleen Weatherly, senior administrative manager at the company.

Classic Lear Jet Foundation, the nonprofit group that is attempting to restore the first delivered Lear Jet 23 (S/N 23-003) to flight status in Wichita, has signed a long-term agreement with Bombardier that will provide shelter for the project.

23-003 was moved to Building 14, the former Learjet delivery hangar, in May 2023, and since then the organization has held several events and viewings of the aircraft there. The bulk of the light twinjet’s restoration is being done in a bay in Building 14, with the group’s latest progress update noting that the removal of the cockpit circuit breaker panels revealed a spaghetti bowl of unidentified wires, each of which will have to be marked before removal.

This signals the start of the removal of the cabin wiring and the remaining cockpit wiring as the fuselage is prepared for the dirty job of removing all of the spray foam insulation so a thorough structural evaluation can be conducted. Additionally, the exterior paint will be stripped. That work will require the movement of the fuselage to a different bay.

The foundation said the certainty of the agreement will greatly accelerate the pace of the project and thanked the city of Wichita for its cooperation in supporting the approval of the hosting agreement.

Leonardo has granted authorized service center status to Egypt-based Petroleum Air Services, enabling the flight and maintenance provider to expand the services it offers to third-party customers and operators of Leonardo helicopters in the region. Previously, Petroleum Air was a Leonardo-recognized service center.

Petroleum Air Services operates a fleet of eight Leonardo AW139 medium twins for offshore energy service transportation in Egypt. The company’s AW139 fleet has logged nearly 24,000 flight hours since it began flying in Egypt in 2009.

As a joint stock company owned by shareholders Egyptian General Petroleum and Bristow Group, Petroleum Air Services operates a fleet of 31 helicopters and eight airplanes in Egypt and outside the country for oil and gas, tourism, and other segments. The company flies charter and scheduled flights and performs powerline insulator washing with helicopters, as well as providing aircraft maintenance. Its bases are located around the Red Sea, Mediterranean, and South Sinai areas.

Plans call for adding to the helicopter fleet to serve customers with new concession rights in Egypt for offshore oil and gas activities in either the Red Sea or the Mediterranean, according to Petroleum Air Services.

The NTSB released Safety Alert SA091 urging operators of twin-piston aircraft to understand proper procedures for partial engine failures and to practice handling them. In the guidance, the Safety Board noted that existing training and checklists for multi-engine piston aircraft primarily address total engine failure.

“This gap in training and awareness can result in critical control issues during flight, especially during single-engine operation scenarios,” the NTSB said. “Partial loss of engine power in multi-engine aircraft is often improperly managed, leading to increased risk of loss of control.”

Of concern is the need to properly feather the propeller of an engine that has lost power. However, constant-speed, manually feathering propellers on multi-engine aircraft are equipped with “start locks” that keep propeller blades from going into feather position during a normal engine shutdown on the ground and can engage in flight if the propeller’s rpm drops below a certain threshold.

“It is imperative, therefore, to feather the propeller before the rpm decreases below the start lock engagement speed,” the Safety Board said. “Delayed propeller feathering in partial loss of engine power scenarios can dangerously result in drag, compromising control and safety.”

Join us for lunch on Wednesday, October 23, at NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas to hear from a distinguished panel of experts who will discuss the options for satellite internet and help you make an informed decision. Gain a deeper understanding of today’s data demands, game-changing LEO satellite technologies, and—looking beyond speed—what else you need to know. Sponsored by Gogo Business Aviation.