NBAA Tells Congress: ATC Infrastructure, Workforce and Just Culture Crucial to Aviation Safety

National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen has urged a congressional aviation subcommittee to fund air traffic control (ATC) system infrastructure and controller hiring and training, while recognizing the critical contribution of industry safety initiatives.

In written testimony submitted for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Aviation hearing, “America Builds: Air Traffic Control System Infrastructure and Staffing,” which took place March 4, Bolen noted that the country’s robust and diverse ATC system is world-leading, but will only remain so with appropriate funding to modernize infrastructure and hire and train more air traffic controllers, while expanding on proven industry safety initiatives including data-sharing programs.

Read Bolen’s written testimony to the House Subcommittee on Aviation.

“NBAA’s mission is to foster an environment that allows business aviation to thrive,” Bolen noted in his testimony. “In order to do so, America’s National Airspace System (NAS) must be safe, and also be perceived to be safe. The events of the past month have us looking at those tough questions, including: Is air transportation in the U.S. safe today?”

Bolen also noted concern over public response to recent accidents and incidents, in which some have rushed to place blame, rather than allowing the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to complete the investigative process unencumbered by speculation or rumor.

“The foundation on which the aviation community dramatically improved our safety record over the last three decades is the development and implementation of a ‘just culture’ compliance philosophy, which encourages reporting errors, analyzing the collected data and learning from mistakes, without fear of retribution,” Bolen continued. “Just culture empowers the community to identify and address areas of risk before they become incidents or accidents, and when we jump to conclusions before the investigators’ report, we erode that foundation.” 

Bolen noted that a just culture foundation, together with robust FAA/industry educational outreach and training, has significantly contributed to the reduction in the incident and accident rate, with a scheduled airline fatal accident rate among U.S. air carriers near zero, until last month’s tragedy, and a general aviation fatal accident rate of just .762 per 100,000 flight hours in 2023, down from 1.118 per 100,000 flight hours in 2013. In the first 10 months of 2024, the rate of serious runway incursions fell by 73% compared to the same period in 2023.

Bolen described safety initiatives, including the development of pioneering technologies such as GPS and airborne collision-avoidance systems, as well as collaboration with the FAA on its Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) initiative and the development of the International Standard for Business Aviation Operations, or IS-BAO. Data-sharing programs have been key to reducing accident rates and runway incursions in the U.S., Bolen added.

“These data-sharing programs give us insight into events before tragedies happen. Our ability to drive down accidents and incidents relies on data collection, data sharing and a culture that encourages education, removed from an enforcement culture,” he said. “We should expand the safety equation to include all players at the table – airlines, general aviation, military, ATC and other stakeholders – and strengthen these programs to improve our safety record.

“The U.S. ATC system is one of the safest and most robust in the world, but the events of the past few months show we need to be better,” Bolen concluded. “The data show accident rates are low and headed lower, but the reality is we need to do more, and we need to do better, from ATC infrastructure and controller workforce funding to industry safety initiatives.”

NBAA commended the subcommittee for recognizing the importance of funding ATC infrastructure and the controller workforce, adding the association looks forward to collaboratively working to address ATC safety and efficiency to ensure that America’s aviation system remains the preeminent aviation system in the world.