AsBAA and ACP Hosts Inaugural China Business Aviation Safety Day 2021 in China

On April 8th, 2021, the Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) and US-China Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP) jointly hosted the China Business Aviation Safety Day 2021 in Chengdu, China. The China Business Aviation Safety Day hosted over 150 business aircraft pilots, OEMs, MROs, FBOs, EMS, airport, and government representatives in the year's first physical event for the Asian business aviation industry. In a historical first of its kind, the NTSB, FAA, and CAAC delivered virtual keynote presentations followed by expert presentation sessions covering a range of safety topics as relevant to business and general aviation in mainland China. All sessions were augmented with live English/Chinese dual language interpretation for all attendees.

Government keynotes featured the Honorable Robert L. Sumwalt, Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB); Robert Ruiz, Director, Office of General Aviation Safety Assurance (GASA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); Hu Zhenjiang, Deputy Administrator, Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC); and Xiong Jie, Director General, Aviation Safety Office, Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

NTSB Chairman Sumwalt, who spoke virtually from Washington D.C., presented on several business aviation accident case studies and discussed the importance of “negative publicity avoidance, taking the most conservative approach, following SOPs, and being a professional - which is doing the right things even when no one is watching.” CAAC Deputy Administrator, Hu Zhenjiang, emphasized the CAAC's commitment to aviation safety as part of the administration's five-year plans, and especially amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Deputy Administrator Hu encouraged budding Chinese GA and business aviation operators to "proactively adopt SMS" and promised for the "parallel development" of both commercial and general aviation in China. Deputy Administrator Hu further echoed NTSB Chairman Sumwalt's remarks on the importance of professionalism - not only among pilots, but among the "ecosystem of aircrew, operator, and airport management."

The event's presentations discussed the necessity of cultivating a safety culture, implementing effective SMS, strengthening investigations to ensure general aviation safety, safety innovations, data-driven SMS best practices, human factors, maintenance, ground handling, and others. In addition to the presentations were panel discussions on relevant topics moderated by Victoria Wilk, Director of Safety & Regulatory Affairs, China for Boeing; Rocky Zhang, AsBAA's Vice Chairman, Chair of the AsBAA Mainland China committee, and Vice President of Government Affairs for Textron China, and Chris Wu, President of Sino Jet Beijing. 

US-China ACP Executive Director Geoffrey Jackson as well as AsBAA Vice Chairmen Rocky Zhang and Paul Desgrosseilliers delivered opening and closing remarks for the event. Hosted by the Haite group in its physical conference and dining venues, attendees enjoyed a long-overdue opportunity to physically network over a fusion American/Chengdu cuisine luncheon, an afternoon tea break, as well as an evening cocktail to facilitate the exchange of awareness and ideas in aviation safety. The China Business Aviation Safety Day 2021 was sponsored by Haite, Gulfstream, Boeing, Bell Flight, and China Aviation Rescue & Emergency. 

"AsBAA is very pleased to have co-hosted and co-organized the historic China Business Aviation Safety 2021 with the US-China Aviation Cooperation Program," says Wu Zhendong, Chairman of the Asian Business Aviation Association. "For years, AsBAA has led the industry with in-depth, knowledge-based safety training for the Asian business aviation industry on a per-country basis. Since 2020, AsBAA's first dedicated safety committee has been taking the Association's safety initiatives to the next level, where we are constantly working closer with the relevant government authorities and industry stakeholders in identifying country-specific safety issues, highlighting regional safety concerns, and drawing lessons from experience to make Asian business aviation safer," says Wu Zhendong, Chairman of the Asian Business Aviation Association.

The Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) is a member of NBAA and IBAC. Following the critical reception of AsBAA's Virtual Safety Summit 2020 which saw the first participation of an Asian business aviation safety event by the NTSB and Civil Aviation Authority Singapore (CAAS), AsBAA has also hosted the Malaysia Virtual Safety Forum 2021 and the China Business Aviation Safety Day 2021 with participation of the NTSB, FAA, and the respective Asian country's civil aviation authorities. In its mission to improve aviation safety for business aviation in the region, AsBAA aims to host its next physical and/or virtual aviation safety events to the Philippines, Singapore, and elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region later this year. 

Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP) is a public-private partnership that works with aviation stakeholders in foreign countries outside of the US to design programs that promote technical, policy, and commercial cooperation in civil aviation. ACP is industry led and government supported with cooperation from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Transportation Security Administration, and U.S. Department