Duncan Aviation's MRO facility in Provo, Utah has received IS-BAH Stage I accreditation, and is only the second MRO in the US to have earned this accreditation. The first was the full-service Duncan Aviation facility in Lincoln, Nebraska.

“Duncan Aviation in Provo is one of the very few large MROs to achieve IS-BAH accreditation. It's challenging to achieve this level of quality for an FBO that is only a few months old,” says Provo FBO manager Bob Cornett. “We have a tremendous group here that has faced hurdles every day since we opened in January. In spite of the many challenges, the team stepped up and agreed that it was tremendously important to take on the extra work necessary to secure this accreditation.”

IS-BAH, developed by the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) and the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), is a set of global industry best practices for business aviation ground handlers that features a safety management system (SMS) as its core. This international accreditation certifies that the Duncan Aviation safety management system followed by the facility in Provo has been recognised and certified as meeting all international standards to promote and provide safe environments for customers and workers.

“The reason we as an organisation want to have an SMS is that it coordiates all safety-related activities to help us better manage hazards and continually improve the safety of our products,” says manager of audit programmes Mike Brown. “We work in a highly visible industry where you can never completely eliminate hazards. An SMS lets us as a company develop plans and methods to learn from history, mitigate these risks and hazards, and make informed decisions.”

Having recently opened three new, state-of-the-art hangars to fully support business aircraft on the west coast, the Duncan Aviation facility in Provo includes airframe and engine maintenance, exterior paint, interior refurbishment, avionics installations, component repair and parts services and also provides aircraft fuelling, ground handling and storage.

Duncan Aviation's line service amenities include office space, conference rooms, pilot lounge, advanced weather planning and café service. Customers can also receive de-ice/pre-heat, GPU starts with fuel, baggage handling, on-site rental cars/courtesy cars, on-site fitness facilities, corporate hotel rates, quick turn service and NATA Safety 1st certified representatives.

Duncan Aviation also offers line services at its facilities in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, Michigan. IS-BAH accreditation at those locations has begun and is expected by the end of the year.