With four out of five NBAA members operating a small flight department with three or fewer aircraft, the 2024 Small Operator Symposium on 21 October at NBAA-BACE is designed specifically to address the challenges these operations face.

“The Small Operator Symposium is intended to energise those who run smaller flight departments and provide them with tools they can take home and put into practice immediately,” says NBAA senior vice president, safety, security, sustainability and international operations Doug Carr. “Attendees will leave this half-day session with the knowledge to help them navigate the intricacies of managing a small flight department.”

The half-day event features compelling sessions led by subject-matter experts, focusing on critical topics like implementing steps to building a safer flight department and effective leadership strategies tailored to the unique challenges of running a small flight department.

- Session one focuses on ‘Five Simple Steps to a Safe, Small Flight Department’, and focuses on a roadmap that everyone can take to further the safety culture of their operation. This session will equip operators to implement safety tools easily and effectively.

- Session two, ‘Leading From Any Seat: Striving for Excellence in Every Role’, examines actionable insights and techniques designed to help attendees become a more effective and influential leader, regardless of their role or position. Striving for leadership excellence should be a fundamental goal for every professional pilot, as it enhances both individual performance and team dynamics.

NBAA's dedication to providing the most significant safety information will be in focus throughout NBAA-BACE, with sessions looking at pilot mental wellness, the new safety management system mandate, provisions in the newly passed FA) reauthorisation bill and more.

The Single-Pilot Safety Standdown, which takes place just prior to the Small Operator Symposium, will focus on single-pilot accident data and case studies and provide valuable insights attendees can use to enhance their safety practices.

Topics include surface risk in the national airspace system, pilot mental health, mitigating the risks of circling approaches and navigating transitions in single-pilot operations.

For those looking for a complete overview of all that's new in the safety arena since last year's event, the National Safety Forum includes can't-miss sessions. Additionally, the forum provides a venue to recognise organisations with stand-out safety records, including those receiving 50, 60 and 70 year Flying Safety Awards, as well as the recipients of this year's NBAA Dr Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Awards.

“At NBAA, safety is at the centre of everything we do, and these NBAA-BACE sessions and programmes are designed to make operations safer and more secure,” adds Carr. “These are must-attend sessions for small flight department managers.”