The recently concluded National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Maintenance Conference gathered professionals from across the US and around the world for an essential three days to embrace innovation, explore new technologies and redouble the sector's focus on pursuing the highest levels of safety.

“More than ever, this year's Maintenance Conference demonstrated business aviation's intense focus on aviation safety and underscored the inextricable link between the maintenance profession and the safety of flight,” states NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.

This year's Maintenance Conference was among the largest to date; more than 1,100 attendees from 44 states enjoyed a unique and noteworthy roster of expert speakers and industry authorities, along with 155 top exhibitors representing a wide variety of business aviation products and services, including many that are safety related.

“Business aviation has a legacy at the intersection of innovation and safety, embracing game-changing technologies like super-strong carbon composites, GPS and flight-data monitoring,” comments Stewart D'Leon, CAM, NBAA director, environmental and technical operations. “This year's conference, with its theme, 'Built on History, Driven by Innovation,' highlights an awareness that a record of safe operations doesn't offer an opportunity for us to rest on our laurels, but instead to innovate toward ever-higher safety standards.”

During his keynote presentation, retired US Navy Commander Manuel ‘Manny’ Sanchez, a former maintenance officer with the US Navy Blue Angels, shared memorable insights surrounding the famed squadron's rigorous safety regimen.

“The Blue Angels are not perfect in any way, shape or form, but we strive for perfection,” Sanchez says. “After every airshow, we locked ourselves in the Ready Room, and we debriefed it. We always talked about: 'What could we improve on? What are things that could go wrong? What are some of the risks we're taking?' I'm happy to say that in my entire 33 years of naval aviation, I never had a Class A mishap. And it wasn't because of me, but because of the culture.”

A keynote by flight safety champion Gregory Feith, a former senior air safety investigator and Go-Team captain with the NTSB, focused on the importance of collaboration, communication and the right mental attitude when it comes to reducing accidents caused by human factors.

“We all have to be empowered to work for the same common goal: It's called safety – period,” Feith said. “Safety is an attitude. Yes, you have very particular skills, but it is all about the attitude that you take into what you do.”

The conference also offered highly informative education sessions across a broad spectrum of topics, including engine airworthiness, recruiting top talent and using AI to support safety teams. “Providing these essential resources for the business aviation maintenance community is a big part of what this event is all about,” said conference chair Nate Dietsch.

“Attendees especially enjoyed getting direct access to a wide variety of subject matter experts, including FAA officials,” said conference vice chair Brett Semple. Also, at the beginning of the conference, an NBAA Professional Development Program course focused on developing new leadership skills.

The conference also hosted aviation students from Purdue University, St. Francis University, Columbus State Community College and Columbus State University who attended education sessions and toured local business aviation facilities.

Exhibitors gave the conference five stars. “We've exhibited for years at the NBAA Maintenance Conference, and I think the show has been really well received this year. We've seen a lot of heavy traffic and a high number of quality contacts,” confirms Scott Lawson, president of Texas-based aftermarket aircraft components firm HJS. “We're all maintainers in our past life, and now we're selling parts. We see a lot of lead maintainers and directors of maintenance who attend this show who we might not see in other places. Here, at this show, we see the real people that we want to meet.”

Another exhibitor, Florida-based Academy Aviation Group, saw the conference as an effective opportunity to announce the launch of a new learning management system called Academy Aviation Online. “This event is more concentrated for maintenance staff, which is great,” says group chairman Andy Trinchero. “That's our target market.”

The conference brought opportunities throughout the week for NBAA's Young Professionals in Business Aviation and aviation maintenance students to meet, connect and engage at receptions specifically designed for career building and networking.