We are excited to welcome you to the 70th annual Business Aviation Safety Summit (BASS) 2025! As you prepare for tomorrow’s event, we want to express our appreciation for your participation and enthusiasm. BASS 2025 brings together global leaders and experts to advance safety in business aviation, and we look forward to the valuable insights and connections that will emerge. Safe travels, and we can’t wait to see you tomorrow as we come together to shape the future of aviation safety.

BASS 2025 HOST SPONSOR

WYVERN leads aerospace organizations to achieve safety excellence and validate professionalism through auditing, coaching, SMS, Virtual Safety Officer, and other safety offerings.  WYVERN’s diverse customer base includes air charter operators, UAS operators, corporate flight departments, aerospace and defense manufacturers, energy companies, power companies, technology companies, air charter brokers, MROs, FBOs, airports, flight schools, and government agencies.
 

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JOIN US FOR BREAKFAST

We'll see you in the exhibit hall for breakfast from 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

BREAKFAST SPONSORED BY:

NBC News Senior Correspondent Tom Costello and Capt. John Cox will offer insights into the editorial process and what goes into covering accidents and other events during their Day 1 keynote presentation. Costello is an Emmy award-winning journalist and 20-year veteran of NBC who has handled an array of high-profile assignments. Cox, a former airline pilot and long-time industry consultant, serves as NBC’s aviation analyst.

The theme of BASS 2025, Bridging Divides: Elevating Safety Through Communication, will be front and center Tuesday morning on Day 1 of the event. A panel of business aviation leaders will discuss communication challenges and their impact on safety. Doug Carr, senior vice president, safety and international affairs for NBAA; Jenny Ann Urban, NATA vice president of regulatory affairs; and Phil Hargarten, deputy director of safety and technology with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, will share insights on improving coordination, reducing miscommunication, and fostering a proactive safety culture. The discussion will be moderated by Mike Ginter, senior vice president of the AOPA Air Safety Institute and co-chair of the General Aviation Join Safety Committee.

Following that discussion will be two sessions also focused on communication. Terry Yeomans and Andrew Karas, both with the International Business Aviation Council, will address the topic of speaking the same language when it comes to safety. They will be followed by a session on the power of clear communication and leadership in flight operations, featuring Patrick Browne, founder and president of Flightdeck Safety Initiatives, and Capt. Nicholas Dmoch, founder of Pilot2Pilot Communications.

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) staffing, duty/rest guidelines, and security topped business aviation concerns at the pre-BASS 2025 National Safety Roundtable Leadership Meeting Monday afternoon at Le Meridien Charlotte. Participants noted recent delays at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, blamed at least in part on a shortage of air traffic controllers.

“Staffing is obviously terrible,” said Joe Dickinson, safety captain for Hess. The discussion noted that controllers have a difficult job and often work six-day weeks. Also, when radar or communications failures cause a stressful event for controllers, they might need time off following the event. Thus, a hardware event becomes a human resource event.

The group discussed the need to update the duty/rest guidelines published in 2014 by Flight Safety Foundation and the National Business Aviation Association. Current scheduling challenges include longer legs, complex mission profiles, and 24/7 demands. Aviation leaders examined ways to incorporate the latest fatigue science, and to expand rest/work guidance to maintainers, schedulers, flight attendants, and personnel in other departments. The group noted that most countries have regulations allowing controlled rest for pilots on the flight deck, and they discussed the need for similar rules in the United States.

Roundtable participants also considered security, including both physical security and cybersecurity. They described a need for greater security at some fixed-base operators (FBOs), and an incident earlier this year at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey that highlighted the problem. An armed man boarded a jet, reportedly tried to kiss a flight attendant and spit on a pilot, then locked himself into a bathroom inside the FBO.

Cybersecurity was also a concern. Aviation leaders talked about GPS jamming and spoofing, and technology such as APG NaviGuard to detect it. They also anticipated emerging technology to harden navigational systems against interference. The group discussed workarounds such as deselecting GPS in a suspect area and relying only on internal reference systems or other self-contained systems. Capt. Keith Yaddaw of JP Morgan Chase cited a recent flight when he used that technique with practically no loss of navigational performance.

During the breaks, take advantage of the opportunity to connect with our speakers in the Speaker’s Corner, located just outside the general session hall. If you don’t get a chance to ask your question in person, feel free to reach out through the event mobile app — our speakers are always happy to continue the conversation.

Back again this year is a full afternoon of interactive round-robin safety conversations. Attendees will be able to participate in four, 45-minute conversations during the afternoon, with a 30-minute break in the middle. Topics this year are the following:

  1. Emerging Technology: Unlocking New Tools for a Safer Future;
  2. Data-Driven Decision-Making;
  3. Comm Check: Is Your Team Applying Your Safety Message; and,
  4. Weather, Risk, and Turbulence.

Join us tomorrow evening for the Welcome Networking Reception at CJ’s— a secret soirée like no other. This isn’t just any gathering… it's your chance to network in style, sip prohibition-inspired cocktails, and unlock a little mystery.

De-code the “secret frequency” and be entered to win 1 of the following raffles from:

  • WYVERN:  Safety Leader Training Course™
  • Baldwin:  Comprehensive Safety Culture Survey (valued at $1,500)
  • Flight Safety Foundation:  Complimentary event ticket to BASS 2026


Pro Tip: You must be present to win… so don’t disappear into the night too early.
Clues will be sent through the event mobile app, so be sure to download it!

We can’t wait to see you there!
📍 CJ’s | 1st floor of the hotel
📅 Tuesday, May 6
⏰ 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
👕 Dress code is business casual

(Pssst… Even if you miss the password, we’ll still let you in. 😉)

Let's celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month by embracing self-care, supporting one another, and spreading a little PAWSITIVE energy!

Meet Adonis, the Giant Schnauzer therapy dog, in the exhibit foyer:  11:30 - 3:30 PM!

Share it on social media with hashtags:  #BASS4PAWS2025 #BASSPAWSITIVITY in support of Mental Health Awareness Month.

Special thanks to Alliance of Therapy Dogs!

Thank you to all our BASS supporters