D.O.M. Blogs

I met with the Honorable John Goglia, former NTSB Board member, at NBAA last week. He shared some good news with Greg Napert and me — he recently was informed he will be inducted in the 2025 class of the National Aviation Hall of Fame next September

The D.O.M. magazine team has been in Vegas this week attending NBAA-BACE 2024.

One of the big topics being discussed is the taxing situation some corporate flight departments are finding themselves in.

Just prior to NBAA-BACE, NBAA hosted its annual Tax, Regulatory and Risk Management Conference. A major topic discussed at the conference (has continued through NBAA-BACE) was the targeted IRS audits of some companies and individuals operating corporate flight departments.

Not the best headline for the start of blog, but I was just reading about the two Delta maintenance personnel who were killed and a third who was injured at a Delta wheel and brake shop near the Hartsfield-Jackson international Airport in Atlanta.

Greg Napert and I will be traveling to East Alton, IL on August 27th to help celebrate the grand opening of West Star Aviation’s Hangar 67. Weather permitting, we’ll be taking an air trip in Greg’s Sundowner from Fort Atkinson International Airport to East Alton. If Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate, we’ll be taking a road trip to East Alton. 

West Star has been a long-time partner with D.O.M. magazine since our launch in 2008, and Greg and I are looking forward to the event.

EAA AirVenture 2024 is almost upon us. From July 22-28, hundreds of thousands of aviation enthusiasts will gather in Oshkosh, WI for EAA’s annual gathering. According to EAA, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023 set records, with 677,000 attendees, more than 10,000 aircraft, and 848 commercial exhibits participating in last year’s celebration!

If you’ve never been to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, you don’t know what you’re missing. I’ve been to 21 AirVenture shows. Every year brings something new and exciting for the many visitors that flock to Oshkosh for this annual aviation event. 

You’re ready for the next level of responsibility in your organization. You believe you have the skills and leadership style to be successful. However, someone else gets selected when the opportunity for advancement presents itself.

Can you be better prepared next time?

I just read "This CEO learned 3 essential lessons about being a great leader from one trip" on FastCompany.com. Author Barry Rosen tells the story of taking a road trip to meet with all 25 of his remote employees who worked from their home offices throughout the United States. He planned to spend at least eight hours with each employee. Half the time would be social — doing something fun and interesting together.

In a blog post last month, I wrote about repair station drug and alcohol testing. An argument for requiring foreign-based repair stations to implement drug and alcohol testing programs is safety. For decades, aircraft maintenance unions have been critical on the safety of sending aircraft to foreign-based repair stations because of "sub-standard" maintenance practices. 

On December 7, 2023 the FAA published an NPRM titled, “Drug and Alcohol Testing of Certificated Repair Station Employees Located Outside of the United States.” The original deadline for comments was February 5, 2024, but it has been extended to April 5.