ICAO recently released a business aviation fatigue management guide that contains recommendations made by the International Business Aviation Council, NBAA and the Flight Safety Foundation. It includes elements of principles and guidelines for duty and rest scheduling in business aviation that were produced in collaboration with NBAA’s Safety Committee, as well as guidelines for business aviation duty and rest developed by the Flight Safety Foundation.

“We are pleased that ICAO has endorsed this comprehensive guide, which now provides a global guide for best practices addressing fatigue in business aviation,” said NBAA vice president of regulatory and international affairs Doug Carr. “Three years ago the NBAA Safety Committee identified fatigue as a key safety issue for business aviation and partnered with the Flight Safety Foundation to update its standard-setting guide, which has long served the business aviation industry as a guide to minimizing the risks posed by fatigue.”

NBAA is encouraging business aircraft operators to combine the science-based information provided in this new manual with training to develop fatigue-mitigation programs, as well as fitness-for-duty programs that will reduce the safety risks associated with fatigue. “The 24/7 nature of business aviation, the severity of the consequences of fatigue and the frequency with which fatigue is being reported a concern are all evidence of the need to proactively manage this hazard,” said NBAA senior manager of safety and flight operations Mark Larsen.