A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Business Aviation Services Editor

Curt Epstein

A new <a href="https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/29261/chapter/1">report</a> from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is calling on the FAA to classify atmospheric radiation as an occupational hazard and to install more cohesive testing, monitoring, and education for flight crews.
From natural radiation exposure during flight, crewmembers receive among the highest occupational exposures to radiation among workers in the U.S., but they lack regulatory protections in comparison to other radiation-exposed workers, the congressionally commissioned report stated. Although the radiation dose received during any individual flight is generally low, evidence indicates that the cumulative dose accrued over the course of a career may increase the risk of adverse health outcomes.
The FAA has recognized radiation exposure as an occupational “consideration” for more than 35 years, but the report pointed out that current means to measure radiation exposure, as well as communicate risks with the industry, are “inconsistent and insufficient.”
“Radiation exposure is an unavoidable part of a flight crewmember’s job, and we need to do more to ensure that flight crew health and safety are sufficiently prioritized,” said Jonathan Samet, chair of the committee that wrote the report. Samet is a professor of epidemiology and occupational health and was formerly the dean of the Colorado School of Public Health. “We hope our report will be a guide to revising approaches to the problem, strengthen oversight, and empower crewmembers with the information they need to make decisions about their health.”
According to the report, the FAA “should begin exerting its regulatory authority over ionizing radiation exposure of flight crewmembers,” build upon its investment in the CARI dose model developed by the agency’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, and create a user-friendly, web-based application for the model to help crewmembers track their own exposure levels.
In the short term, the report authors urge the FAA to require U.S. airlines to implement comprehensive radiation safety programs, as well as work with appropriate agencies to establish a dose-tracking system for flight crews to monitor radiation exposure.
To address longer-horizon challenges, the FAA and collaborating organizations should systematically evaluate and compare radiation exposure models under realistic operating conditions. A National Academies <a href="https://www.nationalacademies.org/projects/DELS-NRSB-25-01/event/46903">webinar</a> on the topic will be held on June 29.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

New Report Urges Closer Scrutiny of In-flight Crew Radiation Risks

The report says current measuring, monitoring, and education are insufficient

A new report calls for closer FAA scrutiny of the risks of long-term atmospheric radiation on flight crews.

New Report Urges Closer Scrutiny of Crew Radiation Risk

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Matt Thurber

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Charter operator closes for one day each year to promote safety practices

Jet Linx Pauses Operations for 10th Annual Safety Summit

Amy Wilder

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

South London King Air crash was only fatal commercial air transport accident

UK Air Accident Investigators Warn of EV Battery Risks

News about significant aircraft accidents and information from accident reports.

Issues regarding financing of aircraft; aviation insurance; tax issues for aircraft operators; new companies and people in the aviation financing and insurance industries.

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Aviation Insurer Develops Low-level Hazard Warning Tool

Kerry Lynch

Resource details 15 incidents and 25 accidents involving business aircraft in first quarter

NBAA: Q1 Review Shows Need for Stabilized Approaches

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Charles Alcock

New developments and products in avionics, specifically about aircraft electronics in the cockpit.

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