Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

General aviation appears headed toward its safest year yet in 2017, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta reported at the fifth-annual General Aviation Safety Summit. However, in prepared remarks, Huerta expressed concern that the industry still has much work in front of it, particularly in the area of ADS-B installations, with as many as one-third of the FAA rebate incentives left unclaimed.

 


FAA and industry leaders began meeting annually at the safety summit to develop strategies that tackled the GA fatal accident rate.

 


“I’m happy to report we’re seeing results from these efforts,” Huerta told the group. “We’re still finalizing the numbers, but it looks like 2017 will end up being our safest year yet.” The fatal accident rate is declining, “far below our target rate of one per 100,000 flight hours. This is a significant accomplishment,” he added.

 


Huerta credited a multi-faceted approach for the progress that spans across regulatory, technological and educational efforts. Among the efforts he cited are the rewrite of Part 23 and a streamlined approval process for non-required safety enhancing equipment. The actions will facilitate the incorporation of new and innovative safety technologies on the general aviation fleet, he said.

 


Huerta further pointed to a data-driven approach taken by the GA Joint Steering Committee, which was “revitalized” in 2011. This enabled the industry to zero in on loss of control, which led to a streamlined process for getting angle-of-attack indicators into cockpits, he said. It also has led to a “Fly Safe” educational campaign. “Together, we’ve reached millions of our social media followers with information on how to avoid loss-of-control accidents,” he said.

 


But he stressed a need for vigilance and made a push for increased GA engagement of the FAA Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) program. “We need to continue using data to identify trends and direct our efforts where they’re needed most.” Also needed is a focus on the development of consensus standards to support the new Part 23 implementation.

 


And, he made another appeal for ADS-B equipage. He thanked the industry leaders for promoting the year-long ADS-B rebate program. “Unfortunately, only about two-thirds of the rebates were reserved before the program ended in September,” he said, adding that just under 31,000 GA aircraft currently have ADS-B installations that comply with the mandate. “To put it simply: we’re just not where we want to be a little more than two years out from the deadline.”

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

Huerta: GA Headed Toward Safest Year

Much work still lies ahead, including in the area of ADS-B installations with as much as one-third of FAA rebate incentives left unclaimed.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Essential news and analysis on the defense aerospace business. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs and requirements in military aircraft (manned and unmanned), engines, avionics, weapons and associated systems, including ground-based air defense.

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News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

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News about significant aircraft accidents and information from accident reports.

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News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

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.

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