Peaslee Aviation Safety Programs & Systems LLC

11/28/2025

05/10/2025

Real ID Mandate Impacts Part 135 Charter Operations

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday began enforcing Real ID compliance for all commercial air travelers, affecting some business aviation operators conducting Part 135 charter/nonscheduled commercial operations. This enforcement deadline marks the culmination of the Real ID Act, which established new standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards used for official federal purposes, including boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft.

According to a blog published by Universal Weather & Aviation, operators conducting Part 135 charter operations under TSA security programs such as the Twelve Five Standard Security Program (TFSSP) must verify that passengers present either Real ID-compliant identification or an acceptable alternative document when traveling domestically. Universal said commercial operators need to ensure that their crews, schedulers, and passengers understand the verification requirements, including establishing

As of May 7, Part 135 charter flights/nonscheduled commercial operations must comply with Real ID

03/21/2025

Professor Reason concluded that human errors were usually the byproduct of circumstances ...rather than being caused by careless or malicious behavior.

That was how he arrived at his Swiss cheese model of failure, a metaphor for analyzing and preventing accidents that envisions situations in which multiple vulnerabilities in safety measures — the holes in the cheese — align to create a recipe for tragedy.

“Some scholars play a critical role in founding a whole field of study: Sigmund Freud, in psychology. Noam Chomsky, in linguistics. Albert Einstein, in modern physics,” Robert L. Sumwalt, the former chairman of National Transportation Safety Board, wrote in a 2018 blog post. “In the field of safety, Dr. James Reason has played such a role.”

The story of how James Reason became an authority on the psychology of human error begins with a teapot. It was the early 1970s. He was a professor at the University of Leicester, in England, studying motion sickness, a process that involved spinning his subjects round and round, and occasionally re...

12/04/2024

.... Safety issues identified in the July report included operational control and flight locating deficiencies, weight and balance concerns for single-engine aircraft, the importance of implementing organizational risk management strategies such as scalable safety management systems (SMS), and the use of flight data monitoring (FDM) programs.

An NTSB study of Part 135 safety could open the door to fundamental changes, including a requirement for certified dispatchers.

04/03/2024

"The long-awaited update to the Flight Instructor for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-25) has been released. The 111-page document has been in development since before the pandemic, the process was slowed when COVID-19 shut down the world. It replaces the FAA-S-8081-6D, Flight Instructor Practical Test Standards for Airplane, dated June 2012.

The ACS contains the minimum standards that a pilot must meet for certification. "

The long-awaited update to the Flight Instructor for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-25) has been released.

08/22/2022

Federal Court Issues Ruling in Massachusetts Airport Dispute
by Gordon Gilbert
- August 18, 2022, 12:11 PM

Boston Executive Helicopters (BEH) on Monday won the most recent court decision in the long-running legal fight with the Town of Norwood, Massachusetts, over disputes about its FBO at Norwood Memorial Airport.

A federal court has issued the latest ruling in a long-running FBO dispute at Masschusetts' Norwood Memorial Airport.

06/10/2022

The goal of the new online FAA Weather Technology in the Cockpit Pilot Industry Survey is to identify subsequent technology gaps revealed since the initial survey.

https://nbaa.org/aircraft-operations/airspace/weather/nbaa-take-part-in-survey-on-nextgen-weather-tech/?

NBAA urges all business aircraft pilots to participate in an FAA survey to make flying safer by identifying – and ultimately filling – gaps in its cockpit weather technology.

06/10/2022

Embattled East Hampton NY airport moves closer to closing.

What was once unthinkable now looks increasingly possible, as the airport that many residents say has vastly exceeded its historical function and is destroying their quality of life may finally be grounded, perhaps permanently.

12/08/2021

So many factors to consider from this report but perhaps one of the strongest risk factors that is only briefly mentioned here is “Continuation Bias”.

As pilots we are are consistent in being reluctant to abandon, modify, or reset our decision processes.

No judgements here on the pilots, I don’t pretend to have all the information, nor do I wish to offer my opinion on their decisions. Plus the reports clearly shows there were mechanical issues that factored into the event.

This is however an opportunity to highlight this insidious risk factor.

Authorities from Sweden and the United Kingdom wanted more emphasis on crew mistakes.

11/29/2021

JULY 2021

SAFO 21005, Risks Associated with Visual Approaches.

To expedite traffic, Air Traffic Control (ATC) may clear pilots for a visual approach in lieu of the published instrument approach procedure. Visual approaches reduce pilot/controller workload and expedite traffic by shortening flight paths to the airport. However, this expediency must be balanced with safety. It is the pilot’s responsibility, pursuant to 14 C.F.R. § 91.3, to advise ATC as soon as possible if a visual approach is not desired.

11/24/2021

MISLEADING HEADLINE

The article states: "The missing pilot of a plane that crashed off the coast of Cape Cod last month did not hold an instrumental rating, meaning he was not cleared to fly at night".

That is NOT true. An instrument rating is not required for night flight; however recent experience and currency may be applicable.

NOT REFERRING SPECIFICALLY TO THIS CASE BUT ITS WORTH MENTIONING .. that it may be challenging to maintain a visual horizon over the ocean at night and in particular out on the Cape of New England, even the slightest haze can make operating solely by visual references challenging and susceptible to visual illusions.

On October 31st the moon illumination in Chatham MA was 23%

-M-

Federal aviation officials released a detailed timeline of the plane crash off the coast of Chatham. The pilot's body was never found.