It's perhaps one of the most expensive insurance claims in aviation history. As many as 20 aircraft were damaged or destroyed in when the roof of the Dulles Jet Center hangar buckled under the weight of almost 30 inches of ice and snow in February 2010. Lawsuits surrounding the collapse are still pending in court and could take years to settle, but losses could exceed $400 million. What should you look for when you negotiate a hangar lease? In this edition of the NBAA Flight Plan podcast, Tim Bonnell, president of PIM Aircraft Insurance, says you should keep a wary eye on the loss-provisions of your contract.

While sounding a note of cautious optimism about what appears to be a budding recovery for business aviation, General Aviation Manufacturers Association President and CEO Pete Bunce raised a red flag about the need for more government resources to provide the mandatory certifications for airplane manufacturers' products. Bunce's comments came amidst a State of the Industry press briefing and webinar recently hosted by GAMA.

In the month since the 112th Congress was gaveled into session, FAA

reauthorization has emerged as a major policy priority in Washington. In

this edition of the NBAA Flight Plan podcast, Association President and

CEO Ed Bolen explains why NBAA Members should be encouraged by the

proposals being advanced by the White House, House and Senate.

New airport construction happens so rarely these days, you can count the number of airfields built in the United States during the past decade on one hand, and have a few fingers left over. In this week's edition of the NBAA Flight Plan podcast, Blake Swafford, manager of the new Paulding County Northwest Atlanta Airport in Dallas, GA, says the facility will be good not just for the county, but for the regional area

As civil unrest disrupts business in Cairo and other cities in Egypt, business aviation is helping people exit the country quickly and safely. Air Partners, a charter aviation broker with offices in 20 countries, has evacuated thousands of people from the area. In this week's edition of the NBAA Flight Plan podcast, Air Partners Vice President Philip Mathews reports "The turnarounds, which ordinarily you'd expect to take only 60-minutes, are taking up to three or four hours."

The newly formed, San Antonio-based Partnership for Corporate Aviation Training (PCAT)

has been formed to help flight operations of all sizes in the area conveniently and cost-

effectively share safety expertise. Hadley and the PCAT organizers believe the group's

efforts will be especially valuable to smaller flight departments, which often don't have the

time or the budgets to attend in-service training and obtain advanced safety certification.

In a special edition of the NBAA Flight Plan podcast, NBAA attorney

Jol Silversmith discusses the larger meaning of the recent decision from

the U.S. Court of Appeals against banning certain aircraft from Santa

Monica Airport. "What Santa Monica was attempting to do was assert that

localities can pick and choose which aircraft can serve their airports,"

Silversmith reports. "That's a very dangerous position for business

aviation, because the next airport may decide they want a far

more-reaching ban than Santa Monica [sought]." While Silversmith welcomes

the court's ruling, he cautions, this fight for business aviation isn't

over yet.

The Super Bowl is a major regional event, and NBAA has worked with government officials and FBOs in Dallas to ensure that all aviation traffic - including business aviation - flows smoothly. What should companies using business aviation know before flying into the area at the end of next week?

How are airport officials reaching out to the communities that surround them? In this edition of the NBAA Flight Plan podcast, Darci Nuziel, assistant administrator at Addison Airport in Texas, discusses how community outreach is helping airports get the word out in both good times and bad. The podcast opens a three-part web article series about Addison's airport advocacy.

Although any serious consideration of Safety Management System (SMS) requirements appears to be years away, NBAA is there when government officials discuss the matter, as the Small Business Administration did last week.