![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/C-Pass.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nC-PAASS will enable aerial applicators to augment their\nadvancement of safety and application accuracy while also demonstrating their\nprofessional nature to their customers, regulators and the public. Requirements\nfor certification will ensure C-PAASS members are taking part in the best\navailable educational opportunities for agricultural aviation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
C-PAASS is by no means a requirement; however, this voluntary program will allow those aerial applicators who strive to constantly educate themselves to better their safety and applications to be recognized for their efforts. A recent NAAA survey revealed that 72% of NAAA members are interested in obtaining professional aerial application<\/a> certification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There will be four requirements for an ag pilot to earn\ntheir C-PAASS designation during the program\u2019s 2023 launch year, with\nadditional requirements forthcoming in subsequent years. The 2023 requirements\nwill be as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These initial certification requirements are based on\neducation and professional opportunities already available to all ag aviators.\nThe PAASS Program, from the National Agricultural Aviation Research and\nEducation Foundation (NAAREF), has a proven record of reducing accidents and drift\nincidents. Five years after it debuted, the industry saw a 26% drop in drift\nincidents from drift surveys collected by state pesticide enforcement agencies.\nSince the first PAASS season in 1998-1999, the ag aviation accident rate\n(number of accidents per 100,000 hours flown) has dropped by nearly 26%, and\nthe fatal accident rate has dropped by 10%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This marked reduction in accidents and drift occurrences\nhappened with fewer than half, or 47%, of the agricultural aviation operators\nand pilots in the U.S. attending the PAASS Program. (There are 3,400 ag pilots\nin the U.S.; 1,593 attended PAASS before the 2020 season.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the 333 accidents that occurred between 2014 and 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll these stats are a way to say that continuing education\nworks,\u201d NAAA CEO Andrew Moore said. \u201cContinuing education makes you more\nprofessional. Professionalism makes you safer in the cockpit. C-PAASS is being\nlaunched as the next phase in aerial application professionalism, with a goal\nof increasing participation in our existing programs and expanding that\nparticipation to new education opportunities to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Operation S.A.F.E. fly-in clinics offer aerial applicators a\nchance to verify the accuracy of their aircraft to ensure they are making\nprecise applications that meet the demand of growers as well as protect the\nenvironment and the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Membership in NAAA offers numerous educational and other\nprofessional development opportunities, including markedly discounted education\nsessions at the Ag Aviation Expo, online NAAREF safety and education videos,\nFly Safe messages, and a weekly eNewsletter. State and regional associations\noffer their own education opportunities. Both NAAA and state and regional\nassociations offer leadership development opportunities and roles to help guide\nthe industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2024, an online learning management system (LMS) will\nbecome part of C-PAASS. LMS content will be based on previous PAASS modules and\nsessions offered at NAAA\u2019s annual Ag Aviation Expo. A wide variety of topics\nwill eventually be included in the LMS, including those covered in 14 CFR Part\n137 knowledge and skills and those on how to properly set up agricultural\naircraft to make on-target applications. Participants will be tested on the\npresented material to ensure learning retention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n C-PAASS certification will be on a calendar year basis. To\nremain certified, C-PAASS criteria will need to be renewed annually. There will\nbe an initial annual cost of $100 for certification in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n C-PAASS certification is offered solely to individual ag\npilots. That means both operator and non-operator ag pilots, can become\ncertified. The operating company will not be certified but could advertise that\nall of its pilots are certified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n C-PAASS certified aerial applicators can use their certification status to inform regulatory officials and insurance agents and market to their customers that they have undergone additional training and development to best ensure that they can provide high-quality service. Ultimately, the goal is for C-PAASS certified aerial applicators to receive additional benefits for being certified. Such benefits could possibly include insurance discounts and more flexibility pertaining to pesticide label language. For instance, some labels already require Operation S.A.F.E. participation to apply the product aerially. It\u2019s possible in the future C-PAASS certified aerial applicators may be able to apply at lower spray application rates (GPA) or with reduced wind-directional buffer zone distances. For more information about the Certified-Professional Aerial Applicator Safety Steward (C-PAASS) program, visit AgAviation.org\/cpaass<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As the agricultural aviation industry moves from its first century into its second, it faces a strong and increasing demand for fast and effective agricultural input services. It also faces challenges from additional regulations, public input, rising insurance costs, stiffer pesticide label language and competition from technological advances in other facets of agriculture. To meet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23101"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23103,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23101\/revisions\/23103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}