Jet Linx Pauses Operations for 10th Annual Safety Summit

Jet Linx stood down operations yesterday, as it has one day every year for the past 10 years, for its 10th annual safety summit. The company’s 500 employees participated in the summit, according to Jet Linx, “Not because they had to, but because they chose to in an effort to proactively surface any areas where they could improve.”

Keynote speaker Barry Ellis, president of Hop-A-Jet Worldwide Jet Charter, shared lessons learned from the company’s February 2024 Bombardier Challenger 604 dual-engine failure accident. The NTSB cited undetected engine corrosion as the cause, even though regular maintenance was accomplished. A maintenance event performed 25 days before the accident found the engines to be airworthy, and 33 successful flights were conducted in the interim period.

“The most dangerous assumptions are often the ones we don’t realize we’re making,” Ellis said. “When assumptions go unchallenged, they become invisible, and invisible risk is the most dangerous risk of all.

“Anyone can say safety comes first when the decision is easy. The real test comes when safety becomes expensive…when safety creates disruption, and when safety conflicts with convenience. Strong systems require strong questioning…require humility… [and] require people willing to challenge assumptions before assumptions become vulnerabilities.”

The summit included a roundtable discussion with Wyvern CEO Sonnie Bates, Jet Linx operational leaders, and Argus International v-p of business aviation audit programs Patrick Chiles.