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- Former NAAA Operator Allen Chorman of Delaware Passes at 80
- Dicamba Once Again Approved for Tolerant Crops but Without Aerial Application
- FAA 2024 General Aviation Activity Surveys Released with Hours Flown by Ag and Other Industry Statistics
- Membership Grace Period Ends Sunday—Renew Your NAAA Membership Today
- Your Ag Aviation Industry Needs Your Information – Please Complete the NAAA Industry Survey, Coming to Your In-Box from [email protected]
Former NAAA Operator Allen Chorman of Delaware Passes at 80
Allen Chorman, a well-known and respected aerial applicator and founder of Allen Chorman & Sons, Inc., in Milton, Delaware, passed away on Monday.
Born and raised in Sussex County, Delaware, Chorman’s passion for aviation and agriculture took root early. He began working at Joe Hudson’s aerial application operation in 1956, first helping on the ground and then learning to fly. By 1965, he was piloting crop-spraying flights and quickly became Hudson’s protégé.
In 1987, Allen purchased the business and established Allen Chorman, Inc., relocating operations to what became Chorman Airport in Greenwood. Over an extraordinary 40-season career as an agricultural pilot, he logged more than 30,000 accident-free flight hours, an achievement marked by 13 successful emergency landings after complete engine failures without a single aircraft scratch.
Allen and his son Jeff have spent years supporting NAAA and the industry by hosting numerous EPA field days and demonstrations at their operation, providing equipment for Ag on the Mall and providing an aircraft for the industry’s 100th anniversary celebration in 2021.
Chorman’s work helped support farmers throughout Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and laid the foundation for a family legacy in aviation services. Under his guidance, and later with his son Jeff at the helm, the company expanded its fleet and reach while maintaining a deep connection to the agricultural community.
Allen retired from flying in 2021 but remained a beloved figure to colleagues, family and clients. A celebration of his life is planned for Feb. 28. Read the obituary here. Our condolences to Jeff and the entire Chorman family.
Dicamba Once Again Approved for Tolerant Crops but Without Aerial Application
Last week the EPA approved, for the third time, the use of low volatility formulations of dicamba for applications on dicamba tolerant crops (DT), both soybeans and cotton. The approval is for the 2026 growing season, but there is concern that the decision came too late for many growers who’ve already finalized their plans for 2026.
Last year, when the proposal for this latest attempt to register these dicamba products was released, NAAA commented in favor of allowing aerial application of these dicamba formulations on DT crops. Aerial application of dicamba on DT crops has been prohibited from the initial registration onward, including the 2025 proposed approval. NAAA’s request was supported by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), whose comments to the EPA also urged the agency to allow aerial applications of dicamba on DT crops. AFBF cited the speed of manned aerial application and the ability to treat more acres than any other application platform in a short time period as the key reasons why aerial application of dicamba should be approved.
Unfortunately, EPA did not listen to NAAA or AFBF and continued the prohibition of aerial application of dicamba on DT crops with this new approval. Despite the setback, NAAA will continue to push EPA to allow aerial applications for all pesticides our grower customers need to control pests and protect their yield.
FAA 2024 General Aviation Activity Surveys Released with Hours Flown by Ag and Other Industry Statistics
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently released its General Aviation (GA) Activity Survey of data collected by U.S. GA pilots nationwide in 2024. The information includes total hours flown in the agricultural aviation industry and other important statistics that NAAA uses to determine accident frequency and the effectiveness of industry safety programs such as PAASS. In 2024, agricultural aviation pilots flew a total of 949,149 hours. That was 159,496 fewer hours compared to 2023’s 1,108,645 total hours flown. There were 54 accidents in 2024, sadly, 13 of which were fatal. This resulted in 5.69 accidents per 100,000 ag aviation hours flown and 1.37 fatal accidents per 100,000 ag aviation hours flown.
The average number of hours flown between 1993-1998, before the aviation safety and environmental professionalism education program PAASS came on stage was 1,459,000 with an average of 138.7 accidents per year, 13.3 fatal, with an average accident rate of 9.64 accidents per 100,000 hours flown. The average fatal accident rate from 1993 to 1998 was 0.93. From 1999-2024, when PAASS has been active, the accident rate per 100,000 hours flown was 6.95, a 27.9% decrease when compared to 1993-1998. The year with the lowest number of agricultural aviation accidents was last year, 2025, with 43; and the years with the lowest number of fatal accidents were also last year, 2025, and in 2012 with 4. The fatal accident rate for the industry between 1999-2024 decreased 3.1% when compared to 1993-1998. Drift claims have decreased by nearly 26 percent since PAASS hit the stage.
NAAA’s 2019 industry survey estimates the number of manned agricultural aviation operations in the U.S. is approximately 1,560 and 2,028 manned U.S. non-operator pilots. 1,293 manned pilots and operators took the PAASS program during the 2024-2025 season (before the 2025 aerial application season), or 36% of the agricultural aviation industry.
Membership Grace Period Ends Sunday—Renew Your NAAA Membership Today
As we celebrate NAAA’s 60th anniversary this year, we request your continued support by renewing your NAAA membership because it is vital to keeping our industry strong, safe and well-represented. While you’ve been hard at work helping farmers produce a safe, affordable, and abundant supply of food, fiber, and bioenergy, NAAA has been working hard to ensure the low-altitude airspace is safe for your aerial application business, as well as ensuring that you have the pesticide products you need to do your job.
Your NAAA membership will continue to provide valuable benefits that support your business and that have protected the industry for 60 years. Receive discounts for attending or exhibiting at the Ag Aviation Expo, Nov. 16-18 in Savannah, GA; access to the 2026 NAAA Membership Directory in both print and online formats to connect with fellow members; and stay informed through the new NAAA 365 App, our publications, eNewsletters, social media updates, and in-depth online content at AgAviation.org. To renew, log in to your account at AgAviation.org and pay your 2026 membership invoice.
Several of NAAA’s recent accomplishments to help ensure your success include:
- NAAA recently submitted comments and urged members, non-members and a robust coalition of ag and aviation interests to comment to FAA’s beyond visual line of sight drone proposal, opposing that drones the right-of-way over manned aircraft. This issue is of paramount concern to the lives of aerial applicators. NAAA provides evidence-based comments to the FAA defending crewed aircraft’s right-of-way over drones in all circumstances and ensures that the safety concerns of manned aerial application are heard.
- After much advocacy, NAAA was successful in amending the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations allowing states to waive the hazmat endorsement for agricultural aviation company Class A CDL drivers transporting up to 1,000 gallons of Jet A.
- After years of effort, the EPA finally accepted NAAA’s recommendations to improve the accuracy of the models used to estimate the amount of drift from aerial applications. This has resulted in mitigating aerial buffers and preserving aerial use language on pesticide labels.
- Since 2017, NAAA has submitted over 300 comments to the EPA to keep aerial application uses on pesticide labels with great success, enabling you to keep a deep inventory of pesticide tools without unnecessary and burdensome restrictions.
- NAAA released an aerial applicator’s Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT) to enhance agricultural aviation safety.
- NAAA and NAAREF continue to grow its education and safety offerings. The online education center, which includes educational videos and C-PAASS certification for aerial applicators who want to augment their safety and professionalism and for the purpose of being rewarded by their insurance providers, pesticide manufacturers, regulators, and customers. Learn more at education.agaviation.org.
- NAAA offers competitive health and life insurance options for members.
We encourage you to renew your NAAA membership. The grace period ends on Sunday. Your investment returns far more in value through strong advocacy that helps reduce burdensome regulations and taxes impacting your aerial application business. Plus, your membership dues are tax-deductible as a business expense.
Your Ag Aviation Industry Needs Your Information – Please Complete the NAAA Industry Survey, Coming to Your In-Box from [email protected]
The aerial application industry was released a few weeks ago, but we need far more ag operators and pilots to answer the call for data. The participation rate for the last industry in 2018 was over 35% – it’s important that at the very least we match that response rate with this survey. The current survey has 25% fewer questions than the 2018 survey, so NAAA is hoping for an even greater response rate this time.
This survey will be used to document the acres treated by different aircraft types, including airplanes, helicopters, and drones. If you want the public and government officials to know the important role your operation and aircraft plays, you need to complete the survey. Your response can lead to having a greater inventory of pesticides for aerial use and protections from obstacles in the low-altitude environment.
For operators, the survey will ask you to confirm your operation’s Part 137 certificate number. Your certificate number will not be associated in any way with your responses to the survey. Your certificate number is being used to verify that we reach out to every ag aviation operation in the U.S. It also protects the accuracy of the data by preventing outside meddlers from entering false information.
NAAA is aware the survey is not a simple and quick series of questions. The questions asked are based on real data needs for promoting the importance of our industry. Remember that you can save your place and come back to complete the survey – this means that once you start, you’re not committed to finishing the whole survey right then and there.
Currently invitations are being emailed to every Part 137 operation and ag pilot that NAAA has an email address for. If you have not yet received an invitation, first check your email’s spam or junk email folder to make sure your invitation isn’t there. The email will be coming from the email address [email protected]. You may be able to set your email service’s spam filter to allow emails from this address to come through. The email header will look like this:
If you still can’t find your email invitation, click the button below to email NAAA to make sure we have your correct email address.
Thank you in advance for taking this important industry survey.
In Case You Missed the Last NAAA eNewsletter
Click here to read the February 6, 2026 eNewsletter:
- GRASSROOTS ALERT: Your Comments to FAA are Urgently Needed to Promote Traffic Deconfliction, Anonymity and an Aerial Applicators’ Right of Way in FAA’s Reopening of the Comment Period for UAS BVLOS, Specifically to Gather Information on ADS-B/EC
- Amelia Rose Earhart to Speak at 2026 Ag Aviation Expo Kickoff Breakfast
- Your Ag Aviation Industry Needs Your Information – Please Complete the NAAA Industry Survey, Coming to Your In-Box from [email protected]
- USDA-ARS Aerial Spray Nozzle Models Updates Now Online
- Last Chance to Update Your Information for 2026 Membership Directory
- NAAA & NAAREF Board Meetings Next Week, Feb. 12-14, in Alexandria, VA, All Members Invited; PAC Breakfast Details