Boost Your Safety Skills Around Wires and Proper Aircraft Maneuvering; Sign Up for NAAA’s Ag Aviation Safety Training Day Set for Nov. 15 at the Ag Aviation Expo

Saturday, November 15, is a day dedicated to safety courses for ag pilots before kicking off the Ag Aviation Expo. Learn the essential skills needed to safely operate an aircraft in an environment of wires and obstructions and how to turn an ag plane safely.

After three years of popularity, NAAA and NAAREF are bringing back the Flying in the Wire and Obstruction Environment, acclaimed by professional aircraft operators worldwide and will be the first session. The Tylor Johnson Legacy Foundation and the Johnson Family are graciously sponsoring the registration fees of each operator and pilot attending this year’s course.  

The course will begin at 8 a.m. on Nov. 15 and will be taught by aviation safety experts from Utilities/Aviation Specialists Inc., a unique group of aviation safety practitioners who provide safety auditing, specialized training, installation of safety management systems and technical aviation consulting. They provide mission-specific expertise in specialized applications that require skill sets above those found in most routine transport operations. Both fixed-wing and helicopter pilots will benefit from this course. It gives low-altitude aviators the essential skills needed to safely operate an aircraft in wire and obstruction environments. Learn how to identify signs of wires, why ag aviators hit wires they already knew were there, and how to avoid obstructions going forward. In 2024, there were a total of 11 wire strike ag aviation accidents, two of those accidents were fatal. 

The second course, beginning at 1:15 p.m., will feature Fran de Kock of Battlefords Airspray in Canada, teaching the Turning an Ag Airplane Safely Course, which will cover in detail how to safely turn a fixed-wing ag aircraft. The class is intended for all ag pilots regardless of their experience level. It will review the basics of an ag turn, how to properly train to make safe ag turns and how to make ag turns in different conditions. The risks of a turning accident and how to manage those risks will also be thoroughly covered.

NAAA and NAAREF thank the Johnson Family and the Tylor Johnson Legacy Foundation for providing funding for ag pilots to attend this essential training. Tylor Johnson was a third-generation aerial applicator whose life was cut short after his airplane struck a guy wire. It was a harsh reminder of the dangers aerial applicators face daily. In the wake of this tragedy, the Tylor Johnson Legacy Foundation was established to honor Tylor’s memory, advocate for increased safety measures that protect other pilots, and continue his legacy of care and commitment to the community.

These two courses may very well save your life; don’t miss this day dedicated to two important topics.Lunch will be provided to pre-registered participants. While registration fees are waived for the courses due to these generous sponsorships, advance registration is still required atAgAviation.org/ag-aviation-expo/registration/. If you do not pre-register, we may not have a seat or lunch for you. Sponsored by Tylor Johnson Legacy Foundation, Old Republic Aerospace & AssuredPartners Aerospace.