At the NBAA in Washington, D.C. (www.nbaa.org), Mike Nichols can assist flight department managers in understanding the tax, insurance and liability implications of using independent contractors as temporary flight crewmembers. Nichols can be contacted at mnichols@nbaa.org.

13.1 Contract Pilots Occasionally, XYZ may utilize contract pilots. Because these pilots do not routinely fly in our operation and may be flying with several other operators whose operating procedures vary widely from our own, it is important that we adopt certain additional procedures when flying with contract pilots to ensure that the integrity of our operation, from both a flight and customer service perspective, is neither compromised nor diminished in any manner.

In 2002, a small flock of independent contract pilots and flight attendants congregated at the NBAA Convention to discuss what they could do to promote themselves as skilled and trained business aviation professionals operating at the highest standards recognized by the industry. Out of that informal meeting came the Independent Business Aviation Contract Professionals Association, or (thankfully) IBACP.