NBAA recently honored six member companies with its 50 Year Safe Flying Achievement Award and acknowledged hundreds of others for safe flying achievements. The flying achievement awards were presented earlier this month at NBAA 2016 as part of the association’s Flying Safety Award program.

“By following safety best practices and achieving accident-free operations, these member companies have proven to be exemplary safety standard-bearers for the business aviation industry,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.

The most recent 50 Year Safe Flying Achievement Award recipients are Cargill, Caterpillar, Hess Corp., Eli Lilly & Co., Red Wing Shoe and Corning. NBAA noted that Corning has marked more than 60 years of safe flying. The awards recognized milestones reached by the end of last year.

NBAA also presented a number of other awards to companies and individuals for safety achievements. These included the Corporate Business Flying Safety Award, which was given to 230 companies that had collectively accrued 9,548,085 safe hours. NBAA also presented the Commercial Business Flying Safety Award to 35 companies that have compiled 1,199,723 safe hours.

In addition, 426 pilots who have flown 3,196,566 safe hours received either the ATP or Commercial Pilot Safety Award; 98 companies qualified for the Aviation Maintenance Department Safety Award; 261 technicians received the Maintenance/Avionics Technician Safety Award; 215 support personnel were recipients of the Aviation Support Services Safety Award; and 111 schedulers and licensed dispatchers were honored with the Schedulers & Licensed Dispatchers Award.

The most recent recipients joined thousands of NBAA member companies and individuals recognized since the Flying Safety Awards program was established in 1953. The program recognizes companies for “exceptional achievement in maintaining safety flying operations.” The awards, the association said, have brought worldwide attention to the business aviation safety record and “serve as testimony to the high degree of professionalism inherent in business aircraft operations, and as tribute to the skill of a company’s management, maintenance, pilot and support personnel teams.”

The awards also were presented as NBAA established a new policy to underscore its commitment to promoting safety as a key part of its mission.