2025-2026 PAASS Program
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The 2025-2026 PAASS program will begin with a review of agricultural aviation accidents from both the 2025 season as well as an analysis of accident trends from the recent past to this year. Accident details examined will include cause of accident, type of aircraft involved, and experience level of the pilot. Studying agricultural aviation accidents allows participants to understand how to avoid similar accidents while conducting aerial applications.
The human factors segment of PAASS covers information on how to reduce agricultural aviation accidents caused by human error. For 2025-2026 the subject will be how to conduct a proper weight and balance for agricultural aircraft. The goal is to reduce the number of takeoff accidents in the industry by ensuring pilots know how to calculate the weight of their aircraft and verify it’s not overloaded for the takeoff conditions. These conditions include density altitude, runway length and surface type, wind speed and direction, and the pilot’s skill level. Ensuring the aircraft is properly balanced is crucial to maintaining control of the aircraft throughout the flight as the hopper is emptied through the application process. A review of takeoff accidents caused by weight and balance errors will be included, as will videos of engineers from agricultural aircraft manufacturers discussing critical concepts. Real world agricultural aircraft examples will be used to convey key topics and to demonstrate how to conduct calculations.
The environmental professionalism segment of the 2025-2026 PAASS program will start with an update on EPA’s Endangered Species Strategies. The operating procedure for checking EPA’s Bulletins Live Two! (BLT) to determine where pesticide use limitation areas (PULA) are located and how to access and interpret the bulletins will be reviewed. New in 2025-2026 will be the wind-directional buffer zones, managed areas that count as buffers, and EPA’s mitigation menu of aerial application technologies and operating parameters that can be used to reduce the buffer distance. Examples from the insecticide and fungicide strategy will be used. Next the environmental professionalism segment will shift to how nozzle wear and alignment impact spray droplet size and spray pattern quality. PAASS will review data on what happens to the flow rate and droplet size as aerial application nozzles wear with use. Participants will also be shown what happens when nozzles are not mounted pointing straight back on the boom as well as tips on how to ensure nozzles are aligned correctly.
The 2025-2026 PAASS program will include a security segment that highlights the value of having a video surveillance system with a recording capability to provide security over aircraft and chemicals as well as document unexpected occurrences at an operation. An aviation medical examiner will cover how to avoid medications that can impact flying and how to stay properly rested to avoid fatigue. Participants will receive an update on spray boom setup performance and spray pattern measuring techniques from recent fly-ins. The 2025-2026 PAASS program will conclude with a series of multiple-choice questions asked using polling software to ensure knowledge retention of the material presented by the participants.
Registration/Pricing
- NAAA Members - Free Access
- Non-members - Unavailable
Credits
No credit or certificate will be provided
Course Details
This is a self-paced course, with a total duration of approximately 4 hours. It is provided for review only.
Scott Bretthauer, PhD
National Agricultural Aviation Association
Scott grew up on a farm in northern Illinois before attending the University of Illinois, where he received his Ph.D. He spent 14 years an Extension Specialist in Application Technology with the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Scott’s work focused on providing technical assistance on pesticide application equipment, nozzle selection and usage, drift reduction technologies, and sprayer calibration.
Since 2017, Scott has served as the Director of Policy, Education and Safety for NAAA. He assists with protecting aerial applications during the pesticide registration review process, creating the PAASS program, and other NAAREF safety efforts. Scott is an Operation S.A.F.E. analyst and conducts the fly-ins for Illinois as well as other locations.
Scott has been involved with PAASS program development since 2004 and has been a PAASS presenter since 2008. He is honored to help deliver the program. While he is not an agricultural pilot, Scott has a strong belief in the importance of the industry and is committed to helping enhance the efficacy and safety of aerial application.
Thanks to the following Sponsors who made this PAASS Program possible:
Air Tractor
BASF Corporation
Syngenta Crop Protection
Pratt & Whitney Canada
Thrush Aircraft LLC
United States Aircraft Insurance Group
Corteva Agriscience
Acrisure Aerospace
American International Group
Arkansas Agricultural Aviation Association
Covington Aircraft Engines Inc.
Delta State University
FMC Corporation
Illinois Agricultural Aviation Association
Nebraska Aviation Trades Association
New Mexico Agricultural Aviation Association
Turbine Conversions, Ltd.