Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association

“Members or stockholders aopa is the world's largest civil aviation organization with nearly 300,000 members.”

“Members or stockholders who may elect at the annual meeting of members, aopa members in good standing are entitled to vote for the aopa board of trustees. Aopa members are entitled to one vote. Each member entitled to vote may do so either in person or by proxy.”

“Form 990 review process in conjunction with grant thornton advisors llc tax specialists, aopa management reviews the form 990 with the audit committee prior to presenting the return to our board of trustees for review.”

“Conflict of interest policy the aircraft owners & pilots association's board is provided a written "code of ethics, conflict of interest questionnaire and disclosure form" ("form"). The form requires persons covered (officers, directors, trustees and key employees) to annually disclose and update the form and provide to legal counsel interests that could give rise to conflict(s). Legal counsel reviews the annual disclosures by all covered persons. Disclosures are regulary monitored by counsel, any potentially conflicting or otherwise questionable responses are flagged and the ethics policy is enforced.”

“Process for determining compensation the compensation for the president is set by the board of trustees and compensation committee and contractually confirmed through an employment agreement between the board and the incumbent. The base salary for this position may be adjusted by the board from time to time at its sole discretion. The president is also considered annually by the board for an incentive bonus which is a percent of base salary. The actual bonus paid is determined by the board based on its assessment of the president's performance and that of the organization against appropriate goals set by the compensation committee and the president. Periodic independent reviews of the president's compensation are conducted by outside compensation experts to ensure that the compensation paid is reasonable based on appropriate data as to comparability of compensation paid by similar organizations for positions of similar scope of responsibility. The compensation levels and salary ranges for officers and certain employees of the organization are established based on competitive market data obtained through periodic salary surveys performed by outside compensation experts engaged by the organization. These surveys provide guidance for establishing reasonable compensation rates as compared to compensation paid by similarly situated organizations for positions of similar scope of responsibility. All positions are evaluated and placed in the appropriate grades/salary ranges. An individual employee's salary, within their assigned range, varies depending primarily upon experience and performance. The organization has adopted a "pay for performance" philosophy allowing managers to award merit increases based on an individual's performance against pre-established goals. The organization's annual merit increase budget is approved by the board of trustees based on market surveys. Officers and certain employees also participate in the organization's incentive pay program. Target incentive amounts, as a percentage of base salary, are established based on the participant's position. The actual bonus paid is proposed by the executive management team and the president based on their assessment of the participant's individual performance and that of the organization against pre-established goals. The board of trustees and compensation committee review and make a final determination as to the actual bonus amount paid to participants. None of the persons mentioned above participate in the deliberation of their compensation arrangement and recuse themselves from all other deliberations and discussions related to a matter in which they may have an interest. The deliberations and decisions of these compensation arrangements are maintained in contemporaneous documentation with our human resources department. Form 990, part vi, section b, lines 16a and 16b: joint ventures the organization does have a written management policy to evaluate all contracts and agreements to ensure that all contract and joint venture arrangements are in accordance with federal, state, and local laws and related regulations. In addition, all joint venture agreements are required to be reviewed by the organization's general counsel. There were no joint venture agreements during the year.”

“How documents are made available to the public the organization does make available its conflict of interest policy, financial statements, form 990 returns, and form 1024 to the general public. The organization makes available its governing documents to the extent required by law. The public can receive copies by contacting the organization's headquarters. Copies of the returns can be obtained at www.aopa.org/about-aopa/governance and other public sites.”

“Hours worked for the aopa foundation, inc. Mark baker, justine harrison, erica saccoia, elizabeth a. Tennyson, and jill baker are full-time employees of aircraft owners & pilots association (aopa), although they devote approximately ten hours per week to the related 501(c)(3) public charity organization: the aopa foundation, inc.”

“Since 1939, the aircraft owners and pilots association (aopa) has worked to protect the freedom to fly for general aviation (ga) pilots in the united states. Nearly 300,000 members rely on aopa, as the world's largest aviation membership association, to advocate for ga interests and keep flying safe, fun, and affordable. Aopa works with members of congress and at all levels of government to enhance safety, provide tools and resources for pilots, and ensure they get the most out of their flying. Beyond just the pilot community, aopa works to educate decision makers and the public about the benefits and value of general aviation flying. One of the association's main priorities is to ensure ga remains a viable form of transportation and recreation for future generations. Aopa provides its members with an extensive portfolio of benefits that can be grouped into five areas: advocacy, education, events, products and services, and the air safety institute. Advocacy aopa's advocacy efforts encompass a broad range of general aviation activities in the federal, state, and local arenas. On the federal level, these activities include successfully advocating for policies in the five-year faa reauthorization act of 2024, pl118-63, which included the first ever general aviation title. Aopa's advocacy efforts included, among several other provisions, the expansion of basicmed for general aviation pilots, ensuring the availability of 100 low lead fuel at airports during a transition to unleaded avgas, increasing funding to support and protect our nation's general aviation airports, advancing the adoption of standardized general aviation parking labels to be used on airport diagrams while working toward fbo pricing and fee transparency, and modernizing faa systems such as notams. On the state and local level, aopa's advocacy efforts included successfully opposing increases in aircraft registration fees, stopping the imposition of airport landing fees on general aviation pilots, and supporting efforts to keep general aviation airports operational and viable. Aopa's advocacy team also includes seven regional managers across the country and over 2,300 active airport support network volunteers who help keep aopa informed about general aviation issues important to pilots and aircraft owners. Aopa promotes, protects, and partners with community airports advocating to maintain appropriate federal, state, and local funding. Aopa also works on behalf of general aviation pilots to ensure a safe aviation system, thwart unnecessary and costly regulations, prevent excess taxation on flying, and protect our nation's freedom to fly. Education educating aopa members, and the general aviation community, about aopa's work to protect their freedom to fly is central to aopa's mission. Pilots, aircraft owners, and aviation enthusiasts count on aopa to provide information that is vital to their flying interests. Aopa offers a variety of resources and content that keep members educated and engaged about issues and developments in general aviation. Among these are two regularly published magazines, daily news content, six digital newsletters, a regular cadence of videos posted on youtube, social media posts, five podcasts, aopa's pilot information center, aopa's website, press releases and events; all with the goal of educating and informing aopa members, the larger aviation community, and the public. Aopa also ensures that its wide breadth of content and resources are available to the aviation community in the myriad ways they consume news and information in print, in person, online and through video, social media, apps and podcasts. Aopa's wide range of content caters to both veteran aviators and those new to the flight deck. Aopa media offers detailed information about the process and requirements for learning to fly, aid in finding a flight instructor and aviation medical examiner, an indepth guide to choosing a training aircraft, and information about aviation ca”

“Asi produced a wealth of new content to support pilot safety and education in 2024: 13 new videos 12 "there i was " podcast episodes 28 in-person seminars weekly "training and safety tip" online articles quarterly "what went wrong?" columns for aopa pilot magazine additionally, asi released its 34th richard g. Mcspadden accident report. The report underwent a modernization effort to align with industry standards. These changes largely affect non-commercial fixed-wing aircraft. Accidents are broken into distinct phases of flight with ntsb standard accident causes listed under each phase. Individual cause categories mechanical, fuel, and weather were created for those specific accident causes critical to ongoing safety efforts. The aopa air safety institute's executive summaries for a given period provide insight and comparisons of selected dates versus previous years. The executive summaries note a decrease in overall accident rates. An increase in total and fatal accidents was mitigated by an increase in flight activity following 2021. Accident rates in non-commercial fixed-wing and non-commercial helicopter decreased, while commercial fixed-wing and commercial helicopter rates increased. Loss of control events continue to be the leading causal factor, and weather-related accidents remain highly lethal. These accident causes related to pilot decision-making and proficiency help inform the industry, including the aopa air safety institute, where further education and training are needed to improve aviation safety.”