PASA (the Professional Air Sports Association) is a non-profit (501(c)(6)) organization, founded in 1997 and charged with setting standards for the operation of flight schools and certifying kiteboarding, hang gliding and paragliding flight schools (in both solo and tandem instruction) that operate in compliance with those standards. PASA’s board is made up predominantly of hang gliding and paragliding industry leaders as well as industry leaders from kiteboarding.
PASA established standards, best practices and standard operating procedures for kiteboarding instruction during the infancy of the sport and continues to provide certification of kiteboarding schools and instructors. The certification program provided by PASA has allowed kiteboarding schools to get and maintain insurance.
The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (USHPA) is in the process of forming a Risk Retention Group (Risk Retention Group or RRG for short) to ensure affordable, stable insurance to the sport of hang gliding and paragliding. In order for a hang gliding or paragliding flight school to qualify for insurance issued by RRG, the flight school must become certified and maintain certification by PASA. This certification by an independent not for profit standards entity makes the certification credible with RRG, the regulators governing the RRG and the insurance marketplace from whom RRG negotiates reinsurance.
PASA does not sell insurance. What they do is certify schools so that they have access to the insurance that will soon be available through RRG.
The information currently on the PASA website is entirely dedicated to free flight school certification. There is NO information about insurance. For any update on free flight insurance of ANY kind, please contact USHPA at [email protected]. When the details of the insurance program are finalized, this site will be updated.
PASA certifications are for schools only. If you are a lone instructor looking for PASA membership benefits you will need to form a school - a legal entity which you are operating under - and apply as a school.
For more information
For more information on PASA or to apply for certification check out www.pasaschools.org/hang-gliding-paragliding/
Questions specific to PASA should go to PASA: www.pasaschools.org/hang-gliding-paragliding/contact-us/
For insurance questions please email [email protected]