I believe your comparison between Business jets and airlines is misaligned. You refer to business jet pilots adopting “Airline style checklists” and the “virtues of airline style checklists” What exactly is the difference you are talking about, and how does an airline checklist differ from my private flight department checklist? Mind you, I sat in a G550 and a BBJ last month and ground through both checklists, and found little difference between the two other than the Boeing was laminated and the Gulfstream was a clever electronic one.
You talk about “Airline flows” as if they are unique to Airbus or Bombardier or Boeing (but not the business jet side I guess). Gulfstream has been advocating the “Flow then checklist” method for years, as most airlines do, since it insures you have two chances to catch an errant switch position. Does anyone advocate any other method???
You stated:
“In my opinion, the most pressing safety issues for business aviation specifically are poor procedures and operational practices”. I'm with you, but following known procedures and practices has to do with integrity and discipline, not checklist procedure or an ALPA card.
What's the most pressing safety issue for airlines? I find that sloppy pilots, who lack situational awareness, who ignore the regs, and who fly aircraft that shouldn't be dispatched can be found equally on both sides of the taxiway. “Management” and “Safety-checks” in the airlines can just as easily turn into coercion of flight crew and reduce safety. We can agree on one thing, I'm just as infuriated by lazy avoidance of procedures.
As for discussing SOPs, my opinion is that when “us business jet” pilots are reluctant to discuss SOPs, it is because far far too often, these changes are coming from a new chief pilot, (who has no manners and often just washed out of an airline environment) and who has some outlandish idea, which often is tedious, adds nothing, and contradicts common sense or regulation. For example, the latest change I fought against was the adoption of a standard callout “20,000 Ft. above touchdown”. Talk about absurdity!! I sure this comes from an airline.
Doing what you say you are going to do, and have been trained to do is called integrity, or lack thereof.
Sorry, but I've never seen the NTSB state that "A properly approved airline checklist would have prevented this accident"
FR