Meetings To Be Held March 22-23

The FAA is partnering with HAI and the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST) in developing safety briefing material tailored to helicopter operations. The partners plan to hold a meeting March 22 and 23 in Portland, OR, to solicit suggestions from the helicopter community on the safety challenges confronting them and how best to meet them.

The meeting will be hosted by the FAA Safety Team (FAAST), which has eight regional teams that run regular local events to update pilots, mechanics and small operators on particular hazards to safe general aviation flying. Those teams have earned a reputation for conducting highly useful briefings for fixed-wing fliers; they are focusing on developing the same strength for the helicopter community.

In the Portland meetings, the morning sessions will include presentations by HAI President Matt Zuccaro and Director of Safety Stan Rose; Christopher Eastlee, executive director of the Air Medical Operators Association; and representatives of the IHST.

Afternoon sessions will offer an opportunity for members of the helicopter community to provide input for the FAASTeam on several topics, including meteorological towers, helicopter emergency medical service operations, flight training and other areas of interest. FAASTeam leaders will in turn use that information to provide industry input to the FAA headquarters and to develop their briefing curriculum for the next two years.

HAI urges pilots, instructors, mechanics, operators, manufacturers and insurers to attend the meetings, which will be held at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower/Downtown Portland, 921 SW Sixth Avenue in Portland. The meeting starts at 0800.

Following the March 22 session, Stan Rose, along with Fred Brisbois and Terry Palmer from the IHST, will host a FAASTeam discussion for general aviation helicopter pilots and instructors about risk factors that often lead to accidents or injuries. The session, “Rotorwing 'Gotcha's' for General Aviation Helicopter Pilots & Instructors,” will start at 1900 in the Hilton, and will provide valuable insight into the causal factors that repeatedly plague the general aviation helicopter community.

FMI: www.rotor.com