AIRBUS HELICOPTERS SAFETY SYMPOSIUM OFFERS EXCHANGE OF IDEAS
For Reach Air Medical Services, fostering a culture of safety is critical to the organization’s success. That’s why Reach was among the companies that recently participated in the inaugural Airbus Helicopters, Inc. Safety Symposium. “At its core, Reach is culturally invested in safety,” said Anna director of
Bernhardt, safety for Reach, which operates in
California, Oregon, and Texas. “We are always looking for ways to strengthen our safety programs through new ideas, techniques, and technologies.”
AHI leadership, customers, and industry leaders met in Fort
Worth, Texas, to discuss top safety issues and share challenges, ideas and solutions. Topics included aeronautical decision mak- ing, safety management systems, flight data management and safety innovations and technology. Various sectors such as air medical, law enforcement and corporate were represented.
Lindsay Cunningham, AHI’s senior manager of aviation
safety, said the company hosted the symposium to bet- ter understand challenges facing customers in the operating environment and to seek new ways to support customers. “The symposium gave our customers a forum to network and
share common problems and ideas,” Cunningham said. “We wanted to look at the big picture and work together to make this industry as safe and efficient as possible.” Helicopter operators said they were committed to achieving safety goals set by the International Helicopter Safety Team, which aims to reduce helicopter accidents by 80 percent by 2016. In 2006, the worldwide helicopter accident rate for all makes and models was 9.4 per 100,000 flight hours. However, in the past five years the Federal Aviation Administration
reports a significant spike in rotorcraft accidents caused by maintenance errors, said Matt Rigsby, an air safety investigator with the FAA. To combat the spike, Rigsby said awareness from maintenance personnel and pilots, as well as training, are crucial. “Helicopter safety starts in the hangar,” he said.
26 July 2014
Helicopter operators said the symposium gave them feedback as they develop or strengthen the cultures of safety at their own companies.
Sundance Helicopters – which gives tours of Las Vegas and the
Grand Canyon and flies a combination of EC-130s and AS-350s – was among the first in the industry to adopt the helicopter- specific Safety Management System. It is now implementing Flight Data Monitoring. “Developing a safety program is not an overnight process. You have to grow it, and it’s constantly evolv- ing,” said Heidi Rota, Sundance Helicopters director of safety. “That’s why it is so helpful and exciting to hear examples from other companies and the lessons they learned.” – by Sarah Bahari
Denver Fletcher addresses a room full of operators at the Airbus Safety Symposium. We could not help but notice the copy of Rotorcraft Pro in his hand
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