People Remembered By Joanna Dodder Nellans
Harold Summers
Harold “Hal” Summers was the Helicopter Association International
(HAI)
of flight operations for nearly 18 years, and a fixture in the rotorcraft 1960s.
“Hal was an icon in industry,
a director industry since the the subject-matter
expert on everything involving helicopter maintenance, and he felt it was an honor and obligation to share his wisdom and experience with the rest of us,” said James Viola, president and CEO of HAI. “We are a better industry because of his passionate contributions, and he will be profoundly missed.”
Summers’ aviation career spanned
more than license,
decades. After earning his A&P mechanic
six he
worked in Alaska in the early 1960s. He joined Petroleum Helicopters International in 1964, becoming vice president of maintenance to oversee maintenance and support for a global fleet. He later served as acting chief engineer for a joint venture between PHI and China Southern Airlines General Aviation in China, where he met his second wife, Zhilin.
In 2004 Summers joined HAI, where he was directly responsible for managing the fly-in and fly-out each year for HAI Heli-Expo. He worked with local airports to coordinate staging and fueling sites and with the FAA to manage the regulatory requirements, and then
managed the arrival
and departure of up to 60 helicopters to be displayed on the show floor.
Summers served on a long list of industry and regulatory working groups. He was the staff
liaison
to the HAI
Technical and Maintenance Working Group and to the HAI Utilities, Patrol, and Construction Working Group. He was appointed to FAA working groups to help reduce bird strikes, protect helicopter occupants and improve HUMS (health and usage monitoring systems). He also served on NASA’s Rotorcraft Issue Analysis Team, the Rotorcraft Maintenance
Programs
Industry Group, and the Southern California Airspace Users Working Group, as well as RTCA groups offering technical guidance on terrain awareness and warning systems, interference to radio altimeters from 5G networks, and guidance for cockpit and cabin cleaning.
“Harold’s career was massive in breadth,” Viola said. He received the FAA’s Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award for 50 years of working in aircraft maintenance and continued
to work another
decade, sending his final email on behalf of HAI just hours before his passing.
Summers died Oct. 20, 2021 at the age of 83. He leaves his wife, two sons and two daughters.
Photo courtesy of Helicopter Association International
rotorcraftpro.com
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