VAI EVENT HIGHLIGHTS AIR TOUR SAFETY
Previous spread: An AS350 B2 operated by TEMSCO
Helicopters tours the mountains outside of Denali National Park and
Preserve in Alaska. (Ron Gile/TEMSCO Helicopters Photo)
H
Chris Hill, VAI’s senior director of
safety, opens VAI’s inaugural Air Tour Safety Conference.
(VAI/Bailey Wood Photo)
ONOLULU, HAWAII, PLAYED host to a groundbreaking event in the aviation industry this past September as more than 100 air tour operators,
safety experts, and pilots from across the United States gathered for the first Air Tour Safety Conference. Organized by VAI, the event marked a significant milestone in the industry’s pursuit of safety excellence and operational efficiency while demonstrating the association’s commitment to advancing standards and promoting collaborative safety efforts in the vertical aviation tour sector.
Beyond the Basics The two-day conference, held Sep. 23–24, 2024, at the Hawaii Convention Center, offered a com- prehensive platform for operators, regulators, and industry leaders to delve into the most pressing safety challenges facing the air tour sector. The event brought together experts from different facets of aviation to share best practices, emerg- ing technologies, and safety strategies. Numerous sessions were designed to
enhance participants’ understanding of critical safety topics. Chris Hill, VAI’s senior director of safety, opened the event with an emphasis on
cultivating a safety-first culture. “Safety isn’t just about compliance,” Hill said. “It’s about fostering a culture that prioritizes the well-being of every passenger and crew member. This event has empowered operators with the tools and knowl- edge needed to make feasible changes in their organizations.” Throughout the conference, the message was
clear: creating a safer industry requires not just adherence to regulations but a pro active approach that encourages operators to go beyond the basics. Attendees were shown the value of using safety management systems (SMSs), managing risks effectively, and harnessing new technologies to strengthen safety outcomes.
Key Safety Tools A major theme of the conference was the role of SMSs in improving safety outcomes. During her remarks, Raquel Girvin, the FAA’s administrator for the Western Pacific Region, updated attend- ees on upcoming policy changes, including the agency’s new requirement for companies con- ducting air tours, air ambulance operations, char- ters, and commuter flights to implement an SMS by May 2027. Girvin’s address underscored the FAA’s commitment to enhancing safety protocols and ensuring that operators are well prepared to meet the new standards. An SMS implementation session, which fea-
tured experts from both the FAA and the indus- try, was one of the conference’s most important presentations. The panelists shared best prac- tices and strategies for achieving SMS compli- ance and discussed actionable steps operators can take to integrate these systems into their daily operations, emphasizing the importance of building safety into every level of an organization’s structure. The session concluded with a clear call to action for all operators to start preparing for SMS implementation now, well ahead of the 2027 deadline, as developing a mature SMS takes time. Another key session focused on the integra-
tion of advanced technologies to improve safety. Additional sessions on data integration provided a deep dive into the potential of emerging tech- nologies to enhance aviation decision-making and risk management.
50 POWER UP DEC 2024
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