LEFT: HAI/NOAH FALKLIND; RIGHT: HAI/JULIEN BOTELLA
REFOCUSED INDUSTRY SAFETY PROGRAM continued
VAST provides a global approach to VTOL safety, which is
needed in an industry performing diverse
missions around the world. Above left, residents of
Morutshe, Botswana, say goodbye after
the monthly visit of a helicopter bringing pensions, mail, and news to their remote
village. Above right, a French utility worker
repairs cable with the help of an AS332.
VAST Organization VAST has already begun to formalize its leadership positions and advisory roles for participating organizations and indi- viduals. Te foundation has been laid with the organization’s charter, revealing another way in which VAST differs from the IHST/IHSF. James A. Viola, HAI’s president and CEO, and Miguel
Marin, operational safety chief for the International Civil Aviation Organization, have stepped up to oversee the new organization—Viola as the industry representative and Marin as the representative of the regional safety team. Te two played major roles in both drafting the VAST charter and deciding the initial direction the organization will take. “As a practical matter, safety is operationalized as part of
everyone’s daily work. VAST will support the work of the regional safety teams and other stakeholders who concentrate their efforts to help those on the flight line, in the cockpit, and on the shop floor,” says Viola. “At VAST, our role is to enable those teams and stakeholders to communicate and collaborate. I want VAST to become the trusted source for information about VTOL safety across the globe.” Te drive for collaboration on safety is supported by data.
“Aviation has always been a global enterprise, and analysis of vertical flight accidents demonstrates that they share the same causal factors, regardless of borders or language,” says Marin. “Trough VAST, we will share the modern, data- driven approach to safety with areas that currently lack a regional team. VAST volunteers are already in discussions to set up a regional team for South Africa, and I hope that more will follow.” Te organizational structure of VAST is deliberately flat: Viola and Marin serve as advisors, not executives. A steering
38 ROTOR JUNE 2021
committee comprising liaisons to the regional safety teams and other global VTOL stakeholders will set priorities, and HAI staff will carry out some administrative and commu- nications functions.
VAST Projects In addition to its support for regional teams, VAST is looking at several areas where a consistent global approach would lead to improved results, with VAST serving as a collaborative platform for the industry. Presently, Marin and Viola, as the VAST co-advisors, lead three working groups: Safety Promotion, Technology, and Regulations. For example, VAST could be a clearinghouse for recom-
mended best practices. “Tere are those who routinely operate offshore, who’ve refined their own procedures, tactics, and techniques,” Hill offers as an example. “But when they operate offshore, how much of that valuable knowledge is being shared across the industry, let alone across the globe? We want to reach out to and extend invitations to all the key players in the industry.” Another result of this cooperation, Hill says, lies in the
development of draft documentation from recommended best practices, essentially turning “80% solutions” into actionable items. Once the FAA, EASA, or other regulatory authority makes the necessary adjustments and adds a new cover page, such proposals can become an advisory circular. Tese recommended best practices, developed by subject- matter experts, can influence accepted operational standards across the globe. “We’ve certainly seen examples of this in the past,” says Hill, “where a practice such as, for example, health and usage monitoring systems (HUMSs) and flight data monitoring or
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