Jack Piehl, a founding participant of the Helicopter Safety Advisory Conference and pioneer in aviation safety audits, died June 2 at the age of 80 following a brief illness, AIN has learned  Piehl’s lifelong aviation career began with Eastern Airlines, before he moved into corporate flight department operations and later with Shell Oil Company.

He initially held a pilot position with Shell but later moved into qualifications and operations of the company’s Gulf of Mexico helicopter fleet . In 1978, Piehl attended the first meeting of the Helicopter Safety Advisory Conference, which since has played an instrumental role in driving safety improvements in Gulf of Mexico offshore flight operations.

Piehl left Shell in 1983 to found Sentinel Aviation Systems, which provided safety audits for flight departments. The company evaluated charter operator safety and compliance, counting a number of Fortune 25 companies among its clients.