Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Helicopter Association International (HAI) is progressing on a number of initiatives—from safety management systems (SMS) to aviation safety action&nbsp;plans (ASAP)—as it works with industry partners to raise the bar for operators of all sizes. The association recently signed up the first participant of its SMS program, unveiled last year, and already has operators engaged in the ASAP program that HAI offers in collaboration with the Air Charter Safety Foundation.

 


These efforts will be front and center at Heli-Expo through its safety zone (Booth 6802), which&nbsp;will house a number of safety organizations and firms that are working alongside HAI to address the varied needs of a diverse industry, HAI president and CEO Jim Viola said.&nbsp;He noted that at the last in-person Heli-Expo in Anaheim, California, “as soon as you walked in the door you couldn’t miss the safety zone.” He expects a large presence again this year exhibiting with dozens&nbsp;of safety professionals and partners.

 


“As an association, the responsibility is to have a safe industry and an industry that people trust.&nbsp;I really don’t enjoy seeing the headlines of accidents involving helicopters on the front page,” Viola told AIN.&nbsp;The challenge for the association is to find initiatives that can fit with operators of all sizes and missions and it becomes particularly important as a new class of operator, and vehicle, emerges, he said.

 


In establishing the SMS program, Viola stated&nbsp;“we were trying to find some partners that could look at all the missions that helicopters do.” This led to the selection of Baldwin Safety &amp; Compliance, Wyvern, and the Air Charter Safety Foundation to develop multi-tiered programs that could be tailored around missions, fleets, and operational environments. “Everybody’s unique,” he remarked.

 


With the pandemic, Viola conceded that “We’ve been a little slow at getting started,” with the initiative.&nbsp; But some segments are ticking upward and operators are “leaning forward” as they look to manage business safely.

 


According to Viola, most operators are aware of SMS and understand that they will be facing regulations requiring the adoption of such programs, “but they still seem reluctant to get started.” He remarked that&nbsp;some of that&nbsp;reluctance can&nbsp;be remedied by explaining the programs in detail and pointing out where the operators are already&nbsp;incorporating many elements of SMS. They also need to understand, he said, “they’re not reaping all the benefits by not having a formal program and following it.”

 


As for HAI’s ASAP program, which is a voluntary safety reporting program designed to root out potential issues in a non-punitive manner, Viola is encouraged that the initiative is&nbsp;“starting to pick up a little steam. We have several helicopter operators leading the charge and taking advantage of our partnership with the Air Charter Safety Foundation to get access&nbsp;to actively manage aviation safety action programs at affordable fees.” Affordability is a key factor in buy-in, especially for smaller operators that may not have the same resources, he acknowledged. The ASAP program “has shown people that there is a path forward. I think that sharing the information without having the punishment side of it is really important,” Viola added.

 


As it develops safety products for its members, HAI has been working on the international stage to enhance safety globally. This includes the transition of the International Helicopter Safety Foundation to the Vertical Aviation Safety Team, an effort that Viola explained is designed to “make sure that we’re all-inclusive of not only where we’ve been, but where we are going to with the future aircraft coming out.”

 


VAST, which kicked off its first meeting in February alongside the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team, is intended to be the overarching global supporter of regional teams. “It was clear when we were doing the reorganization that the regional [safety] teams wanted to have the ability to lean on VAST. We can provide or collaborate on information, but we don’t direct the regional teams. We are supporting.”

 


Viola was pleased with the progress made towards an&nbsp;international reach. While the pandemic has slowed that down, VAST officials have been able to meet with international regulators, particularly in Europe. “That has been a good connection and they understand what we’re trying to do with VAST.”

 


Pointing to other regions where the team is making inroads, he added,&nbsp;“We’ve worked very closely with India,” including monthly calls. “I would gladly do monthly calls with other regions that think we could help them.”

 


Viola believes this outreach is critical&nbsp;because “vertical flight can bring tremendous opportunities for the public” but governments in some regions don’t have much interest in fostering the industry out of safety concerns. This underscores a need to build trust with such operations, he said.&nbsp;Having a strong safety protocol can pave the way, and VAST hopes to point civil aviation authorities in the direction of at least best practices, if not a baseline safety plan, that is in concert with global standards.

 


This is not only important to build up the rotorcraft sector but emerging segments, such as eVTOLs. “We’re working to be inclusive,” he said. “The challenge is bringing these eVTOL aircraft in safely. We don’t want that industry to come to a screeching halt because all of the sudden there was a gap that nobody saw and all of the sudden we have safety issues.”

 


Each eVTOL&nbsp;company is unique in its development and that raises the question of what is the best approach. Viola believes the rotorcraft industry can serve as a resource for tying together the varied nascent sector to help create a vision of a path forward on safety and working with the FAA. “I can help find out all the common areas that will help with success across all the different types of aircraft and different types of operating plans.”

 


Many of these companies have focused on the technical aspects of the aircraft and less on how they are going to integrate into the airspace. “We have aggressively now in the last six months, tried to reach out to the different players out there to try to show them how we can help bring them all to the table and help them be successful.” Not only does this involve safely sharing airspace, he said, but sharing and building out infrastructure. He noted that many of these plans have broad visions of a multitude of vertiports. But for the helicopter industry, “we’re just trying to hang on to the vertiports we have,” he said, adding there is a big learning curve ahead.

 


As for helicopter operations, Viola noted there are constant threats surrounding access and infrastructure. A number of restrictions are coming down the line in particular with the national parks as they begin to produce air tour management plans. Such plans are to be implemented at nearly two dozen national parks under court order. Viola expressed concern over some of the early discussions that appear to be ready to curb, if not snuff out, air tours nearly altogether at some parks. “We anticipate we're going to have to do lawsuits for the type of stuff that's been going on. There are some discussions they're going to allow one overflight at the park per year,” he warned.

 


Some of these approaches come from a lack of understanding of how the aircraft themselves have evolved, and said for HAI, “We’re really trying to get people to understand the capability of the current helicopter.” He pointed to the step up in the safety equipment and automation, as well as how helicopters have become quieter.

HAI Strives for Wider Reach with Safety Programs

HAI is seeing growing interest in its SMS and ASAP programs and is hoping to reach into growing regions and new segments.

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