Disaster

At a briefing at February’s Heli-Expo in Dallas, members of the industry’s newly formed International Helicopter Safety Team briefed delegates on their strategy to drive an 80-percent improvement in rotorcraft safety statistics in the next 10 years. An FAA representative told AIN that a “one size fits all” or prescriptive approach to setting new standards would not work.

As demand for new helicopters surpasses the manufacturers’ ability to deliver, marketing consultant HeliValue$ said that prices are increasing dramatically for virtually all used helicopters. This year many used helicopters could sell for more than new copies of the same model. In fact, this has already occurred with the Bell 407.

The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch has launched a formal investigation into the factors leading to the February 5 overrun of a German-registered Challenger 604, D-ABCD, at London Luton Airport. Operated by Cirrus Aviation, a Lufthansa partner carrier, the flight originated from Geneva and was carrying three crew and one passenger. There were no injuries to the occupants and no significant damage to the aircraft.

In an unusual move, Air Tractor has established a college education fund for children of pilots who are killed in accidents involving the company’s aerial application aircraft. The fund is being financed from the profit on sales of Air Tractor replacement batteries. According to a company executive in Olney, Texas, there has been an average of five to six fatal accidents annually in the last five years.