Aerial work operators attend the US Forest Service session at the 2024 Aerial Work Safety Conference in Boise, Idaho. Photos by VAI/Dan Sweet. 2024 Aerial Work Safety Conference wraps up with commitments to industry safety practices Operators gathered for the VAI event last week in Boise, Idaho, to discuss topics relevant to aerial work and receive updates from the FAA and the US Forest Service. Building on several years of growth since expanding to include utility-sector safety, the Vertical Aviation International (VAI) 2024 Aerial Work Safety Conference (AWSC) concluded with gains in attendance and participation from exhibiting companies. The conference concluded Nov. 21 after three days of sessions that focused on improving safety throughout the vertical flight industry. The event began Nov. 19 with three VAI industry advisory councils (IACs) holding meetings. Previously called working groups, these teams of industry subject matter experts volunteer their time to collaborate on solutions to industry-wide problems. Day 1: Collaboration with Industry Experts Human external cargo (HEC) operations were a key focus on the first day of the conference. Approximately 150 industry representatives attended the Utility, Patrol & Construction IAC meeting. The foremost topic was the draft of the FAA policy statement for HEC, which is often used within the utility industry. This meeting provided the first of several opportunities for VAI to share positive news of regulatory efforts related to HEC, discussing two notable regulatory victories for its members: the FAA adjusting language on J551 and recognizing the ANSI Z359.11 standard for HEC operations. Both successes will relieve operators of regulatory constraints impacting the operations of VAI members. At the opening of the safety conference, operators heard remarks from US Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), who spoke about his outreach to the FAA administrator on the J551 issue. VAI thanks Sen. Risch, along with Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Monana), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), and John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) for their leadership on this important issue. Also on the first day, panelists at the Aerial Firefighting & Natural Resources IAC meeting discussed future needs, the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) in aerial firefighting, and incident debriefs from the field. The final meeting of the day, held by the Restricted & Experimental Category Aircraft IAC, was attended by more than 100 people. The group discussed concerns about FAA Order 8110.56 and moved to create a sub-working group to address perceived deficiencies in the guidance for processing restricted category-type certificates. Day 2: Spirited Presentations from FAA After a message from Sen. Risch, the second day of the conference, Nov. 20, included a presentation on mitigating stress by Volo Mission CEO Kimberley Hutchings and the FAA’s Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA) with Sarah MacLeod, aviation attorney and founder of the Aeronautical Repair Station Association. Always a popular event, the final session of the morning was the annual “Meet the Regulators” presentation. Featuring a panel of FAA officials, the session allows AWSC attendees to address representatives of the agency with specific questions. The questions generally focused on FAA delays in processing paperwork and topics such as UH-60 ICA review time, flight testing, and designated engineering representatives (DERs). The FAA representatives indicated that the reasons for delays ranged from a lack of necessary documentation submitted by an applicant to workforce shortages. The afternoon sessions started with a presentation about navigating the FAA medical certificate process with Keith Roxo of Wingman Med. The presentation addressed multiple elements of the medical certificate necessary to operate aircraft, including issues with an FAA investigation into some former military pilots who are receiving US Veterans Administration treatment or benefits for medical conditions. The second day continued with a presentation about how safety management systems (SMSs) are effective in reducing hazards and accidents. Led by Matthew West, president of Hawk AeroSafety, the course provided insights into how SMSs and a positive safety culture can help a company build safety awareness among frontline employees. Finishing the day, Cade Clark, VAI’s chief government affairs officer, provided an update on recent legislative accomplishments, including the HEC success and VAI’s positive efforts on the recent FAA reauthorization bill. Day 3: Face-to-Face with USFS A half-day briefing by the US Forest Service (USFS), which included a Q&A session with audience members from firefighting helicopter operators, highlighted the final day of the 2024 event. Held every fall, the AWSC has traditionally centered on the aerial firefighting sector and often features presentations from the USFS, which has National Interagency Firefighting Center (NIFC) and National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) offices in Boise. This setting allows representatives from firefighting companies to assess the previous fire season, learn about changes to USFS contracts, and hold in-person meetings with USFS contracting teams. This year’s sessions included presentations on 2024 fire season statistics and upcoming priorities, contracting and ordering structure, recommendations to make seasonal qualifying efforts more manageable, and a review of safety statistics and requirements for SMS programs. Following the individual presentations, the panelists and other USFS employees gathered for a 30-minute session to answer questions from company representatives in the audience. After lunch, Francois Magnan, customer manager, aftermarket, offered a presentation on elastomeric-bearing maintenance for Parker Lord. Eric Pacheco, senior pilot with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, led the final session, examining why helicopter pilots continue to strike power lines and how to avoid them. VAI has already started planning AWSC for 2025. Interested companies and individuals are encouraged to watch VAI’s communications channels for more information.
