HAI, FAA call for voluntary rotorcraft safety retrofits

摘要

In separate appeals issued in early December, the president of Helicopter Association International (HAI) and the FAA administrator called on helicopter operators to retrofit their legacy aircraft with crash-resistant fuel systems, seats, and structures. Writing to his members, HAI president James Viola, a former FAA director for general aviation safety assurance, called for operators to voluntarily upgrade their aircraft to improve safety. Viola noted that while these improvements are mandated for new helicopter fuel systems manufactured after April 5, 2020, and that crashworthy seats and structures have been required on all new helicopters certified after 1989, only 10 to 16 percent of the total helicopter fleet met that requirement due to low turnover. Citing FAA data, Viola said that "from 2009 to 2017, non-crash-resistant seats caused the deaths of 307 people in helicopter crashes; 58 deaths were attributed to postcrash fires during the same period.