As one of its final acts of the 112th Congress, the U.S. Senate on Jan. 1, 2013 confirmed FAA acting administrator Michael Huerta to a full five-year term as the agency’s administrator. A vote on his confirmation had been held up for much of the previous year.

“Michael Huerta has been a steady hand at the controls of the FAA since his appointment as acting administrator, and now the agency has the certainty of knowing who its leader will be,” said HAI President Matt Zuccaro. “We look forward to working with Administrator Huerta on our common goals such as safety, NextGen technology, access to airspace, infrastructure development with regards to heliports, quiet aircraft technology, and maintenance issues of concern.”

We wish Administrator Huerta well during his tenure and stand ready to continue our excellent relationship with the team of FAA professionals.

HAI is the trade association of the international helicopter community, representing more than 3,400 members in 78 nations. HAI members safely operate more than 5,500 helicopters each year, totaling 2.3 million hours of flight. Since 1948, HAI has been dedicated to advancing the international helicopter community while promoting the unique contributions vertical flight offers to society.