More than 50 aviation safety leaders from industry and government will gather Feb. 16-17 in Washington DC for the 2017 USHST Infrastructure Summit.  The conference, which was initially launched last year, focuses on discussions about the future of helicopter infrastructure within the realm of the low altitude environment of the National Airspace System.

The Summit is designed as an industry and government collaborative effort comprised of groups that are involved with; impacted by; have federal, state or local regulatory oversight, jurisdiction and/or enforcement of; or provide general advisory/council on:

• Heliport Safety, Standardization, Education and Oversight
• Low Altitude IFR Infrastructure Design and Integration
• Aviation Weather Gathering, Dissemination & Reporting

“A well-designed infrastructure will play a key role in helping the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (www.USHST.org) achieve its goal of reducing fatal helicopter accidents,” explains Rex Alexander, Co-Founder of HeliExperts Intl LLC and one of the coordinators for the Summit.  “The top three fatal accident categories – Loss of Control, Unintended IMC and Low-Altitude Flight – are all elements that can be majorly impacted by a well-designed infrastructure.  A robust and well thought out infrastructure can be depended upon when pilots experience UIMC and are key pieces to preventing loss of control and CFIT accidents.”

Also spearheading this infrastructure effort for the USHST are Tom Judge of LifeFlight of Maine and USHST member Rachel Tester.

Discussion topics for the gathering, which takes place at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Washington DC, include database integrity standards, accident investigation check list for infrastructure, infrared lighting standards for NVG and NVIS operations, single engine IFR aircraft certification, low level IFR routing criteria and implementation, HEMS weather tools, real time mesoscale analysis and in-cockpit weather improvements.

Participants are expected from the following organizations: AgustaWestland, Air Medical Operators Association, Airbus Helicopter, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, American Helicopter Society International, Association of Air Medical Services, Aviation Weather Center, Bell Helicopter, Boeing Company, Boston MedFlight, Eastern Region Helicopter Council, General Aviation Manufactures Association, Halcyon Heli Limo, Helicopter Assoc Intl, HeliExperts International LLC, Hughes Aerospace Corp., LifeFlight of Maine, LZControl, Maryland State Police, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MDZ Associates, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Association of State Aviation Officials, National Center for Atmospheric Research, National EMS Pilots Association, National Fire Protection Association, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, SevenBar Aviation, Sikorsky Aircraft, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. DOT, U.S. FAA, U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. NTSB.