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The United States Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) winter 2026 newsletter includes articles about the It’s OK to Stay safety initiative, tips for interpreting weather data, USHST Steering Committee member Lee Roskop, and more.

VAI encourages pilots, mission planners, and operators—particularly those conducting low-level, off-airport, or special-mission operations—to consider using SlackMap as a supplemental awareness tool.

(New York Post) – A Pima County (Arizona) Sheriff’s Department helicopter crew is using an advanced Bluetooth technology to search the area around Guthrie’s home north of Tucson with the hopes of getting a ping from her pacemaker.

The FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey is now open, and VAI encourages operators to participate. Governmental agencies and industry organizations will use data from the survey results to compute safety metrics, determine funding for infrastructure and service needs, and more.

Key members of the US Senate and House of Representatives have introduced the bipartisan Aviation Innovation and Global Competitiveness Act, which would reform FAA type certification for advanced air mobility aircraft by setting clearer timelines, increasing transparency, and allowing delegation of routine compliance work so that FAA experts can focus on safety-critical issues. VAI joins a broad coalition of aviation stakeholders in endorsing the bill.

Tune in to VAI’s YouTube channel Mar. 6–7 and watch more than 40 helicopters fly into Atlanta, Georgia, for VERTICON 2026. The event takes place Mar. 9–12 (exhibits open Mar. 10–12).

The FAA is accepting comments through Thursday, Feb. 26, related to the closure of the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport in Indiana. We encourage VAI members to submit comments opposing the closure.

(Boundary Creek Times) – According to the Royal Canadian Air Force, the helicopter went down in an area with low cloud cover and reduced visibility Feb. 13 near Nelson and resulted in injuries to two people.

(BBC) – HM Coastguard and Irish Coast Guard helicopter crews assisted water and ground teams with rescuing three climbers stranded near St. Govan’s Head along the Pembrokeshire Coast.

(WPVI) – The Ocean Township Police Department used a drone with information from the Life360 location safety app to find the person in the woods Feb. 12 along Oyster Creek.