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(Asian Sky Quarterly) – There were 168 Bell 505 helicopters in service in the Asia-Pacific at the end of Q2 2026, with the largest fleets based in South Korea (45), mainland China (44), and Japan (27).

Discover how VAI scholarship recipients have turned opportunity into achievement—and how you can do the same—in this exclusive VAI Weekly series.

Submissions are now due by Friday, Sep. 11, 2026, for nominating your peers, mentors, and heroes for exceptional industry service.

Join us for the 2026 VAI Aerial Work Safety Conference, taking place in Boise, Idaho, Nov. 16–18! Hear presentations from the US Forest Service, the US Wildland Fire Service, the FAA, and others, and learn about industry updates, safety enhancements, protocols, risk management, and more.

VAI and the Australian Helicopter Industry Association (AHIA) on Sep. 1, 2026, announced the signing of a letter of intent (LOI) and initial engagement agreement, marking the first step toward developing a new, internationally credible vertical lift industry event for Australia and the broader Southeast Asia region.

The 2026 VAI Air Tour Safety Conference is now open for registration. The event, which takes place Oct. 6–7 in Anaheim, California, brings together air tour industry operators, regulators, OEMs, and other safety stakeholders to address today’s most pressing vertical aviation safety challenges. Sign up before Sep. 4 and receive the early registration rate! Click on the headline above for more information.

(Helicopter Training Videos/YouTube) – In this video, volunteer project Helicopter Training Videos depicts instances of a loss of tail-rotor control, what happened, how the pilots responded, and the lessons we can take from them.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined the probable cause of this accident to be
the flight crew’s failure to properly identify the heliport in dark night conditions, which resulted
in the flight crew attempting to land and a subsequent impact with trees and terrain.

Wisk Aero announced Aug. 26 the groundbreaking of a state-of-the-art vertiport at Hollister Municipal Airport (KCVH) in California. The facility is one of the first public airport vertiports in the United States designed to support both piloted and autonomous operations, says the company.

This action proposes special conditions for the Robinson Helicopter Co. Model R66 helicopter. This helicopter, as modified by Skyryse, will have a novel design feature compared with the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for normal category helicopters. These proposed special conditions contain additional safety standards the FAA considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by existing airworthiness standards. Comments on this proposal are due by Oct. 13.