Resource Hub

(POWER UP) – Your biggest contribution to safe operations: your personal safety culture.

In this companion article to the March 2026 VAI Spotlight on Safety feature, air ambulance pilot Jessica Meiris explains why, sometimes, the best decision a pilot can make is not to fly.

Roskop, aviation safety coordinator (rotorcraft) for the FAA, is a member of the US Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) Steering Committee and the 2026 recipient of the VAI Salute to Excellence Harold Summers Legacy Award.

Under a partnership with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Airbus Helicopters, Loft Dynamics is introducing a new helicopter safety training initiative in Nepal. The program, based in Kathmandu, will feature a Loft Dynamics H125 virtual reality flight simulator and Airbus-developed helicopter training courses.

(Ohio State News) – A group of students has created a small transportable uncrewed aerial rescue technology flight vehicle, or STUART. The team designed the prototype drone as an entry for the GoAERO Prize, a three-year international competition aimed at helping first responders save lives by designing new medical aircraft.

The FAA has issued a special airworthiness information bulletin (SAIB) that highlights how stability augmentation and autopilot systems can significantly reduce accidents related to loss of control and unintended entry into instrument meteorological conditions. VAI strongly supports the voluntary adoption of performance-based safety-enhancing technologies where owners and operators can reasonably integrate them. For more information from the US Helicopter Safety Team about the benefits of safety-enhancing technology, click on the headline above.

This FAA airworthiness directive (AD), which takes effect Apr. 7, requires replacing the rotor-shaft assembly; modifying the rotating swashplate assembly to replace each of the three ball joint–cup assemblies with one-piece self-lubricated spherical bearings; modifying the scissor hinges and swashplate trunnions on the main rotor, as applicable; and applying an anticorrosion agent, if applicable. The AD also prohibits installing a main-rotor hub assembly or rotor-shaft assembly on any helicopter without first meeting certain requirements.

Founded in 1996 by a group of leading helicopter tour operators, the Tour Operators Program of Safety (TOPS) initiative follows a simple premise: Safety is not a competitive advantage—it is a shared responsibility.