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European Helicopter Association (EHA) Chairman Fredrik Kämpfe visited VAI headquarters last week to meet with VAI President and CEO François Lassale to discuss the two associations’ collaboration and strategic priorities facing the vertical aviation industry. VAI and EHA recently extended their partnership on EUROPEAN ROTORS, which has grown into Europe’s leading vertical aviation event since its founding in 2021.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined the probable cause of this fatal accident to be the pilot’s failure to maintain clearance of power lines during an agricultural application pass.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined the probable cause of this accident to be the maintenance personnel’s failure to identify and replace damaged rivet nuts at the air-conditioning louver assembly, which resulted in the separation of the louver assembly from the
helicopter, the louver assembly’s impact with the tail rotor, and subsequent loss of helicopter control.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined the probable cause of this accident to be a total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined the probable cause of this accident to be the pilot’s failure to maintain directional control and the flight instructor’s lack of proper remedial action during the practice autorotation that resulted in the helicopter impacting
terrain. Contributing to the accident was the presence of a gusting wind condition and speed shear.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined the probable cause of this accident to be an aeroelastic interaction between the helicopter’s main-rotor blades and nodal beam system, which resulted in oscillations that exceeded the design limits of the tail boom. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the main-rotor blade manufacturer to adequately publish the appropriate recovery technique for a known flight dynamics issue.

The three helicopters, which Milestone Aviation Group delivered to Kitz-Air in July, will undergo modification and conversion work in Europe before entering service in aerial firefighting operations across Europe and South America.

This action proposes special conditions for Pratt and Whitney Canada aircraft engine Model PW220A, which features a novel design compared with the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for engines. These proposed special conditions contain the additional safety standards the FAA considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by existing airworthiness standards. Comments on the proposal are due by Oct. 9.

(AIN) – The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is putting $10.5 million behind an effort to funnel more students into the aerospace industry, awarding grants to seven organizations tasked with building state-level pathways for advanced technical training.

(AIN) – Nancy Landon Kassebaum, the former Republican US senator from Kansas who shepherded through one of the most monumental pieces of legislation for the general aviation industry, died Aug. 21 in Manhattan, Kansas. She was 94.