The International Helicopter Safety Symposium

A pilot's impression

I recently attended two events that caused me to reflect on my career as a pilot. The first was a 43rd anniversary reunion of my Army flight class. That event confirms that I'm an old pilot. The second and far more important event was the Third International Helicopter Safety Symposium (IHSS) held in Montreal, Canada.

Our industry is committed to the goal of reducing helicopter accidents by 80% within a 10 year span (by 2016). The clock is ticking, the accident rates are coming down but there is a long way to go. People from around the world assembled in Montreal at the end of September 2009 to listen to the experts as they reported progress to date, discussed analysis of accident data and talked about what needs to be done in the future.

One speaker, Dr. Patrick Hudson, Professor, Leiden University, The Netherlands concluded that a common denominator in all the accidents analyzed is "the helicopter." Besides having a great sense of humor, Dr. Hudson is one of the world's leading authorities on the human factor in the management of safety. The other common denominator is a pilot. About 75% of the helicopter accidents under discussion listed pilot decision making as a contributing factor.

The History of Helicopter Safety   (Complete Download)