August 23, 2018
NAAA eNewsletter

UAV Collides with Ag Helicopter in Israel

In an event that was bound to happen, a UAV has collided with an agricultural aircraft. The event occurred in Israel on Aug. 14. At 11 a.m. local time, a Robinson R44 was conducting an agricultural operation in an orange field near the city of Petah Tiqwa when a Phantom 4 drone collided with it.

 

According to the State of Israel Ministry of Transport and Road Safety Aviation Accidents and Incidents Investigation report, the R44 began flight operations at 7:05 a.m. local time and had already conducted two cycles of refueling and reloading chemicals. The pilot took off for his third and final mission of the day and had been spraying for 20 minutes before the collision occurred.

 

Simultaneously, a licensed UAV pilot started his flight operations, mapping an area under construction for a local building company. The construction site was adjacent to the orange field where the R44 was spraying. As the UAV approached one of the corners of the site it was operating in, the UAV operator noticed the R44 maneuvering low and close to the ground at a distance of about 30 meters away. The UAV pilot immediately switched to manual control mode and lowered the UAV rapidly toward the ground.

 

At this same time, the R44 pilot noticed “a white body at approximately 10 meters on his left side.”  The R44 pilot then felt a “bang” feeling, which he heard from the lower left side of the R44. The R44 pilot did not feel a degradation in the way the helicopter was flying, so he located a nearby landing area and landed the R44 normally and safely.

 

The UAV operator lost communications with the Phantom 4 drone and thought it was because it had crashed, either due to the slipstream from the R44 or because of a heavy landing after he initiated the rapid decent. After landing the R44, the pilot found the UAV jammed in the lattice of the spray system. The R44 and the spray system were inspected and found to be airworthy, so the helicopter resumed its work and then returned to its base of operations where it landed safely.

 

The report concludes by noting that the “drone era for the past few years” has challenged aviation safety professionals with safely integrating UAV operations with “conventional” aviation activities. The report further noted that both pilots were working in accordance with aviation laws and published regulations, were properly licensed, and adhered to approved and authorized working altitudes.

 

This incident confirms what the agricultural aviation industry has known for years: UAVs and agricultural aircraft working in close proximity to each other is a dangerous situation. NAAA will continue to push to require safety measures for UAVs, including requiring line of sight operation, installation of an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out technology, strobe lighting, aviation orange and white marking to promote visibility and other measures to ensure proper operation, and awareness by manned low-level aviation operations.

Court Decision Leaves Obama Administration 2015 WOTUS Rule in Effect in Twenty-Six States

On August 16, 2018, a federal district court judge in South Carolina issues a decision in litigation over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps’) addition of a future applicability date for the 2015 “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule, referred to in the court’s decision as the “Suspension Rule.” Earlier this year, EPA issued a final rule which added a February 6, 2020 effective date to the WOTUS rule, which is currently the subject of ongoing litigation and is under a judicial stay in twenty-four states.  EPA and the Corps are also in the process of rescinding and replacing the WOTUS rule that would extend federal Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction to remote wetlands and dry creek beds based on its overbroad definition. The addition of the applicability date, or “Suspension Rule,” was intended to provide additional time for EPA and the Corps to finalize their rescission and replacement. The scope of CWA jurisdiction determines the area where National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticide General Permit (PGP) is required.

 

Several environmental groups and some states challenged the Suspension Rule, alleging EPA and the Corps violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in promulgating the rule. In Thursday’s ruling, Judge David C. Norton, relying on Fourth Circuit precedent, held that EPA and the Corps violated the APA by failing to solicit and consider “meaningful” public comments on the Suspension Rule. Judge Norton issued a nationwide injunction that lifts the Suspension Rule. EPA and the Corps are expected to appeal the ruling. There are also active petitions in other district courts seeking a nationwide stay of the 2015 WOTUS rule.

 

The lifting of the Suspension Rule does not impact the judicial stays of the 2015 WOTUS rule that cover almost half the states, preventing implementation in those jurisdictions.  However, it effectively means that the WOTUS rule is in place in the twenty-states not covered by a judicial stay at this time. The 26 states (in alphabetical order) are as follows: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

 

With the exception of New Hampshire, all of the 26 above-reference states administer their own PGPs. Aerial applicators with concerns about changes to the scope of coverage in the wake of South Carolina court decision should contact their state permitting authority.  NAAA will continue to push for an expeditious rescission of the 2015 WOTUS rule and explore legislative options within the 2018 Farm Bill.

 

Business groups led by the American Farm Bureau Federation say they plan to appeal the court’s decision. The group also used the decision to put pressure on a separate court, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, to make a swift decision on its request for a nationwide injunction against the rule. The reaming 24 states were the Obama WOTUS rules is stayed are covered by two separate district court injunctions.

NAAA Signs Letter with Commodity Groups in Support of Regulatory Reform in 2018 Farm Bill

The NAAA joined several grower and commodity groups in a letter sent to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees expressing support for the inclusion of pesticide related regulatory reforms included in horticulture title of the House version of the 2018 Farm Bill. 

 

These reforms include eliminating the need for a costly National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticide General Permit (PGP) for products already certified under FIFRA and only allowing states and the federal government to regulate pesticides, not local or county governments. Additional reforms would speed up the consultation process between different government agencies to streamline the extremely expensive and rigorous registration process for pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

 

The letter reads in part: “These reforms would increase the global competitiveness of American agriculture, encourage much needed innovation, and reduce costs to American farmers and ranchers and other users of pesticides who protect public health and our environment.”

 

In additional to NAAA, other groups that signed the letter include the Agricultural Retailers Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, the California Specialty Crops Council, the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, the National Cotton Council, the National Pest Management Association, the National Potato Council, the National Sorghum Producers and many others.

Montana Mystery: Ag Pilot’s Plane Shot for Second Time in 12 Months

A Montana ag pilot made the unsettling discovery last month that a bullet had pierced one of the wings of his ag plane for the second time in the past 12 months. The pilot, Rob Nicholson of Headwaters Flying Service in Three Forks, Mont., isn’t sure when the gunshot happened, noting it could have been anytime during the previous three months, but based on the location of the bullet hole it’s clear he narrowly averted a potentially catastrophic outcome. The bullet that struck the Weatherly 620B missed the fuel line by an inch and a half on the left wing.

 

Coincidentally, Nicholson discovered the new bullet hole July 18, exactly one year to the day from when the plane had been hit twice by shots fired while he was working near Belgrade, Mont. On July 18, 2017, bullets struck Nicholson’s left and right wings. One of them hit 18 inches from the fuel tank. He landed safely then without sustaining any injuries. Although Nicholson came out of this latest shooting unscathed, the result could have been far worse. Had the bullet struck rather than narrowly miss the left wing’s fuel line, “it could have essentially cut off all access to that fuel,” Nicholson said. “Potentially if I had been in the wrong part of the turn when it finally gave up the ghost—if I hadn’t been quick enough on the left and the right tank to get the motor running again—it could have been very bad. It wasn’t, but it could have been.”

 

In addition to discovering the new bullet hole, Headwaters Flying Service turned over a bullet casing found inside the fuselage to the FBI team investigating last year’s shooting. Last fall the FBI offered a $5,000 reward for information on who was responsible for the July 2017 shooting, and that case remains open. “It is still very much an active investigation,” Nicholson informed the NAAA eNewsletter during a phone interview. “They’ve made it very clear that this is not something they’re willing to just drop.”

 

Whereas last summer’s shooting occurred near Belgrade, Mont., Nicholson says the 2018 shooting could have happened anywhere given the size of Headwaters Flying Service’s territory. For that reason, and because a smaller bullet was used this time, he does not believe the 2017 and 2018 shootings are related. “We basically have a 200-mile radius of what we’ll fly, so we have a very large swath that it could have happened in. It potentially could have been the same person, but I feel that would be a massive coincidence or a massively stupid person, one or the other.”

 

Headwaters Flying Service notified NAAA about last month’s shooting discovery and reported it to the FBI but decided not to notify local authorities since the details were so scant. “We weren’t sure when it happened, where it happened—we literally had no details other than ‘here’s the hole,’” Nicholson explained. “It wasn’t like we could send squad cars out to start looking or knocking on doors asking neighbors if they heard a shot, unlike the first time around where we did call the authorities and they were swarming the neighborhoods and going door to door and finding stuff [out] very quickly. Within half an hour of [me] being on the ground.”

 

Asked what was going through his mind when he discovered the new bullet hole and saw how close it was to the fuel line, Nicholson said, “It sure makes you uncomfortable, and you wish people wouldn’t do it, but at the same time, after flying a bit, it’s one of those things where I don’t really believe in worrying about things that happened in the past and haven’t really affected me. But it makes you stop and think, obviously, because this time it was an inch and a half from the fuel line. The previous time, if the spar hadn’t caught the one on the right wing, it very easily could have come up into the cockpit and got me. I don’t think a lot of people are really thinking about it when they do it, that they could actually be killing somebody, but it very could easily happen.”

 

Nicholson is engaged to be married, and his fiancée happened to be within earshot when NAAA interviewed him about his 2018 shooting incident. She summed up her reaction in one word: “Livid.”

 

Nicholson and his fiancée understand certain risks, such as working around power lines and trees, are inherent to his job as an ag pilot, but getting shot at shouldn’t be one they have to worry about. “This isn’t one of the ones that you typically check on the box that, ‘Hey, we’re going to hire you, but you might get shot!’” Nicholson said. “You just don’t really talk about that in the job interview, but you sit down in an ag convention and you start talking to guys, and there’s a large portion that have been shot [at] before. So, it is part of the job, but it’s also one that shouldn’t need to be part of the job.”

Dos and Don’ts for Responding to an Aircraft Shooting

Over and above state laws, it is a federal crime to shoot at aircraft, including unmanned aircraft systems. Penalties can be as severe as 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Even the threat of shooting down an aircraft can result in a five-year prison sentence.

 

After a series of shootings directed at ag aircraft last summer, including Nicholson’s incident, NAAA developed a checklist of actions operators and pilots can take in the event someone discharges a firearm at their aircraft. The checklist includes tips on how to report a shooting incident and spread the word to bring the perpetrator to justice.

 

After last summer’s shooting, Headwaters Flying Service followed its in-house protocols to alert the local authorities. Headwaters has four pilots, including operator Cody Folkvord, and before each season Folkvord and his team discuss how to respond to different scenarios. In the year since his first shooting encounter, Nicholson has stressed the need to have a response plan in place whenever discussing the shooting with other ag pilots.

 

“You should all know what your response is to not only this event but other types of events that may happen,” he said. “Every year at the beginning of the year it’s good to have a sit-down and rehash, ‘If this happens, these are the people we communicate with. These are the people that we talk to, and these are the people that we don’t talk to.’ Because it’s very easy just to hop on social media to start blasting stuff off, where that’s not always the best course of action.”

 

After Nicholson’s plane was shot during flight last year, Folkvord was informed while he was flying, and it rattled the operator to the point that it affected his ability to operate his aircraft safely. “Since then, assuming it wasn’t a downed pilot situation, we wouldn’t contact him,” Nicholson said. “We’d make sure he was on the ground first before blasting out the text saying, ‘Hey, this happened.’”

 

“This time around, it wasn’t critical. The pilot was fine. We were on the ground. We’d already alerted the appropriate authorities [at the FBI]. There was no real reason to talk to him until we verified that he was on the ground and ‘Can you put your brain to this?’” Nicholson said. “Depending on your operation, it’s best to let the other pilots do their thing, and then when they’re on the ground at the end of the day, then you can all debrief.”

 

NAAA’s shooting-response checklist is available here to print out. The checklist, which Nicholson said is “much needed,” contains the following steps along with NAAA’s advice.

Checklist for Pilots Subjected to Discharge of a Firearm Targeting an Ag Aircraft

  • Inform Local Law Enforcement
  • Contact the FBI
  • Report it to the FAA National Safety Hotline
  • Call your Local Flight Standards Office (FSO)
  • File a NASA Aviation Safety Report
  • Tell Other Pilots
  • Notify Local News Media
  • Contact Your Insurance Agent if Warranted

In addition to its shooting-response checklist, NAAA is available to offer additional assistance in the event of an ag aircraft shooting. Contact NAAA at (202) 546-5722 for further support.

Seventh Fatal Ag Aviation Accident of 2018 Claims Life of Phillip Ching

On Aug.18, the agricultural aviation industry suffered its seventh fatality of the 2018 season. Phillip Ching was fatally injured on the evening of Aug.18. NAAA members and staff are deeply saddened by the loss and extend their sympathies and condolences to his friends and family.

 

Phillip Percy Kwock-Wai Ching of Elsie, Mich., is survived by his parents Radford and Cindy Ching, fiancée Mya Hall, brothers Robert Ching and David Ching, grandparents Percy and Eleanor Ching, and numerous aunts and uncles. Please keep them in your prayers as they grieve for their loss.

 

Ching, 26, was fatally injured when his AT-502B crashed in a field due to unknown circumstances. The accident occurred just south of Coldwater, Mich., which is about 100 miles southwest of Detroit. The NTSB is investigating the accident. The aircraft was operated by Lutes Flying Service, based in Shipshewana, Ind.

 

A memorial service for Ching will be held on Saturday, Sept. 1, at 1 p.m. at the Owosso Community Airport in Owosso, Mich. For those wishing to send flowers, please visit the Smith Family Funeral Homes to make arrangements.

2019 Membership Renewal is Now Open

Thank you for your 2018 NAAA membership; we appreciate your continued support. You will soon receive your membership renewal information in the mail; however, there is no need to wait!  You can renew your membership online by logging into your account in the upper right-hand corner. Once you’ve logged in, click Membership Renewal on the left-hand toolbar.



NAAA membership is as important as ever as NAAA needs resources to continue working to ensure EPA registers a healthy inventory of crop protection products for aerial use without restrictions. NAAA continues to advocate daily on these and other important issues for the safety and continuity of the aerial application industry. Continue to protect your interests and strengthen the ag aviation today by renewing online today. 

RECENT SUCCESSES

2017/2018 have been successful for public relations. NAAA continued its advertising campaign in Farm Journal, which directs readers to NAAA’s website and its “Find an Aerial Applicator” search function. The publication has a circulation of nearly 350,000 farmers nationwide.

 

NAAA also attended EAA AirVenture for the third consecutive year to spread the word about the importance of agricultural aviation as well as recruit the next generation of ag pilots who will provide the aerial application services farmers depend on.

Click here to read the complete 2017 NAAA Activity Summary.

POLICY PRIORITIES

NAAA is your wingman in Washington D.C. and is dedicated to lobbying and advocating on your behalf on the following issues affecting the industry:

  • Protecting ag aircraft from UAVs by advocating UAVs be equipped with safety enhancing equipment such as ADSB-Out, visible strobe lights, and tracking and ID technology.
  • Ensuring the safety of low-flying ag aircraft by working to preserve and implement the marking requirements for communication towers under 200 feet.
  • Continually evolving education programs and services such as the Professional Aerial Applicators’ Support System (PAASS) that reduce aviation accidents and save lives. PAASS attendees can receive potential discounts through their insurance providers. PAASS and other NAAA education programs also qualify for continuing education units applicators use to renew their commercial pesticides licenses. 
  • Eliminating unnecessary, duplicative and burdensome regulations such as eliminating NPDES permitting requirements for aerial pesticide applications over or near water and ensuring local governments do not ban the use of federally registered crop protection products.
  • Opposing efforts to eliminate the ag aviation fuel tax exemption; opposing the levy of user fees for ag aircraft flights; and resist efforts to lengthen the time to depreciate ag aircraft purchases.
  • Obtaining federal funding for USDA aerial application research, enhancing our stewardship and efficiency.

MEMBER PERKS

You can read more about the benefits of NAAA Membership online. We are just a phone call or email away to answer your questions! Contact the NAAA office at (202) 546-5722 or renew online today!  Log into your account in the upper right hand corner. Once you’ve logged in, click Membership Renewal on the left-hand toolbar (as seen in the graphic below).



Thank you for your continued support.

AUTO RENEWAL INFORMATION

Make it easy to renew by signing up for auto renewal.  NAAA offers auto renewal for membership and NAAREF donations. When you sign up for auto renewal, NAAA will automatically charge the credit card on file every Sept. 1st (increasing 3% each year, rounded up to the next $5 increment). There are four ways to sign up for auto renewal:

  1. When you receive your renewal statement in September, mark the box in the payment area for auto renewal.
  2. Renew your membership online and you’ll be asked during the process if you’d like auto renewal.
  3. Call the NAAA office at 202-546-5722 and request auto renewal.

Return the membership form in the next Agricultural Aviation magazine and mark the box in the payment area for auto renewal.

NAAA Ag Aviation Expo Attendee Registration Open!

We look forward to seeing you at the 2018 NAAA Ag Aviation Expo in Reno, Nev., Dec. 3–6! You can now register online for the NAAA Ag Aviation Expo. Attendee registration is now open!  If you’re an ag pilot with less than five years of experience or you’re interested in becoming an ag pilot, we are offering a special price to attend the NAAA Ag Aviation Expo for pilots with less than five years of experience. Click here for further details.

 

We are continually updating the schedule of events for this year’s convention and we are excited to announce a few of our exciting events scheduled for this December:

  • Kickoff Breakfast speaker Greg Peterson, Peterson Farm Brothers, Social Media Ag Promoter
  • General Session – Articulating Aerial Application for All.  Protect your livelihood by proselytizing your livelihood in this vitally important general session to strengthen your ability to effectively communicate the benefits of aerial application.
  • NAAA Trade Show – featuring 10 aircraft and an expected 150+ exhibitors. Floor plan will be available in mid-July
  • Aerial Application Research Technology Session and more than a dozen educational sessions (additional details will be posted as they become available)
  • Excellence in Ag Aviation Banquet honoring individuals and companies in the aerial application industry. Award Nominations due by Sept. 7.

Attendees registration is now open! Register today for the Ag Aviation Expo!

Additional details for the 2018 NAAA Ag Aviation Expo

  • Dates: Dec. 3-6, 2018
  • Location: Atlantis Casino Resort Spa and Reno-Sparks Convention Center
  • Schedule of Events: Current schedule here. Subject to change.
  • Hotel: Hotel Details Below
  • Auction Donations: Thank you to Pratt & Whitney Canada for their donation of a PT6-34AG Engine to this year’s NAAA Live Auction. While we’re still several months away from the Ag Aviation Expo, but it’s never too early to donate an item for the Live and Silent Auction. The earlier you inform us of your auction donation, the more advertising you’ll receive on the NAAA website and in NAAA publications. Support the aerial application industry by donating an item today. Email Lindsay with your donation details.
  • Attendee Registration: Now Open 
  • Exhibitor Booth Sales: Now Open
  • Sponsorship Opportunities: View the sponsorship opportunities. Please email Lindsay if you would like to secure a sponsorship from last year or to discuss 2018 opportunities! We offer sponsorships for all budget sizes.

Book Your Hotel Room

Atlantis Casino Resort Spa is a world-class, Four Diamond resort destination. A splendid oasis created for relaxation, celebration and rejuvenation, the Atlantis has always been a favorite resort destination for travelers near and far, recognized for luxurious accommodations, a world-class revitalizing spa and salon, award-winning dining and fun casino action. This is not the same Reno from the early 2000s; the city is rapidly changing, and it has become ground zero for a new technology boom that has helped spawn amazing restaurants, microbreweries, bars, shopping and nightclubs. Having a new vibrancy all its own, Reno is a cool and unique place to visit.

Atlantis Casino Resort Spa

  • Rate: $109/night + taxes (NAAA has negotiated to waive the resort fee. Included in your room rate is complimentary in room Wi-Fi or wired internet, self-parking, use of fitness center, use of indoor pool, extended check out time of 12 p.m. and complimentary airport shuttle service)
  • Reservations: Book Online Here or call (800) 723-6500 and reference the NAAA Convention (SNAA18).  Online reservations require a deposit of one night’s room charge + taxes. Call-in reservations will not be charged a deposit but require a credit card to hold reservation.
  • Block Deadline: Monday, Nov. 12
  • Hotel Address: 3800 S. Virginia St. Reno, NV 
  • Shuttle: Atlantis provides a free airport shuttle that runs at 15 and 45 minutes after the hour from 5:15 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. leaving the airport. The shuttle leaves the hotel on the hour and 30 minutes after the hour from 5 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.

NAAA and NAAREF Board Meetings Oct. 5-6

We look forward to seeing you in Palm Springs, Calif., for our October NAAA and NAAREF committee and board meetings. Most meetings take place Oct. 5–6 with a couple of meetings beginning on Oct. 4. PAASS Train the Trainer will take place Oct. 3–4. All meetings are open to NAAA members.


You can view a tentative schedule here. Please email Lindsay Barber if you will plan to attend the meetings.

Location

Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel
888 E Tahquitz Canyon Way
Palm Springs, CA 92262
Local phone (760) 322-6000

Rate: $169/night plus tax (comped WiFi in guest rooms)

 

Reservations: Book online at https://tinyurl.com/naaaoct2018 or call: (800) 682-1238 (identify NAAA board meeting for the reduced room rate)

 

Room Block Closes:  Sept. 20, 2018. Room rates will be higher after block closes.

NAAREF Fundraiser Full of Fun at NAAA Ag Aviation Expo

Help us raise money for NAAREF and PAASS at King Pins, a fundraiser for the ag aviation industry’s premier educational safety program. This fundraising bowling event will take place on Sunday, Dec. 2 from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, NV.

 

Registration is now open and is required; the donation is $100 per person. Each person must register separately, and the bowling alley suggests no more than five people per lane. If you have questions while you’re registering, please email us.

 

Transportation from the Atlantis to the National Bowling Stadium will be offered and your donation includes shoe rental at the bowling alley. Food and beverages are not included; a bar and concessions will be available for purchase at the bowling alley.

 

Help us raise funds to continue the highly regarded PAASS Program, working to reduce the number of aviation accidents and drift incidents each year.

 

Additional details for the 2018 NAAA Ag Aviation Expo

  • Dates: Dec. 3-6, 2018
  • Location: Atlantis Casino Resort Spa and Reno-Sparks Convention Center
  • Schedule of Events: Current schedule here. Subject to change.
  • Hotel: Hotel Details Below
  • Auction Donations: Thank you to Pratt & Whitney Canada for their donation of a PT6-34AG Engine to this year’s NAAA Live Auction. While we’re still several months away from the Ag Aviation Expo, but it’s never too early to donate an item for the Live and Silent Auction. The earlier you inform us of your auction donation, the more advertising you’ll receive on the NAAA website and in NAAA publications. Support the aerial application industry by donating an item today. Email Lindsay with your donation details.
  • Attendee Registration: Now Open 
  • Exhibitor Booth Sales: Now Open
  • Sponsorship Opportunities: View the sponsorship opportunities. Please email Lindsay if you would like to secure a sponsorship from last year or to discuss 2018 opportunities! We offer sponsorships for all budget sizes.

Book Your Hotel Room

Atlantis Casino Resort Spa is a world-class, Four Diamond resort destination. A splendid oasis created for relaxation, celebration and rejuvenation, the Atlantis has always been a favorite resort destination for travelers near and far. Recognized for luxurious accommodations, a world class revitalizing spa and salon, award-winning dining and fun casino action. This is not the same Reno from the early 2000s; the city is rapidly changing, and it has become ground zero for a new technology boom that has helped spawn amazing restaurants, microbreweries, bars, shopping and nightclubs. Having a new vibrancy all its own, Reno is a cool and unique place to visit.

Atlantis Casino Resort Spa

  • Rate: $109/night + taxes (NAAA has negotiated to waive the resort fee. Included in your room rate is complimentary in room Wi-Fi or wired internet, self-parking, use of fitness center, use of indoor pool, extended check out time of 12 p.m. and complimentary airport shuttle service)
  • Reservations: Book Online Here or call (800) 723-6500 and reference the NAAA Convention (SNAA18).  Online reservations require a deposit of one night’s room charge + taxes. Call-in reservations will not be charged a deposit but require a credit card to hold reservation.
  • Block Deadline: Monday, Nov. 12
  • Hotel Address: 3800 S. Virginia St. Reno, NV 
  • Shuttle: Atlantis provides a free airport shuttle that runs at 15 and 45 minutes after the hour from 5:15 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. leaving the airport. The shuttle leaves the hotel on the hour and 30 minutes after the hour from 5 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.

FAA Invites Helicopter Ag Pilots to Free Rotorcraft Safety Conference Oct. 23-25

The 2018 FAA International Rotorcraft Safety Conference will be held Oct. 23–25 at the Hurst Conference Center near Fort Worth, Texas, in an effort to reduce helicopter accident rates. The FAA Rotorcraft Standards Branch is hosting the free safety conference for the third time, after hosting previous safety symposiums in 2015 and ’16.

 

National personal resilience speaker Jack Harris will be the keynote speaker on the conference’s first day and will speak about “keeping good people good.” The conference will also feature presentations from small operators and major industry and FAA leaders. Topics include crash injury protective equipment, surviving a helicopter accident, single pilot resource management, avoiding inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions, rotor blade inspection and preventive maintenance, what goes into an airworthiness directive and flight data monitoring.

 

The conference’s first and third days, Oct. 23 and 25, will feature programs designed to appeal to the entire helicopter community. The conference’s second day—Oct. 24—will have separate presentations for pilots and mechanics, including pilot sessions on U.S. Helicopter Safety Team initiatives, night vision goggles and presentations from major helicopter associations. Mechanics will discuss preventative maintenance for rotor blades, flight data monitoring, safety cultures and managing maintenance operations. The complete programming schedule is available here.

 

The information gained at the rotorcraft safety conference could help pilots, mechanics and others prevent a catastrophic accident. To that end, helicopter operators, pilots, mechanics and industry personnel are encouraged to attend the free conference. Attendees will receive Inspection Authorization credits and FAA AMT and WINGS pilot proficiency program credits.

 

For more information about the FAA conference and to register, visit http://www.faahelisafety.org. For general questions, contact conference coordinator Gene Trainor at eugene.trainor@faa.gov