Over 40 pilots attended the helicopter safety lecture by Swiss helicopter safety specialist Captain Claude Vuichard in Kona, Hawaii. The main goal was to create awareness of safety during daily helicopter operations, tours and training. The lecture was organized by Leocopter Air Services together with Mauna Loa Helicopters and the FAA FAAST Team Hawaii.
According to Leocopter, flying helicopters is safe, but pilots and operators need continuous training and a change in flying procedures.
The new methods invented by Vuichard have the potential to lead to significant reduction of accidents and incidents – they even have the potential to save many lives every year and the associated damage and insurance cases.
Vuichard is known for the Vortex Ring State Recovery (VRS) procedure, which was acknowledged and published by the FAA in October 2019 in the Helicopter Flying Handbook. Based on decades of helicopter flight operations in the Swiss Alps and many search-and-rescue missions, Vuichard professionalized additional life-saving maneuvers. They ensure that pilots take the right action in critical situations and simply more safety.
VRASF and Leocopter’s overall objectives are to improve the awareness for safety and actions to reduce the risks related to helicopter operations. The main driver is to prevent incidents and save lives.
