HAI has announced that beginning at HELI-EXPO 2006, it will offer a comprehensive crisis management program to its member companies as a part of the association’s popular Professional Education Series. The HAI Board of Directors also has given its approval for the program to be presented regionally as well.

“This is an exciting new development in the HAI Professional Education Series,” said HAI President Matt Zuccaro. “While fatal accidents are rare in the helicopter industry, when a catastrophic accident occurs it’s all hands on deck; everybody in the company needs to spring into action. It may not be the most pleasant topic for operators, but understanding how to deal with a crisis of this magnitude is as important as having adequate insurance coverage. It is an essential part of business contingency planning,” Zuccaro continued.

HAI’s new crisis management program was developed by The Communications Workshop, LLC of North Laurel, Maryland. The program, titled Coping With Crisis 101 – Managing an Aviation Disaster, took more than three years to design and is taught by longtime aviation professional Steve Bassett who is president and CEO of The Communications Workshop, LLC.

Steve is an instrument-rated pilot with more than 30 years of aviation and communications experience. He holds National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) training certificates in areas including transportation disaster response and assistance, accident investigations, on-scene family assistance operations, forensic operations, and personal effects recovery.

Coping With Crisis 101 – Managing An Aviation Disaster covers the significant areas of aviation crisis management, from developing an effective crisis management plan, to disaster response, to handling the news media in crisis situations. It focuses on four main areas – prevention, preparation, response and recovery – and covers topics including contingency planning, crisis response and containment, corporate recovery planning, federal regulations, working with the FAA and NTSB, disaster family assistance, crisis public relations, political fallout, managing the news media, and much more. Coping With Crisis 101 – Managing an Aviation Disaster is a full-day of very intensive training. At the end of the day operators will know how to handle a crisis and will have the framework of a crisis management plan of their own in place.

HAI offers a number of educational courses designed specifically for helicopter professionals. These courses are conducted by seasoned educators with substantial credentials in the industry. The association’s educational programs cover safety, maintenance, management, flight instruction, regulatory compliance, and crisis management. The programs are offered as a part of HAI’s continuing education series the week prior to the HAI annual convention, HELI-EXPO.

HAI is currently evaluating the best locations and times for the regional training seminars and will make an announcement regarding the first regional seminar in the near future.

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