Highlights of Spring Membership Meeting

The New England Helicopter Council, held its spring membership meeting on April 16, 2009. NEHC membership includes operators, business executives, industry partners and suppliers, as well as helicopter enthusiasts, who collectively promote rotorcraft aviation through and for the benefit of its membership while providing a forum for rotorcraft education, safety and infrastructure development throughout New England.

The highlight of the meeting was Survival Systems USA, Inc.’s presentation about the right way and the wrong way to escape from a sinking helicopter and how to survive after ditching. Survival Systems is a Groton, Connecticut based company that specializes in sea survival training. Maria C. Hanna, the company President and Christopher M. Judah, its Executive Director, gave the NEHC members a very enthusiastic presentation about the importance of ditching training for all helicopter occupants and how Survival Systems is filling this training niche. Survival Systems was founded in 1982 in response to a need for basic sea survival training for personnel working in the offshore oil industry and has expanded to instruct pilots, aircrew and passengers in water survival, aircraft ditching emergency and escape procedures, as well as approved open-water sea survival. In addition to their Groton training site, Survival Systems maintains training sites around the world serving the needs of the commercial and private aviation industry, federal and state law enforcement and rescue operators, and the United States Military. The U.S. Army, for example, has implemented the use of the first full environment theater in the United States – encompassing wind, rain, waves, and sound to produce the highest fidelity of training possible. At any given time during the day, Survival Systems provides equipment and training services in over 23 different countries and impacts the lives of thousands every day. Survival Systems clearly lives their motto, “To Enhance and Preserve Workers’ Lives through Safety Education, Training Technologies, and Applied Research and Development.”

At the end of the presentation one lucky NEHC member was awarded the door prize which consisted of a Helicopter Underwater Egress Training class. We look forward to having the winner share his experience in the HUET with us at the next NEHC meeting.

The other noteworthy event at this meeting was the “Passing-of-the-Torch” of the organization’s leadership. Darryl Abbey has served as Director since 1995 and Chairman of the Board for the past five years. The New England helicopter community has benefitted from Darryl’s personal involvement and steady leadership of the NEHC.