Administrator Randy Babbitt of the Federal Aviation Administration and Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt of the National Transportation Safety Board will be featured speakers at the International Helicopter Safety Symposium taking place in Fort Worth, TX, on Nov. 8-9.  The theme of the fifth annual symposium for the worldwide helicopter industry will be Human Factors: our Collective Challenge – Our Individual Responsibility.

The event is a gathering of helicopter operators, manufacturers, service providers, trade associations, academia, government regulators, pilots, mechanics, instructors, and other industry participants from across the globe aimed at finding ways to drive the helicopter accident rate lower.  Organizations involved in the symposium also are members of the International Helicopter Safety Team, which was created in 2005 with a mission of reducing the worldwide civil helicopter accident rate by 80 percent before 2016

On the first day of the symposium, FAA Administrator Babbitt will discuss aviation safety in the industry and on the second day, NTSB Vice Chairman Sumwalt will offer remarks on his agency’s top 10 recommendations involving human factors in helicopters accidents.

Other featured speakers at the event include Dr. Patrick Hudson, professor at The Netherlands’ Delft University of Technology, and Hooper Harris, Accident Investigation Manager in the FAA’s Office of Accident Investigation and Prevention.

More information about the Fifth Annual International Helicopter Safety Symposium can be obtained at the International Helicopter Safety Team web site (www.IHST.org).