Matthew Zuccaro to Serve as New HAI President

Alexandria, Va. -- The Helicopter Association International is pleased to announce that Mr. Matthew Zuccaro will begin serving as the new HAI president on November 1, 2005. Mr. Zuccaro will replace President Roy Resavage. Currently, Mr. Zuccaro is the president of Zuccaro Industries, LLC, which provides domestic and international aviation consultation services, specializing in helicopter related issues.

During his 35-year career, Mr. Zuccaro has held several executive level and operations management positions, with commercial, corporate, scheduled airline, and public service helicopter operations in the northeastern United States. During his tenure with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, he served in operations management positions at Kennedy International Airport and the Port Authority's public and private heliports.

Mr. Zuccaro is a former Chairman of HAI. During his 20-year association with HAI, he served as Vice Chairman, Treasurer, and Assistant Treasurer, as well as a Director for six years, and Special Advisor to the HAI Board. Mr. Zuccaro was instrumental in a number of key HAI initiatives, to include the relocation of HAI to its current headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, and the revision of HAI's by-laws. Additionally, he has served as the chairman or member of many HAI committees, as well as numerous industry research and task force groups.

Mr. Zuccaro is a past president and chairman of the Eastern Region Helicopter Council (ERHC). For the past 10 years he has served as a special advisor to ERHC's board of directors. In this capacity he has actively represented ERHC and its members in the promotion, development, and retention of heliports, community interface, public relations, regulatory, airspace, and infrastructure issues.

Mr. Zuccaro received his initial helicopter flight training as a U.S. Army aviator and served with the 7/17 Air Calvary unit in Vietnam, for which he was awarded several commendations to include, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Bronze Stars, and 19 Air Medals. He was subsequently assigned as a flight instructor at the Army Flight School at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

Mr. Zuccaro holds Airline Transport Pilot and Instrument Flight Instructor certificates for both airplanes and helicopters. He is a recipient of HAI's "Salute to Excellence" Augusta Community Service Award and 10,000-Hour Helicopter Pilot Safety award, as well as numerous other industry awards for his efforts and commitment to the helicopter industry.

HAI is the professional trade association for the civil helicopter industry. HAI's 1,350-plus-member organizations and 1,150 individual members, in more than 73 nations, safely operate more than 4,500 helicopters approximately 2.3 million hours each year. HAI is dedicated to the promotion of the helicopter as a safe, effective method of commerce and to the advancement of the civil helicopter industry.