WASHINGTON DC – Wayne Fry, FAA Flight Standards Division Manager for General Aviation Safety Assurance, has been named the new government co-chairman of the United States Helicopter Safety Team (www.ushst.org). The USHST was formed in 2013 as a regional partner within the International Helicopter Safety Team (www.IHST.org) to lead a government and industry cooperative effort to promote safety and work to reduce civil helicopter accidents and fatalities.
From the FAA Southwest Regional Office in Fort Worth, Fry oversees nine General Aviation offices with an emphasis on helicopter operations. He is a 20-year veteran of the FAA, holding management positions in the Flight Standards Regional offices in Seattle and Fort Worth, in the Flight Standards District Offices in Oklahoma City, Houston and Baton Rouge, and in the Aircraft Maintenance Division in Washington DC.
Prior to his service in the FAA, Fry worked for 17 years for oil and gas industry helicopter operator Air Logistics in the areas of maintenance and quality assurance.
“Wayne Fry has extensive experience in the rotorcraft industry,” said Jim Viola, FAA Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety. “He is a perfect addition to the team’s effort to enhance helicopter safety and an excellent fit in the government-industry partnership to reduce accidents and fatalities here in the United States.”
Since 2013, the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team has focused on fatal accidents within the U.S. commercial helicopter community. Comparing 2017 with 2013, total civil helicopter accidents have decreased by 17 percent and fatal accidents have been cut by 33 percent.
