FAA puts brakes on new air ambulance safety rules
Emergency medical helicopters will have until next April to institute tougher risk analysis and in-flight monitoring procedures in challenging weather
Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators have given helicopter operators an extra year to comply with certain enhanced safety rules, including additional training for poor visibility conditions and more-advanced monitoring of emergency medical flights from the ground.
The Federal Aviation Administration's Thursday announcement — extending the deadline to April 2015 from later this month — comes two months after the agency issued sweeping new rules mandating tougher training standards and beefed-up equipment for the commercial helicopter industry
The move doesn't affect deadlines for installing ground-collision avoidance systems and other technology. But the FAA said it is extending some pilot-training and operational requirements "in response to industry feedback," and to provide it more time to issue "detailed guidance materials."
Full story: FAA Delays Tighter Training, Safety Rules for Commercial Helicopters
