INTRODUCTON
The second HSAC General Meeting for the year 2006 was convened at 08:30. Chairman, Casey Lowery, welcomed the Members and continued with individual attendees' introductions.

Casey Lowery - Chairman
The HSAC Chairman introduced the Liaison for the Technical Advisory Committee and the Chairman for the newly adopted Aerial Pipeline Patrol Committee who are, respectively, Rusty Politz, Chevron, and Mark Small, El Paso.

Vincent Capezzuto
Federal Aviation Administration
Program Manager Surveillance and Broadcast Services Program Office
Presented update on Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) strategy that aligns with the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS).

Initial ADS-B Applications

• Surveillance that includes Enroute, Terminal, and Surface
• Traffic/Flight Information Broadcast Service
• Enhanced Visual Acquisition
• Enhanced Visual Approaches
• Final Approach and Runway Occupancy Awareness
• Airport Service Situational Awareness (Visual mapping of aircraft on runways/taxiways and ground support vehicles)
• Conflict detection

2010 Target for completion of ADS-B infrastructure
2014 Target for "total package" that includes 27-ADS-B sites, 24-NEXWOS weather systems, and 16- Remote Communications Air-to-Ground (RCAG) Sites

MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT - Chairman called Roll of Signatories
Helicopter Operators, Oil and Gas Companies, and FAA signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for Weather, Communications, and Surveillance in the Gulf of Mexico.
Attachment 1 - Memorandum of Agreement Signed May 18, 2006
Attachment 2- HAI News Letter, "HAI, FAA and Gulf of Mexico Operators Sign MOA"
Attachment 3 - Website for Photos

SAFETY TOPIC
Mark Fontenot, Vice Chairman, reviewed Action Plan with the HSAC Working Group and updated the Action Plan from January 18, 2006.
Attachment 4 - Action Plan January 18, 2006

HSAC COMMITTEE REPORTS

Mark Fontenot - Vice Chairman's Report and Treasurer Report

• Stephen B. Manley, FAA Contracting Officer Surveillance Division, emphasized that the MOA is a living document and we (the FAA) want more to join and be involved in the future.
• Treasurer, Joe Gross, could note attend the meeting.

Ron Domingue - Secretary's Report

• The HSAC Executive Committee placed before the Regular Membership two proposed changes to the Bylaws.
  1. Amend Article III, Membership, to include "airplane" and "or aerial surveillance activities within the United States."
  2. Amend Article IX, Authority for Operation, whereas, once elected, all members who serve on the Executive Committee will hold Regular Membership (voting) status as individuals "during their active and current term in office."

• The Regular Members voted in favor of the changes to the HSAC Bylaws and effective May 18, 2006. Of the 24-Regular Members, there were 23 "yes" votes and one "absent."

• The two-year terms in office for the Vice Chairman and the Treasurer will expire in January 2007.
  1. Regular Members will vote at the September 2006 meeting for Vice Chairman and Treasurer.
  2. Announced candidates for Vice Chairman and Treasurer are incumbents, Mark Fontenot and Joe Gross, respectively.
  3. Nominees for the stated offices shall be sent via e-mail to the Secretary at rdomingue@phihelico.com no later than August 16, 2006.

• The revision to the Bylaws dated May 18, 2006 will be posted at the website, www.hsac.org.

Travis Allen - HSAC/FAA Interface

• Introduced Commander Kent R. Mathes, USN
  Western Air Defense Sector (WADS)
  852 Lincoln Blvd
  McChord AFB, WA 98438-1317
  Office: (253) 982-4432

• The Transition: Northeast and Southeast Sectors will be merging and AO moving further East to the Mississippi River and South into the Gulf of Mexico.

• Call sign is "BIGFOOT." If intercepted, suggest contact on VHF guard frequency and request, "Bigfoot."

Mark Fontenot - HSAC Working Group

• Updated the HSAC Action Plan.
  Attachment 5 - Action Plan Update, May 17, 2006

• Offshore Oil Industry Helicopter Operations and Safety Performance 2006 Attachment 6

Terry Kaufman - Standardization and Safety

• For changes to the HSAC Briefing Card, contact Ray Wall at Air Logistics.
• Hurricane Preparedness (Attachment 7- Hurricane Presentation)
• Offshore, please use VHF 123.025 as the common frequency to communicate with other helicopter operators.
• Travis Allen, Shell, offered a review of the November 10, 2005 Near Miss at EI188P first presented at the January 18, 2006 Meeting. It was appropriate to reiterate lessons learned during the investigation and the joint cooperation of Shell, PHI, and El Paso.
  (Attachment 8 - Near Miss Briefing)
• International Association of Drilling Contractors Safety Alert (Attachment 9 - IADC Safety Alert 05-26)
• Area Agreement Maps need to be updated.

Terry Umfleet - Government Liaison

• Update on Search and Rescue and discussion with the U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center (RCC).
• USCG Lieutenant David Potyok briefed a PPT presentation on "Waterway Watch"
  1. The U.S. Coast Guard is the lead agency for Homeland Security. (Attachment 10)
  2. The Port of Houston is first in the US and sixth in the World in total tonnage.
  3. We are requesting that pilots report anything observed that is out of the ordinary.
  4."We all work in a target-rich environment."
  5. See Kneeboard Cards for reporting information. (Attachment 11 - USCG Waterway Watch Information Gathering Form)
  6. Website is www.americaswaterwaywatch.org.
  7. The Coast Guard aircraft monitors Marine Channel 16 and Guard.

Michael J. "Mike" Hebert - Supervisory Officer U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
16819 East Main Street
Cutoff, LA 70345
Office: (985) 632-8182
Fax: (985) 632-8185
Email: michael.hebert@dhs.gov

• Free-floating vessel or unattached platform: Customs required.
• Dynamically Positioned Vessel on-site with intent to begin drilling operation: District Port of Morgan City requires no Customs.
• If drilling rig is "stacked," regardless of flag or anchorage, Customs is required.
• APIS - Advanced Passenger Information System. It's not just to identify potential "bad guys." The system has helped to capture wanted rapists, child molesters, those who have failed to pay court-ordered child support, and other criminal elements.

Ken Kersker - Heliports and Airways

• Travis Allen presented a "Helideck Markings" draft PowerPoint proposal for the HSAC Working Group to refine into an HSAC RP for standardizing GoM helideck markings.
• The proposal incorporates references from API-RP2L, CAP 437, and ICAO.
• The RP would assist to standardize helidecks by defining:
  1. Approach path with orientation of the "H" marking on the helideck.
  2. The Aiming Point on the helideck.
  3. Hazard markings for relevant obstacles.
  4. Markings for passengers to readily identify the helideck access path.

Casey Lowery - Comments on Adoption of API RP2L

• The American Petroleum Institute (API) has reaffirmed the 1995 version of API 2L, "Recommended Practice for Planning, Designing and Constructing Helidecks" with a new date stamp. Although, technically, the document must be reviewed again in 2011, API 2L may be amended within the 5-years term.
• The Helicopter Safety Advisory Conference (HSAC) is a veteran organization comprised of oil companies and helicopter operators who are the recognized aviation experts by federal government agencies stewarding the construction of U.S. platform helidecks and safe flight operations to-and-from those helidecks.
• The HSAC Membership expressed disappoint in the reaffirmation of API RP2L without regard for the adoption of the HSAC Policy Statement, "U.S. New Build Helideck Size," dated April 29, 2005. (Attachment 12 - U.S. New Build Helideck Size)
• HSAC will officially correspond with API with the intention to determine the HSAC endorsement of API RP2L.

Rusty Politz - Liaison Technical Advisory Committee

• Presented a DVD on Boundary Layer Research (BLR) "strakes" that enhance tail rotor effectiveness.

Mark Small - Chairman Aerial Pipeline Patrol Committee

• Aerial Patrol Action Plan (Attachment 13- Aerial Patrol Action Plan)
  (Attachment 14 - Minutes of Aerial Pipeline Patrol Committee Meeting)

Allen Duquette - PHPA Safety Committee

• PHPA represent over 4,000 both represented and non-represented pilots in 48-countries. Visit the PHPA website at www.autrotate.org.
• Human Factors Conference is scheduled for October 26th, 27th, and 28th in Tunica, MS.

Frank Colby - Omega Protein

Billy Suckow - Daybrook Fisheries

• Continue to make those "Beach in" and "Beach out" calls. For those helicopters with one VHF radio, come up the fish spotter frequency and make that call even if you have to change back before you get a response. It will alert the pilot of the spotter aircraft to capture the exact altitude.
• HSAC apologized for not having a representative at the Annual Fish Spotters Safety Meeting in April 2006.

Don Day -FAA

• FAA Helicopter Safety Questionnaire (Attachment 15)

Mike George - El Paso

• Presented information on McMurdo 406 EPIRB.
• Additional information at www.mcmurdo.co.uk

Tom Salat - FAA

• What is WAAS? WAAS is an extremely accurate navigation system developed for civil aviation. Before WAAS, the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS) did not have the ability to provide horizontal and vertical navigation for precision approach operations for all users at all locations. With WAAS, this capability is becoming a reality. WAAS provides service for all classes of aircraft in all flight operations - including en route
  navigation, airport departures, and airport arrivals. This includes precision landing approaches in all weather conditions at all locations throughout the NAS. (Attachment 16 - Wide Area Augmentation System)
• For more information, visit http://gps.faa.gov/Programs/WAAS/waas.htm

The next HSAC Meeting will be in Houston, Texas on September 13 and 14, 2006.