Episode 113: Wildfires, Black Hawks & Maintenance Safety | MRO Roundtable

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast, brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical PlusThe Vertical MRO crew gets together for the first MRO Roundtable — a new recurring conversation bringing the hosts together to catch up, discuss current helicopter industry news, and look at what's ahead for the maintenance community.David Kreutzkamp is joined by Jon Gray, Ronnie Ries, and returning MRO host Val Medved for a wide-ranging discussion that starts with one of the busiest wildfire seasons in recent memory. The group talks about the demands being placed on operators across Canada, the U.S. and beyond, along with developments surrounding restricted-category aircraft and their growing role in aerial firefighting.The conversation then turns to maintenance safety and lessons from a Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigation into a fatal helicopter ground-run accident. Rather than assigning blame, the group considers what the industry can learn about distraction, complacency, checklist discipline, communication, and the human factors that can turn routine work into a serious risk.The crew also catches up on what's happening across the industry, workforce and leadership development, and what listeners can expect at the upcoming Vertical MRO Conferences.It's news, lessons learned, a little shop talk, and plenty of opinions from around the Vertical MRO table.Special thanks to this episode's sponsor, Rotorcraft Support Inc and Alpine Aerotech. Also, be sure to check out Vertical MRO's Instagram channel for even more awesome content highlighting the awesome work being done to keep the rotorcraft community flying!