USHST Showcases Hughes App While Coalition Seeks FAA Review of Temporary Obstruction Hazards
The United States Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) is highlighting practical tools already available to help pilots identify hazards and strengthen situational awareness, including the Hughes App (iOS), a free commercial application available through USHST that includes slackline depictions, geo-referenced helicopter charts, weather and FAA weather cameras, risk-assessment tools, offline chart storage, and mobile access to USHST safety resources.
USHST also joined more than thirty-seven general aviation associations in urging FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford to review whether existing notice and marking frameworks sufficiently address slacklines and similar temporary obstructions. The request follows the January 2026 accident near Superior, Arizona, in which a helicopter struck a slackline, killing four people.
The coalition asked the FAA to examine whether notices, markings, and pilot notifications related to temporary obstructions should be strengthened and whether additional outreach is needed for non-aviation communities whose activities create hazards in navigable airspace. It also pointed to tools such as the Hughes App as evidence that practical risk-reduction resources already exist and that broader awareness and integration of those tools warrant attention as part of the safety discussion.
“When recurring hazards continue to produce fatal accidents, they demand renewed scrutiny,” says Chris Baur, says Chris Baur, Hughes CEO and USHST Industry Co-Chairman. “This request is focused on prevention, examining what this tragedy teaches us and translating those lessons into practical steps that strengthen safety.”
The letter cites FAA data showing low-altitude object strikes remain a recurring fatal accident category, including the highest-occurrence category in Parts 133 and 137 helicopter operations. The coalition said those data support a broader review of whether current systems for identifying, communicating, and mitigating temporary obstruction hazards remain adequate as low-altitude airspace grows more complex.
Read the coalition letter about slackline hazards.