The United States Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) has named Chris Baur, President and CEO of Hughes Aerospace, as its new industry chair. Baur will succeed Nick Mayhew, who has served as the Industry Chair since January 2020.
Baur brings over 40 years of diverse aerospace industry leadership, global business development, and technical innovation expertise to the USHST. As founder of Hughes Aerospace, one of the largest Air Navigation Services Providers (ANSP), Chris has been a pioneer in NextGen and the Global Performance Based Navigation PBN movement. In this capacity he has been a contributing member of the USHST Infrastructure Working Group. Chris continues to operate helicopters in addition to flying as a senior captain with a major Air Carrier. He is a dual-rated ATP/CFII with over 15,000 hours, having served as a military/aviator in eight different fixed and rotary-wing aircraft in the US Army, US Air Force, and US Coast Guard. He is recognized as a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS) and holds a BS from Embry Riddle and an MBA from Brown University.
Despite Baur’s extensive commitments to the aviation industry, he is eager to accept his new role. “I am deeply honored to accept the challenges of this position. “Following Nick into this role is no easy task as his leadership and technical prowess elevates the USHST bar to incredible OGE heights!” said Chris Baur. I look forward to listening and gaining insights from my fellow team members as well as the community to advance the USHST’s influence, and relevance for the advancement of safety in our constantly evolving industry.” Chris will have his work cut out for him on day one, as the USHST has already identified five new Helicopter Safety Enhancements (H-SEs) to pursue once committed working groups are formed.
“I welcome Chris and look forward to working with him as we find innovative ways to connect with our industry and address our biggest challenge – driving down fatal civil rotorcraft accident rates,” said Wayne Fry (USHST Co-Chair, FAA AFG-300). Through Nick’s steadfast leadership, our team has enjoyed historic levels of productivity and project success.” Mayhew helped guide the successful conclusion of all but one of the team’s original 16 H-SEs. A detailed listing of all and their related deliverables (e.g., reports, guides, recommended practices, etc.) is available at ushst.org/h-se-details.
The USHST reviewed several highly qualified applicants after announcing the co-chair vacancy in November 2022. Chris Baur will formally assume his new role during the USHST All Hands meeting at the HAI HELI-EXPO scheduled for 2:30 – 4:00 pm, Monday, 6 March 2023, in Room B303 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
As a regional partner with the worldwide Vertical Aviation Safety Team (VAST), the USHST was formed in 2013 to lead a government and industry cooperative effort to promote safety and work to reduce civil helicopter fatal accidents. Visit the USHST web site to learn more about the team and review valuable resources aimed at reducing civil fatal accident rates to zero.
About the US Helicopter Safety Team
The USHST is a volunteer team of US government and industry stakeholders formed to improve the safety of civil helicopter operations in the National Airspace System. The USHST is a partner of the Vertical Aviation Safety Team (VAST). The USHST vision is a civil US registered helicopter community with zero fatal accidents.
