Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

The FAA formally issued an emergency order yesterday prohibiting use of supplemental passenger restraint systems that cannot be released quickly in commercial doors-off operations.&nbsp;The March 22 order further prohibits doors-off flight operations unless passengers are secured with FAA-approved restraints.

 


The emergency order was issued following the March 11 crash of a 2013 Airbus Helicopters AS350B2 in the East River in New York City that resulted in the drowning of five passengers who were wearing supplemental harnesses.&nbsp; Following the crash, <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2018-03-16/nyc-helo-crash-puts-spotlight-doors-flights">the FAA tweeted</a> that it would ban use of such harnesses in door-off operations, and the National Transportation Safety Board on March 19 applauded the intent and <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2018-03-19/ntsb-presses-faa-doors-helo-operations">urged the FAA</a> to move forward on the ban.

 


“Supplemental passenger restraint systems, such as the harness system used by the operator of the helicopter involved in the March 11, 2018 accident, can significantly delay or prevent passengers from exiting the aircraft in an emergency,” the FAA said in the emergency order.

 


The FAA defined supplemental passenger restraints as “any passenger restraint that is not installed on the aircraft pursuant to an FAA approval, including (but not limited to) restraints approved through a type certificate, supplemental type certificate, or as an approved major alteration using FAA Form 337.”

 


Restraints that the FAA has found to provide a quick release may still be used, the FAA added. But such restraint must not require use of a knife or any other tool to cut through for release. Further, the restraint must not require passenger training beyond that included in a pre-flight briefing.

 


The FAA said it would consider application to determine the quick-release capabilities, but added, “The applicant bears the burden of clearly and convincingly demonstrating that the supplemental passenger restraint system can be quickly released by a passenger with minimal difficulty and without impeding egress from the aircraft in an emergency.”

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

FAA Formally Bans Certain Harnesses in Doors-off Ops

The ban on non-approved supplemental passenger restrain systems in commercial doors-off operations followed the March 11 East River helicopter crash.

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