STRATFORD, Connecticut - 

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. today announced its Platinum-level sponsorship of one of the industry’s largest and most important safety conferences, the annual CHC Safety & Quality Summit. The three-day, internationally recognized event focuses on the human side of aviation safety, with last year’s summit attracting more than 700 delegates from throughout the world. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).

This year’s eighth annual summit will take place at the Westin Bayshore Resort & Marina in Vancouver, BC, Canada, from March 26-28. The theme is, “Improving Safety Culture through Talent, Training & Trust.”

“Sikorsky Aircraft has no higher priority than safety, and we are proud to continue our sponsorship of this superb gathering of experts from around the globe to share best practices for establishing, maintaining and continuously improving a safety culture for our entire industry,” said Dr. David Eherts, Chief Safety Officer for Sikorsky Aircraft.

CHC Helicopter initiated the summit in 2005 as an internal program for its safety and quality managers to learn from the world’s best aviation safety experts. Word began to spread about the program, and in 2007 CHC expanded it into a public event open to the entire industry.

“In the spirit of industry-wide collaboration where safety is our highest value, Sikorsky is consistently the first company to pledge its support for CHC’s Safety & Quality Summit,” said Gregory Wyght, Vice President, Safety & Quality for CHC Helicopter. “When safety is such a fundamental part of a company’s culture, it makes a significant difference to our entire industry.”

Fred Brisbois, a member of Sikorsky’s Qualification Assurance Board responsible for the system safety aspects of Sikorsky-certified aircraft, said, “Education, training and use of quality and properly maintained aircraft are all important for operational safety. Addressing human factors such as sound decision-making, knowledge and capability are vital to an effective accident prevention program. The CHC Safety summit is a unique and valuable forum where safety professionals and operators from a global cross-section of the industry join together to share knowledge and train each other for the common goal of preventing helicopter accidents. It is by far the most effective safety conference I have attended in my 40-plus years in aviation safety.”

He added, “This summit is invaluable in furthering the safety-consciousness of operators, maintainers and managers.” Brisbois also serves on the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST) as Co-Chairman of the U.S. Safety Implementation Team and is a Director on the Executive Committee. The IHST is dedicated to reducing the world-wide helicopter accident rate by 80 percent by 2016.

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, Conn., is a world leader in helicopter design, manufacture and service. United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Conn., provides a broad range of high technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.