In the aftermath of recent crashes involving public aircraft, the NTSB is holding a two-day forum to address oversight issues that that it says could compromise safety during search-and-rescue, firefighting, law enforcement and other critical operations that frequently rely on public-use aircraft.
A number of recent accidents have thrust this issue into the spotlight, such as the 2009 fatal crash of an Agusta A109E during a search-and-rescue mission, as well as the 2008 crash of a Sikorsky S-61N that killed seven firefighters, the pilot and one Forest Service inspector pilot.
