Clifford Law Offices Sponsors Aviation Safety Initiative

Robert A. Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices, announced he is sponsoring helicopter Search and Rescue Unit Commander Dan Bitton to the Joint International Helicopter Safety Team (JIHST).  The Team is a group of aviation experts, including experts from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) who are attempting to reduce the rate of helicopter accidents by 80 percent by the year 2016.

The JIHST also is tasked to conduct analysis of accident reports and determination of strategies to reduce accident rates, particularly in the aero-medical area.

Bitton is a well known safety expert in the aviation industry.  He teaches helicopter safety across the country to aero-medical and public safety agencies.  He is best known for the 1,800 Hurricane Katrina rescues he conducted, many at night where he landed on makeshift helipads to rescue infants and the critically ill from Tulane Hospital.

Bitton is the unit commander based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Rockford, Illinois, that operate four U.S. Department of Defense Search and Rescue helicopters, staffed with more than 100 volunteer firefighter/paramedics and public safety officers who respond to man-made or natural disasters within Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota and Michigan.

An advanced helicopter pilot with more than 24,000 hours in the air, Bitton will join the JIHST’s Executive Committee to create methods of reducing accidents with emphasis on procedures to correct pilot errors, the most common cause of these tragic incidents.

In announcing this appointment, Clifford said, “My law firm is committed to improving aviation safety to reduce accidents, and the JIHST is working to make this a positive move forward.  I am proud to be associated with this fine organization and its brave volunteers.”

The sponsorship of Clifford Law Offices includes continuing aviation safety education for Bitton and providing transportation for Bitton to attend JIHST qaurterly safety meetings.