![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/JamesViolaResizedRD.jpg\")
Viola most recently served as director of General Aviation\n(GA) Safety Assurance for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In this\nrole, he oversaw 78 Flight Standards District Offices (FSDOs) and 2,500 employees\nacross the United States and was responsible for maintaining consistency and standardization\nin the application of safety oversight activities for the GA community.\nAdditionally, he ensured stakeholder and public needs were met quickly and\nefficiently and was responsible for starting the US Helicopter Safety Team (USHST),\nserving as the initial government co-chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen Matt announced his retirement, the board knew that\nreplacing him would be no easy task. We had to find a dynamic, innovative CEO\nwho has both vision and passion,\u201d says Jan Becker, HAI\u2019s board chair. \u201cWe sought\nsomeone able to take up the challenge of leading HAI forward to meet the needs\nof a globally changing industry. With Jim, we found that leader, as well as one\nwho understands and supports HAI\u2019s safety values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Viola\u2019s three-to-five year vision for HAI encompasses a\nstrategic plan for member service initiatives. It also acknowledges the ongoing\ndynamic changes throughout vertical-lift aviation, including unmanned aircraft systems,\nand the contributions of industry manufacturers and suppliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnder Jim\u2019s stewardship, HAI will see growth in\ninternational outreach to our membership, along with efforts to support the\nvertical-lift industry around the world,\u201d concluded Becker. \u201cThe HAI Board of\nDirectors are tremendously excited that Jim is joining us to work on behalf of\nour members.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Viola\u2019s aviation career began with the US Army, with the\nmajority of his flying done as a special operations MH-6 and MH-47 helicopter\npilot. He rose through a series of posts of increasing responsibility,\nachieving the rank of colonel. His final military assignment was as division\nchief, Army Aviation for Current Operations, where he determined and\nrecommended the aviation unit station, prioritization, and optimization of\n4,200 army aircraft, 100 manned units, and the combat rotation plan to Iraq and\nAfghanistan. He left the army in 2008 to work for the FAA, where he again progressed\nthrough positions of increasing responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A strong advocate for GA, Viola flies his American General\nAG-5B Tiger airplane as often as he can. He holds airline transport pilot\nratings for helicopters and airplanes and is a dual-rated certificated flight\ninstructor who holds an endorsement for Special Federal Aviation Regulation 73\nfor Robinson R22 and R44 helicopters. He has accumulated more than 6,000 flight\nhours, which includes 1,100 with night-vision goggles. Viola holds three\nmaster\u2019s degrees and is a member of the Army Aviation Association of America\n(Quad A), the Military Officers Association of America, the Veterans of Foreign\nWars, the American Legion, and the Aircraft Pilots and Owners Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am grateful to the Board of Directors for selecting me to take up Matt\u2019s role in promoting the international vertical lift industry,\u201d says Viola. \u201cMatt\u2019s unwavering advocacy for safe flight of all kinds made him a pleasure to work with while I was with the FAA. I look forward to continuing his legacy of HAI advocacy for safety.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Matt-Zucaro.jpg\")
\u201cI think HAI\u2019s membership and the helicopter industry will find Jim is the ideal person to lead HAI,\u201d says Zuccaro. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a Chinook driver who understands the safety and regulatory issues facing our industry, as well as the capacity to effect change where and when it is needed. I am proud to leave this organization in Jim\u2019s hands.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Board of Directors of Helicopter Association International (HAI) is pleased to name James A. Viola as the organization\u2019s next president and CEO effective Jan. 16, 2020. Viola replaces Matthew S. Zuccaro, who announced his retirement last fall. Viola most recently served as director of General Aviation (GA) Safety Assurance for the Federal Aviation Administration […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14525"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14528,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14525\/revisions\/14528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}