Owning the Night

The Future

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is already grappling with the proper way to regulate this new technology. It is hoped they will take a progressive, proactive stance and not hinder their development and widespread implementation. Unfortunately, the FAA has sent mixed signals on the direction their agency is headed in the certification and regulation of NVGs, causing uncertainty in the industry. In the United States, the leader in civil NVG use has been the Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) community. In recent years, HEMS operators have had their share of fatal accidents. In an attempt to reduce this number, they have become very aggressive in finding answers to make their operations safer. Many civil operators have introduced night vision goggles as a way to enhance safety. If you ask most aviation unit personnel that have been properly trained and use NVGs routinely, they will tell you that they would no longer fly at night without them.

It is technology like this that allows us to "own the night!"