Helicopter Association International Announces the Passing of Matthew Zuccaro
Helicopter Association International (HAI) is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Matthew S. Zuccaro, the immediate past president and CEO of the association.
Services will be held at the locations and times listed below:
Viewing — Beecher Flooks Funeral Home, 418 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570
- Thursday, March 5, 2020 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
- Friday, March 6, 2020 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
- Friday, March 6, 2020 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Service — Church of Saint John & Saint Mary, 30 Poillon Dr, Chappaqua, NY 10514
- Saturday, March 7, 2020 @ 10:00 am
“Matt was one of a kind in our industry,” says current HAI president and CEO, James Viola. “Helicopters were part of his life, beginning with his U.S. Army service in Vietnam. Throughout his career, he made safe helicopter operations his priority, and we are a better, stronger and safer industry today because of his efforts on behalf of rotorcraft. Speaking on behalf of our industry, we have lost a good friend whom will be missed. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Doreen, and his family.”
An HAI member since the early 1980s, Matt was elected to the HAI board of directors in 1987 and served as chairman in 1991. He was named president of HAI in 2005 and retired in January of this year. During HAI HELI-EXPO 2020 in Anaheim in January, Matt was honored with the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, recognizing his 50 years of professionalism and skill as a pilot.
Among his many accomplishments, Matt may best be remembered for a column he wrote for ROTOR magazine in 2013, encouraging pilots to “land the damn helicopter” in situations where proceeding would endanger themselves and passengers. From that column, HAI’s Land & LIVE program was born, saving countless lives around the world — a fitting legacy for a man who was passionate about safety in the industry he loved so much.
More information on Matt’s life and career is available in the article from the Winter 2020 issue of ROTOR at: https://www.rotor.org/resource?ArtMID=493&ArticleID=5144.
Those interested in sharing memories or leaving messages for Matt’s family may do so at: https://www.rotor.org/about/matt-zuccaro.