Forth Worth, TX – March 11, 2013 – Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT), announced today an enhanced relationship with the Public Safety Aviation Accreditation Commission (PSAAC) a subsidiary of the Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA), as part of Bell Helicopter’s continued commitment to advancing safety in the rotorcraft industry. Bell Helicopter is the exclusive sponsor in the development of PSAAC’s fire aviation standards and accreditation program. In addition, Carl Crenshaw, Bell Helicopter’s Parapublic key segment specialist, was elected to the PSAAC Board of Commissioners.

“For generations, the public has counted on its fire departments, and, in turn, those departments have counted on Bell Helicopter to back them up with the highest standards of aviation performance, safety and reliability,” said Crenshaw. “The decision to collaborate with PSAAC is the right decision to help reach the goal of completing every mission safely.”

The Airborne Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission (ALEAC) was established in 2002 by the Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA) to develop law enforcement aviation standards and a process of accreditation. In 2010, ALEA and the Los Angeles County Fire Department began discussing a greater and unified voice to proactively address proposed Federal legislation impacting the public safety missions of aerial firefighting, search, rescue and EMS. Those discussions led to a broader alliance of law enforcement and firefighting agencies with ALEA who opened its membership to fire fighters and aircrew members engaged in aerial firefighting, EMS and search and rescue. The group determined a need for aerial firefighting standards and fire agency accreditation process patterned after ALEAC’s program developed for law enforcement aerial missions. The alliance also included a recommendation that ALEAC modify its name to become the Public Safety Aviation Accreditation Commission(PSAAC) to include ALL airborne public safety programs.

According to Jim Di Giovanna, president of PSAAC, the goal of the Commission is to enhance parapublic flight safety by unifying the standards for all airborne public safety programs. “Bell Helicopter has long been known as a safety leader in the parapublic aircraft arena. We could not have asked for a better partner to help us establish a set of operational, safety and training standards for our industry,” he said. “Carl’s expertise in public safety operations makes him a valuable addition to our Board of Commissioners.”

Once established, the standards and accreditation process will be considered for application in fire aviation services throughout the United States and perhaps internationally.