BPA pilot receives Federal Aviation Safety Professional Award

BPA helicopter pilot Peter Renggli has been recognized as one of the best in his field. The Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration recently honored Renggli, who is also an aircraft flight instructor, with a 2024 Federal Aviation Safety Professional Award in January.

Renggli, known for his commitment to innovation in aviation safety, will go on to be considered for a U.S. General Services Administration Federal Aviation Award.

Renggli was nominated for his 12 years of work and leadership at BPA in developing Aircraft Services' human external cargo program, which has been designed to safely allow lineworkers to maintain transmission lines while suspended from a helicopter. Renggli was also nominated for his numerous contributions to operational safety, his trailblazing work developing Aircraft Service's Aviation Decision Framework, his development of BPA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems program and his outstanding advocacy for the aviation field.

“Pete's commitment to aviation safety and operational excellence is evident in every facet of his work," said Jim May, Director of Operations for BPA Aircraft Services. “Through his vision, BPA has developed innovative aviation capabilities that improve safety, reduce costs and enhance efficiency, benefiting not only the agency but also the broader utility aviation industry."

Renggli applies his expertise in rotorcraft operations safety in writing and maintaining the Aircraft Servies safety guidelines. “In my role as a line pilot here, one of my duties is maintaining many of our safety manuals," said Renggli. “It's my responsibility to maintain our standard operating procedures manual, our external load manuals and other guidelines of that nature. Part of my job is to ensure the procedures that we have developed and utilized in our day-to-day work will keep us safe."

Renggli's innovative work with BPA's aircraft safety procedures is discernable in his development of the Rotorcraft Load Combination Flight Manual: a comprehensive guide to safe human external cargo, or HEC, operations compliant with the Federal Aviation Administration's guidelines.

HEC is the process of supporting a human outside of an aircraft, typically on a harness attached by a long line. The practice is commonly seen in search and rescue missions to transfer people to and from locations that are difficult to access. This method of aircraft transportation can also be used for transmission maintenance with a lineworker being suspended from a helicopter, lifted into the air, and flown to a transmission line or tower to perform maintenance. This is particularly useful for maintenance in hard-to-reach areas where the terrain may be an obstacle for lineworkers.

Renggli specialized in HEC operations while performing search and rescue helicopter missions for the National Parks Service from 2008 to 2012. He used his previous experience to help grow BPA's program over the last decade. His extensive development of the program, which began when he started at BPA in 2012, will come to fruition in 2025 when BPA begins the broad adoption of HEC operations for transmission maintenance and construction.

“The HEC program here at Bonneville is really just starting out," said Renggli. “We have been doing it for many years for training and rescue applications, but we are starting to do live HEC operations this spring to perform line maintenance. It's very rewarding to see it coming to life and see a system be implemented that is going to benefit our line crews and the transmission system, in general."

In developing the HEC program at BPA, Renggli evaluated the risks, benefits and operational considerations of implementing the practice. His considerations included FAA compliance, environmental factors, legal factors and safety data. This analysis helped BPA leadership make informed decisions about incorporating HEC into the agency's operations and set a standard for rigorous risk management and operational safety.

The aviation safety award also recognizes Renggli for his efforts in pioneering BPA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program, as well as researching and authoring BPA's UAS Training and Standard Operating Procedures Manual to ensure compliance with FAA standards and the American Drone Security Act of 2023. Thanks to Renggli's innovative progression of the UAS program and all its foundational publications, the program is able to safely and efficiently collect data from transmission lines for inspections, environmental monitoring and construction support.

Renggli says that the recognition he received reflects the excellence of BPA's Aircraft Services as an organization more so than himself, alone. To him, the real prize is seeing the value that his work brings to BPA's network.

“The most rewarding part of this career is knowing that, when we go up to fly, we're maintaining the power grid," said Renggli. “It's a good feeling, going home and knowing that the lights are on because of what you are doing."