Articles

Author: Glenn Daley, ERHC Safety Chair

ALSE (Aviation Life Support Equipment) or PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) can vary greatly depending on the mission your rotorcraft is tasked with performing. Military and public service flight crews may wear and carry the most extensive assortment of attire and equipment. This can include: Nomex flight suit and gloves, flight rated boots, helmet, flotation/survival/extraction vest, HEEDS, signal mirror, strobe light, seatbelt cutter and EPIRB just to name some of the most commonly carried and worn items. It has been my experience that flight crews on non-military/public service helicopters give little to no consideration to ALSE and PPE. Often the attitude is “all or nothing” citing that in charter, corporate, tour and other VIP operations the optics of wearing full ALSE is off putting and impractical. I believe this to be true, but we should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

A blended approach that considers common risks and the attire/equipment to mitigate these risks needs to be taken. Just because one does not wear a Nomex flight suit and gloves does not mean you should not choose the next best alternative. Synthetic garments SHOULD NOT be worn for flight operations. When exposed to a post-crash fire these fabrics become molten and cause significant penetrating burns. When selecting attire, the next best thing to Nomex is natural fibers such as wool or cotton. It’s all a matter of choosing “better” options when the “best” is impractical. For example, if your operation is buying new polo shirts for its crews just opt for cotton rather than synthetics such as polyester or Coolmax. When it comes to outerwear I bet most of you reading this have one form or another of a nylon or other synthetic fiber jacket. When I see these, all I see is potential human shrink wrap if exposed to fire. Nomex, leather or wool are common sense alternatives. Again, think what is “better” vs. what is the “worst”. The chart below outlines fabric properties when exposed to heat and fire:

When it comes to ALSE, worn is best but if impractical, mounted and readily available in the cockpit/cabin is better than not carrying the equipment at all. I see many VIP helicopters with HEEDS bottles mounted on the pilot and co-pilot door posts. This is a perfect example of not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. When dealing with HEED bottles it is important to check them as part of your preflight and to develop “musclememory” when locating and activating them in an emergency situation. The same attention should be paid to something as basic and often overlooked as a seatbelt cutter. Depending on the model they can be carried in small sheaths on your seatbelt shoulder straps or mounted with Velcro near your HEED bottle. And again, locating them and using them should become near reflexive.

Virtually all rotorcraft operating here in the northeast are equipped with personal flotation devices for crew and passengers. With the advent of FAR 135-168 (b1), 135 operators have transitioned from stowed “airline style” vests to various forms of worn vests or belts. In keeping with our theme, worn vests are preferable to stowed vests. However most corporate operaters might be more concerned with the optics of worn vests and stick with the traditional under seat stowed vests. The same principals apply to this as HEEDS. Worn vests are best but if you have a stowed vest it must become part of your preflight. Do you know exactly how to retrieve your vest, is the mounting/releasing hardware operating as intended and have you developed muscle memory as to its location, retrieval and donning. I have experienced numerous occasions when pre-flighting under seat located vests that the retaining straps were worn and the vest as merely laying on the deck under the seat. Better to find this out on a preflight rather than an over/in water emergency.

Ground personnel such as mechanics, line service and ramp agents should be cognizant of the importance of PPE as well. Unfortunately, the importance of PPE is usually not made clear until after an accident or incident. At a minimum personnel working on active ramps and helipads should be equipped with ear and eye protection and should wear a garment or accessory that is “high viz” and reflective.

In addition to obtaining ALSE/PPE I believe it is essential to obtain helicopter underwater egress/survival training in the use of that equipment from a reputable provider.

I realize that “full up” ALSE/PPE is impractical for all operations. With this in mind operators and flight departments need to take an honest appraisal of the risks they face and the attire and equipment that can help mitigate those risks to an acceptable level. Never feel that you have to reinvent the wheel. The greatest source of solutions and ideas are your colleagues from other operations that comprise the ERHC membership. Benchmark what is working for others and adapt these solutions to your operation. Remember to take the good, better and best approach and do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Please feel free to contact me at: [email protected] for additional information, questions or comments.

Hope is not a plan,
Glenn A. Daley
ERHC Safety Chair