photographs, you will need overallscenes, and pictures of gauges, etc.Include anything (such as the ruler inthe accident kit) that will indicatescale. As for statements, don’t putwords in witnesses’ mouths; just takedown what they say.Documentation should beimpounded, wherever it is.Flying After an AccidentCrew members should remain onsite, unless medical treatment orexamination is required, and may notbe scheduled for flying duties untilauthorised by the Chief Pilot inconsultation with the MedicalExaminer. No comments should bemade until either they feel fit to doso, or a night's rest has passed sincethe accident, whichever is sooner.IncidentAny happening other than anaccident which hazards or, if notcorrected, would hazard any aircraft,its occupants or anyone else, notresulting in substantial damage to theaircraft or third parties, crew orpassengers. In Canada, this refers toaeroplanes over 5700 kg MAUW andhelicopters over 2250 Kg.You may be requested to submit awritten report, which must be donewithin 48 hours.ExamplesPrecautionary or forced landings,due to engine failure, tail rotorcontrol failure, an external part ofthe aircraft becoming detached inflight, instances of contaminatedfuel, a forced, unscheduled, changeof flight plan caused by the failure ofaircraft instruments, navigation aidsor other technical failure,obstructions on rig landingplatforms or other landing sites, lossof an external load, with no thirdparty claim, bird strikes, Airprox, inflight icing, crew incapacitation.Serious IncidentsThese are nearly accidents, or haveserious potential technical oroperational implications, or mayresult in formal disciplinary actionagainst aircrew or engineers. The‘Serious’ classification is normally170 Operational Flyingmade by the senior person on theoperation as soon as possible afterthe event and before the crew oraircraft fly again, mainly to preservetheir recollection of the incident orto ensure their fitness for duty ratherthan for disciplinary reasons. Awayfrom base, you should load areplacement CVR or CVDR andreturn the others to base. Bothshould be disabled after shutdown toprevent data being overwritten whenpower is re-applied.Supporting InformationThese documents and informationshould accompany Accident orIncident Reports:·
Photographs of the aircraft andarea·
Position of cockpit controls andswitches·
Sketch map of the area·
Passenger/eye witness report·
Post accident medical reportsfor crew and passengers·
Copy of the Standard or
Multiple Sector Load Sheet·
Any relevant extracts from locallegislation and/or Baseinstructions·
Weather Report·
Passenger seat plan in theaircraft·
Extract from radio log·
Engine power checking data forthe 30 days preceding theaccident or incident·
Post accident procedures carriedout.Accident and Incident ReportDistributionAll should be addressed to theOperations Department (FlightSafety) with a copy held at the Unitand supplied to the Area Manager orManaging Pilot. The Report must bekept intact and not separately postedto the respective department heads.Likewise, supporting informationshould be attached and sent underthe same cover, if possible. A receiptwill be returned to the Unit by theFlight Safety Department, giving areference number to the Accident orIncident, which should be used inany further correspondence.The reports will be subject toimmediate internal distribution anddistributed to all on a monthly basis.Monthly Summaries should be madeavailable to all pilots and engineers,but not copied or shown to non-Company personnel and should betreated as confidential.An accident file can only be closedby the Operations Director.Mandatory OccurrenceReporting SchemeThe CAA Mandatory OccurrenceReporting Scheme (MORS) relates to allBritish registered public transportaircraft heavier than 2300 kgs, butreports should be submitted for allaircraft. The overall objective is toimprove flight safety and not toattribute blame. Occurrences shouldbe reported to the Flight SafetyOfficer who will forward the MORto:Accidents & Occurences 171Research and Analysis DeptCivil Aviation AuthorityAviation HouseGatwick Airport SouthWest Sussex RH6 0YR01293 573744Objectives of the Scheme·
To ensure that the CAA isadvised of hazardous orpotentially hazardous incidentsand defects, referred to as‘Occurrences’.·
To ensure that knowledge ofoccurrences is disseminated sothat others may learn.·
To enable an assessment to bemade by those concerned, ofthe safety implications of eachoccurrence, both in itself and inrelation to previous similaroccurrences, so they may takeor initiate any necessary action.Definition of a ReportableOccurrenceA reportable occurrence is:·
Any incident (not a notifiable
Accident under Section 5 of theCivil Aviation (Investigation ofAccidents) Regulations 1989)·
Any defect in or malfunctioningof any part of the aircraft or itsequipment, being an incident,malfunctioning or defectendangering, or which if notcorrected would haveendangered, the aircraft, itsoccupants, or any other person.·
Failure or inadequacy offacilities on the ground, used, orintended to be used for, or inconnection with, the operationof the aircraft.·
Any incident arising from theloading or the carriage ofpassengers, cargo or fuel.Informing Base of OccurrencesThe first point of contact should bethe duty Ops Officer. Generally,unless the aircraft is up to publictransport standards it should not beferried back to base until theproblem has been fully researched,in which case it follows that a returnto base without passengers will onlybe undertaken when specificallyauthorised with the concurrence ofthe commander who will alwayshave the final say.In-flight unserviceabilities which, inyour opinion can be rectified at base,must still be reported on VHF orHF so the Engineering Departmentcan get ready for when the aircraftlands. Crews must inform base ofbirdstrikes, minor illnesses etc. aswell as technical defects beforecontinuing, or as soon as possibleafter take-off.Airprox, Birdstrike andLightning Strike ReportsBecause of the specialist and detailednature of the information required,Airprox, Birdstrike and Lightningstrike reports should be reported onthe Specialised Report Forms CA1094 and CA 1282, or the LightningStrike Report Form, each of whichshould contain the address to whichthey should be sent. For birdstrikes,damage photographs should besubmitted if possible with a duplicatecopy sent to Ops (Flight Safety)attached to a Company Incident172 Operational FlyingReport. All these come under theMORS.Certain information following anAirprox should immediately bereported by radio to the ATS unitbeing used at the time, or is madeimmediately after landing bytelephone to any UK ATCC. Atelephone report to the LATCC,West Drayton will start tracingaction. Tel: 01895 445566.The initial report should beconfirmed within 7 days on FormCA 1094. The CAA is obliged toissue a press statement following anyAirprox involving a Commercial AirTransport aircraft, which is initiatedby the first report to ATS. If youdecide not to proceed, the ATS unitwho took the initial call must beinformed as soon as possible.BirdstrikesPrevention is better than cure, and
you may like to avoid birds as muchas possible, although some stroppypheasants have been known toattack aircraft lining up on therunway. Notification of permanentor seasonal concentrations of birdsare sometimes issued in NOTAMs.Otherwise, keep away from birdsanctuaries or other areas where theymay be expected, such as alongshorelines or rivers in Autumn orSpring—migrating birds use linefeatures for navigation as well, butthey don't necessarily keep 300m tothe right. Gulls seem to be struck themost often, and they hang aroundthe seaside or rubbish tips.Most birdstrikes happen betweenJuly-October, during daylight hours,hitting mainly engines andwindshields. Noticeably fewer occurat height, so try to fly as high aspossible, certainly above 1500 oreven 3000 ft (40% of strikes occuron the ground, or during takeoff andlanding. 15% occur up to about 100’agl. The highest so far hit a DC-8 atFL 390). Also, the lower you go, theslower you should be. Avoid highspeed descent and approach—halfthe speed means a quarter of theimpact energy. A short delay on theapproach could mean the clearanceof a group of birds, as they do movein waves. Groups of birds willusually break away downwards fromanything hazardous, so try to flyupwards if possible. You could alsouse landing lights to make yourselfmore visible. Avoid freshly ploughedor harvested fields, and beware ofupdraughts in mountainous areas,where the birds will be trying to getsome free lift. Birds are most activeat dawn and dusk.The impact force from a birdincreases with the square of thespeed—at 110 kts, the impact from a1 lb bird can exceed 1200 lbssq/inch (the force is actuallydetermined by the square of yourspeed multiplied by the mass of thebird). The problem is that, below acertain weight of aircraft, thewindshield will only be designed tokeep out rain and insects. However,a hot windshield is more pliable andless susceptible to shattering if it getshit—some aircraft require these tobe on for take-off and landing, but ifthere is nothing in the flight manualabout the optimum warmup time,use 15 minutes.Overheating is as bad asunderheating, so be wary if youraircraft has been left in the sun along time. If you get a birdstrike,stop and inspect the damageAccidents & Occurences 173immediately. If you can't, make sureyou have controllability before tryingto land again—fly the aircraft first.In the report, you will be asked whatthe species is (or was), and if unsure,you're invited to parcel up theremains and send them to theAviation Bird Unit, whose telephonenumber is (01483) 232581, but whatthe Post Office think of that idea, Idon't know (talking of which, I’mtold that at one time you used to beable to send game birds with just a
label, provided they weren’t leaking).Wake TurbulenceReports should be sent to the WakeVortex Incident Scientific Group at theAir Traffic Control Evaluation Unitat Bournemouth InternationalAirport. Tel: 01202 472340 Fax:01202 472236.Confidential Human FactorsIncident Report (CHIRPS)Reports of incidents or occurrencesinvolving human factors and/orerrors which should remainconfidential should be sent to theDefence Research Agency (DRA)Centre for Human Studies atFarnborough. Tel: 01252 392654 or394375.Investigation/Rectificationaway from BaseYou may carry out an investigationor minor rectification under baseengineers, such as examination andcleaning of a magnetic plugfollowing a chip warning. In suchcases the ANO requires details to begiven to the CAA within 10 days,namely:·
Date and time of occurrence·
Type and registration of aircraft·
Name of aircraft Commander·
Location at whichinspection/rectification wascarried out·
Brief details of defect and actioncarried out·
Brief details of engineeringaction following flight to base.Dangerous GoodsAccidents/OccurrencesInformation must be sent to theState Authorities where the accidentoccurred as soon as possible, orwhen requested for an incident.ReportWithin 72 hours, covering:·
The date, location, flightnumber and date·
The air waybill number, pouch,baggage tag, etc.·
A description of the goods,including the proper shippingname and UN number (whenapplicable), class/division andany subsidiary risk·
The type of packaging, itsspecification marking andquantity·
The name and address of theshipper, passenger, etc.·
The suspected cause of theaccident or incident·
The action taken, if any·
Any other action taken174 Operational Flying·
Any other relevant details·
The details of the personmaking the report.Copies of the relevant documentsand photographs must be attached.In-flight EmergencyIf the situation permits, you mustinform the appropriate ATS unit ofany dangerous goods on board,using the information above.ConfidentialityYou must not to discuss anyaccident or occurrence with anyoneoutside the Company other than
authorised investigators.Aircraft Overdue ActionAn aircraft is overdue 30 minutesafter its last known ETA. The lastknown point of departure and nextplanned destination should becontacted as well as enroute ATC,before escalating the situation toinitiate SAR and accidentprocedures. Naturally, should theaircraft be found, cancel this action.Assistance to Others InDistressYou should, at your discretion andwith due regard for the safety ofyour own aircraft, render anyassistance that is practical andpossible for the saving of life in anyevent demanding such assistance.The prime function of a non-SARequipped aircraft at a scene ofdistress is to act as acommunications relay, assumingproperly equipped rescue units arecoming. If not, then rendering FirstAid has priority, provided you canland.If you are NOT first on the scene,inform the controlling aircraft ofyour endurance and what assistanceyou can give. If you're not required,clear the area. If you're there withthe media, keep well out of the way!Special Use Of AircraftOf necessity, most of this chapterwill concern helicopters, becausethey are used most often for weirdoperations—you can't do much withaeroplanes except cart passengersand freight about, take photographsand spray crops (or fires). Whereboth types could be used, though,many techniques will have much incommon.Passenger handling itself is aspecialised task. As I've said before,in General Aviation you're verymuch involved with your passengers,who will usually get quite excited andengage you in conversation about allmanner of things. Of course, afrequent business traveller may notget this familiar, but you might stillbe asked to join them for lunch; notonly out of courtesy, but also ascheap entertainment—if you're not agood conversationalist when youstart your career, you'll very soonlearn! Other little things are good forcustomer relations, too, such ashelping them with their belts,checking they're OK and settleddown just before take-off and duringthe flight, and generally looking aftertheir well-being. All this is puresalesmanship. A lot of repeatbusiness comes from a company'spilots’ relationships with passengers,and if you're not naturally gregarious(a good mixer), think twice aboutcharter work as a long-term way ofearning a living.Otherwise, some of the more exoticthings you can do with helicoptersinclude bombing avalanches,rapelling (that is, dropping offpeople to fight forest fires, otherwiseknown as dope-on-a-rope), wildlifecapture, aerial ignition, watersampling, where you hover very lowover a body of water and a scientistdips the equivalent of a jamjar into
it, or frost control, where a largebarrel of oil is lit to provide smokethat will indicate the level of aninversion. You then fly with yourrotors just above the smoke to bringthe warm air down and prevent froston crops, so, unlike Chapter 3, thischapter won't be boring!Note: Some of this is dangerous!Don’t try any of it without training!176 Operational FlyingExternal Slung LoadsA helicopter can go where cranes areimpractical or more expensive, oryou might not be able to get a loadinside the machine (maybe youwouldn’t want it there anyway, if it’sa dead animal or explosives), so youtry and lift it.In theory, you can lift anything,provided the payload is available;I've even been asked to quote forlowering 800 feet of unrolledtelephone cable down a mine shaft,because the drum it was rolled onwouldn’t take the weight. However,more common tasks are logging,placing air conditioning orventilation equipment on the roofsof tall buildings, pulling cows out ofbogs, picking up water to put outforest fires (water bucketing),dropping solution over forests (topdressing) or moving seismicequipment about. In fact, many tasksdone with a helicopter are reallyextensions of load slinging, and, inremote areas, this will be a majorpart of your bread and butter – reallyspecialised stuff will be found assubheadings below. A typical lengthis 25 feet, but can be up to 200, sodon’t forget to include the line aspart of the payload – it will be heavy(try about a pound a foot).If you get involved with the airconditioning-type loads on top ofbuildings, you will need a permitfrom the local authority, who willalso need a lot of advanced notice.Check also for any bye-laws, thelocal environmental people, policeand fire services (who may chargeyou for extra crews).Logging, officially, is removing felledand bucked logs from areas where alltrees have been felled. It is very fast,with lots happening at once, andthere will be a smaller helicopter tocarry the used chokers every 75minutes or so (chokers are lanyardswith the equivalent of a slip knotwhich tightens as the load is takenup, making it more secure). It is notan operation based on finesse, as themachines are continually using fullpower cycles and undergo a lot oftwisting, etc. If you’re planning tobuy a helicopter that has been usedon logging, inspect it very carefully!Selective logging is removing woodfrom where trees are standing, and isconsiderably more dangerous, atleast to workers on the ground,because the downwash coulddislodge all sorts of things. Cedarsalvage involves moving loads of cutcedar blocks, which should all be ofa similar length for best stability.Logs will be taken from high groundfirst so there is less risk of anythingfalling on workers below and youcan see what’s going on better. They
Special Use Of Aircraft 177will be delivered to holding pointson land or in water.In UK, you will find it useful tocheck out the following:CAP 426 Helicopter External Load OperationsANO Art 35 Public transport aircraft &suspended loadsRule 47 Marshalling signalsANO Art 55 Picking up and raising of persons &articlesANO Art 56 Dropping of articles & animalsIn Canada and USA, external loadscome in four classes, A, B, C and D.A Class A load does not extendbelow the landing gear and is usuallybolted to the aircraft, such as astretcher, spray kit or fuel tank. AClass B load can be jettisoned and isnot in contact with land, water orany other surface. A Class C load issimilar, but remains in contact withthe surface (like when towing) and aClass D includes a person or isanything that doesn’t come insidethe other classifications, for whichyou need two methods of releaseand must use a multi-enginedhelicopter that can hover on oneengine in the prevailing conditions,with appropriate engine isolation.However, most loads will be Class B.If you do all this over a built-up area,an Aerial Work Zone Plan needs to goto Transport Canada at least 5 daysin advance.Ex-military pilots will have done allthis as part of their original flyingcourse, but, in some companies,"training" is once around the circuit.If you're "experienced" with someslinging in the past year you canprobably get by with a full briefingfrom the Chief Pilot, but there mightbe a minimum time for the "circuit"anyway, as part of initial training. Ifyou're not current, expect no lessthan 2 observed sectors if loadingpermits, or at least some trainingcircuits. There’ll be a bit more forlong-lining, where you need to hoverwith your head out of the door soyou can see the load properly, whichhas obvious problems when it comesto checking your Ts & Ps and losingyour baseball hat if it’s not nailed on.In this case, you might have peopleon the ground to help you when youpick the load up (see below), but youwill more often than not bedropping it by yourself. The bestway to do so, when you can’t lookout or see much in the mirror, is topick the landing spot, then extendyour view forwards and sideways tillyou reach something you can seeand use them as markers for avertical descent (you can judge yourheight from whether the groundcrew are looking up or down).With external load work, the C of Amay change from Public Transportto Aerial Work, so passengers shouldnot be carried. You would beforgiven for thinking that you'd alsoget away with Duty Hours, butyou're still regarded as being onCommercial Air Transport, eventhough the helicopter isn't—in fact,you may even need OfficialExemptions from full equipment
scales if the load is heavy and youhave to start taking stuff off.There may be a little paperwork todo before you start – your customerswill likely need to be made awarethat cargo insurance is available, ifyour company provides it, andauthorise the flight by signing adamage and injury waiver agreement.A couple of other points: Your C ofG will be fairly near its ideal position178 Operational Flyingwith a load on, but maybe not whenyou release it, especially if you’re lowon fuel to lift it. Also, loads thatmust be guided into place or securedwhile attached to the helicopter mustbe given special consideration,especially when briefing passengers –they must NOT go anywhereunderneath the load or any similarposition that would be dangerous ifthe load gets released.Don’t do any long-lining near highvoltage lines or thunderstorms.Oh yes, one more thing – themaximum hook load has nothing todo with payload, but is merely theweight the hook can stand as astructural limit. If you try to lift themax hook load in a 206, there’ll beno room for you!Ground CrewsWithout a mirror, the ideal team onthe ground consists of at least threehandlers at every point of pickup ordeposit, so, in a simple lift from A toB, you need six, although this couldbe reduced with decentcommunications. All proceduresgiven here are based on theassumption that they are notavailable, but things will go so muchbetter if they are—just make surethat any instructions given don’trequire acknowledgement, as youwill not only have your hands full,but it’s also easy to hit the loadrelease button when moving yourhand to transmit. Actually, that goesboth ways; very often both hands areneeded by the loaders, so they puttheir radios in their pockets and can’thear them, which is why havingthem in helmets is recommended.One person would be formarshalling and the remainder forhooking up, etc. However, in remoteareas, you will likely be operating byyourself, including picking up theload, which may mean continualshutting down, etc. Expense is notactually the reason, although it helps;in the Arctic, for example, you don’tleave somebody by themselves incase you can’t get back, but, ingeneral, you are dropping stuff offwhere you can’t put people anyway.It’s not as hazardous as it sounds –you just need to be far enoughbehind the load to stretch the lineproperly, with no kinks, and makesure it’s straight, so it’s away fromthe landing gear when you lift intothe hover. However, don’t attemptanything alone without a mirror.Ground crews should dressappropriately – the downwash willcause severe chill factors.EquipmentThere should be as many ropes,strops, nets and hooks that can be
made available, as more will alwaysbe required than you think. Steelslings are best, though ordinary ropewill do, provided it doesn't have atendency to stretch or bounce up ifit breaks (for this reason, don’t usenylon lanyards). At the very least,you need one set of slings at eachdrop-off point, so while the firstload is being undone you can be onyour way back with one and notwaste flying time (when logging, asmaller helicopter is used for thisjob). All equipment should be ableto withstand 6 times the anticipatedload because flight conditions mayincrease its weight artificially. Youcan work out a rule of thumb SWL(Safe Working Load) for wire ropesin tons with this formula:Special Use Of Aircraft 179SWL = Rope Diameter2x 8This figure may change if you dostrange things to the line, like bendit, or use a choker hitch (the sharperthe bend, the greater the reduction).Once you’ve bent a line, don’t use itfor slinging again.Ground equipment should includeradios and whistles (forcommunications), weighing scales,accurate to at least 25 lbs, andcapable of weighing more than themaximum payload. Emergencyequipment should be similar to thatfor Pleasure Flying sites (see below).Ground crew should have hard hats(maybe different colours fordifferent groups) with chin straps,goggles or safety glasses, protectivegloves and a metal probe fordischarging static electricity. Asmentioned above, radios in thehelmets are most useful.Static ElectricityThis comes from a number ofsources, the main ones being engineand precipitation charging fromfriction between the aircraft'ssurfaces and airborne particles.There is also a risk fromthunderstorms and snow particles.Although the capacitance associatedwith this is small, voltages as high astens of kilovolts can throw people tothe ground, as well as beingdangerous near potentially explosivecargoes or fuel tanks, or even shortcircuiting the hook’s electrics. It's forthis reason that an earthed staticdischarge probe is applied to the hookbefore any contact takes place andthe procedure kept up as much aspossible. If you can’t get one, makethe guys wear thick rubber gloves.Alternatively, transmitting on the HFor VHF radio can discharge a greatdeal of static through the antenna.Setting UpBefore doing anything else, youshould check the following carefully:Helicopter ConditionCheck your HOGE performanceand use the standard lapse rate if youdon’t know what the temperature atthe dropoff point. Remember yourfuel consumption will be higher thannormal, due to using high power inthe hover and flying at slowerspeeds. Leaving the heavier loads tilllast will help with your planning.
