Articles for category Safety
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Jan
23
2014
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Posted by Admin
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TAKE 5! A new idea
By Ian Robinson
CRM, ADM, BLA, BLA, BLA: What do they really mean? Lets get specific, look at ourselves, and discover if we are accident-prone.
Safety Introspection
We all work in inherently dangerous environments. Will you take a five-minute journey into self-discovery? If 65-80% of all aviation accidents are related to human error, let’s attack the statistics - We can learn from others.
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Categories:
Safety
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Jan
16
2014
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Posted by Admin
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My 2 Cents (December 2013)
Randy Mains
Six years after his historic flight, Orville Wright lost a friend in an aircraft accident. He lamented, “What is needed is better judgment, rather than better skill.”
It’s been proven, whether flying single pilot or multi-crew, that faulty decision-making has caused far more aviation accidents than poor flying ability.
An element of crew resource management (CRM) examines nine hazardous attitudes and behaviors that can impede good judgement and decision-making. By identifying these behaviors and applying the anecdote to counteract them, you can break a vital link in the error chain and avoid having an incident or accident.
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Categories:
Safety
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Jan
09
2014
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Posted by Admin
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In its quest to bring the global helicopter accident rate to zero, the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST) has analyzed more than 1,000 U.S. civil helicopter accidents and their causes. Having done so, the IHST’s investigators have come to two clear conclusions: (1) Helicopter accidents are ultimately caused by incorrect human decisions, and (2) the evidence shows that reducing the accident rate to zero is actually possible.
“After going through the NTSB investigations in detail, one thing has become obvious: No one has invented a new way to crash a helicopter,” says Matt Zuccaro, IHST co-chair and president of Helicopter Association International. “The reasons helicopters crashed ten years ago remain the same today, and all of their causes can be traced back to the people who flew, serviced, or managed the helicopters.”
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Categories:
Safety
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Dec
05
2013
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Posted by Admin
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It appears the Australians put a higher value on patient safety than our FAA, NTSB and even Congress. That’s a pretty strong statement, isn’t it? Let me tell you how I arrived at that conclusion.
When my article “The Power of CRM” appeared in the August 2013 issue of Rotorcraft Pro my wife, Kaye, and I were in Australia, flown there by the Aeromedical Society of Australasia so that I could deliver two keynote speeches at their 25th scientific meeting of HEMS operators.
My first keynote address was entitled “US Aeromedical Accidents – What can Australasian HEMS learn from our Mistakes?” On the second day I delivered a keynote address entitled “CRM in Aeromedical Operations - Why CRM/AMRM (Air Medical Resource Management) is Absolutely Vital to HEMS Safety.”
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Categories:
Training
Safety
Regulatory
Human Interest
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Nov
14
2013
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Posted by Admin
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Randy Mains: My Two Cents Worth
The following is the beginning of my latest book, The Reluctant Activist.
I stood next to the helicopter’s tail plane, looking up in disbelief at the massive damage I’d done. The accident was entirely my fault. I knew I shouldn’t have been anywhere near a cockpit this morning. My mind wasn’t focused on flight training, but I decided to fly anyway. It was a stupid mistake. The reality of knowing how badly I’d screwed up sickened me. As well as losing my wife to another man recently, it seemed likely I could now lose my job. This was not turning out to be one of my better mornings.
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Categories:
Safety
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Nov
07
2013
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Posted by Admin
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Helicopter Emergency Medical Services And Weather Related Accidents
by Bryan Butler
Many organizations are looking at ways to help make the Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) safer. The FAA is working with FAR Part 135 Operators along with Organization such as HAI, CAAMS and AAMT to bring in voluntary solutions. One simple solution to help alleviate many of the night HEMS Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) accidents is by changing the night VFR visibility minimums for FAR Part 135 HEMS Operations. But what should they be changed to? To help determine that answer let us first look at the root cause of many of our fatal HEMS accidents since January 2000.
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Categories:
Safety
Regulatory
Helicopter Sectors
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Oct
24
2013
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Posted by Admin
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Aviation Specialties Unlimited
Night Vision – Business Vision
Article, Photos & Video by Lyn Burks
Helicopter flight training wearing Night Vision Goggles (NVG) is as exciting and interesting as any other new skill or technique that can be learned in a helicopter. It’s right up there with learning touchdown autorotations! The one and only buzzkill is that, as the name of the device suggests, you must be using them at night. It’s all fun and games --- until your flight-training block is from 0200 – 0400.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Training
Safety
Regulatory
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Oct
10
2013
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Posted by Admin
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White Hot: Adding a Thermal View with EVS
By Rick Adams
I was driving on the turnpike through western Massachusetts a number of years back, enroute to Boston, and the fog was thick. I should have pulled off and waited for better conditions, but I had a hotel reservation for that night and appointments the next morning. So I followed the only visual aids I had – the stripes on the side of the road and the taillights of the car in front of me. If the car ahead had gone off a cliff, well …
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Training
Safety
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Oct
03
2013
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Posted by Admin
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My 2 Cents Worth - Breaking the Error Chain
By Randy Mains
“This is stupid!”
What wonderful words to break the error chain. I’ve certainly said it when I’ve been flying. Like in bad weather when scud running, or doing anything in the air where I figured I probably shouldn’t be there. “This is stupid,” can potentially be one of those simple, but brilliant, ideas designed to let you, the pilot, know it’s time to call it quits, go home, and thus prevent really scaring yourself and possibly having an accident.
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Categories:
Safety
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Sep
12
2013
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Posted by Admin
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Helicopter Pilot Insurance Coverage Trends
By Rick Lindsey
Helicopter accidents can result in property damage, death or catastrophic injuries. When things go wrong, there is usually plenty of blame to go around. Read the headlines today and you’ll see that millions of dollars have been awarded in liability lawsuits.
Helicopter pilots are trained, highly skilled, cautious and careful professionals who understand the importance of being proactive by double-checking all systems, safety checks, and other factors when piloting a helicopter. A pilot must be prepared to be thrust into a dangerous or unexpected situation at any moment and have the skills to react quickly.
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Categories:
Safety
Regulatory