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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.
[Read More...]
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.”
[Read More...]
Categories:
Safety
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Jan
02
2014
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Posted by Admin
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One of the buzzwords used on TV by the politicians and talking heads is the word “paradigm.” In fact, using the word in a sentence over a beer with buddies may cause their impression of your IQ to go up a couple points. We commonly hear the pundits say things like, “It’s the new paradigm” or “The paradigm has shifted.”
Looking closer at the word paradigm, we see it means “a pattern of something; a model.”
Paradigm Aerospace Corporation (PAC) has been in the helicopter business since 1976. Given their longstanding reputation as a “model” for quality, having the word paradigm as part of their name nearly four decades later almost seems prophetic.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
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Dec
26
2013
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Posted by Admin
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Meet a Rotorcraft Pro – Dean Springer
RPMN: What is your current position?
Presently, I guess you would say I am semi-retired, meaning, I have retired from my first career as a Senior Special Agent and former Customs Service Pilot after 20 years. I no longer fly full-time, but fly relief or on-call by the day. This is usually one-to-three days a week as needed in a Bell 206BIII, King Air B100, or Beechcraft Baron.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Human Interest
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Dec
19
2013
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Posted by Admin
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Back in 2011, an interesting movie was released named Moneyball. The movie was based on the story of Oakland A’s general manager, Billy Beane. His former General Manager (GM), Sandy Alderson, mentored him in the art of sabermetrics (statistical analysis). In turn, Beane successfully assembled a lower-budget team based on emerging prospects and undervalued veterans that consistently performed. Most other Major League Baseball teams during this time were interested in high-priced superstars that may or may not have consistently produced. One theme I noticed throughout the movie was consistent, well placed singles beat a few home runs every time.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
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Dec
12
2013
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Posted by Admin
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Story by Rick WeatherfordPhotos by Aris HelicoptersIn the early 1950s, the Sikorsky S-55 made its
[Read More...]
Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
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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.”
[Read More...]
Categories:
Training
Safety
Regulatory
Human Interest
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Nov
27
2013
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Posted by Admin
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STARFlight (Shock Trauma Air Rescue)is the Air Operations Division of Travis County, Texas. It is a public safety air rescue program that is unique because it performs critical transport, firefighting, rescue, and limited law enforcement support. STARFlight is based in Austinand serves not only the citizens of Travis County, but also 19 other counties within a 75-mile radius. The majority of the calls are to assist those who are experiencing medical problems or suffering from traumatic injuries from motor vehicle crashes or other activities. When requested, STARFlight regularly transports very sick patients in rural hospitals to larger, better-equipped hospitals.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
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Nov
22
2013
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Posted by Admin
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Meet a Rotorcraft Pro – Lyn Burks
What is your current position?
I am fortunate to wear several hats, which keeps things interesting. I am the Owner / Developer of Justhelicopters.com and VerticalReference.com. I am the Co-Owner / Editor In Chief of Rotorcraft Pro Magazine. I also produce the HeliSuccess Career Development and NightCon Night Vision Conferences. Additionally, although I no longer fly full time, I still fly as a contract pilot several days per month. I am current in the Agusta A109E and the Sikorsky S76 C+.
[Read More...]
Categories:
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.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Safety