Author: Randy Mains
I received the following email from a HEMS pilot who responded to my article entitled “Just Say NO” that appeared in the March/April 2019 edition of Rotorcraft Pro. His observation is worth noting. Here is what he wrote:
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Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
“Don’t make yourself famous,” is advice a pilot at Abu Dhabi Aviation gave me on one of my first flights with the company. His meaning: Do not do something stupid to put yourself in the spotlight of management or the other pilots.
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Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
On January 29th of this year, (2019) a Survival Flight Inc. helicopter was on a flight to pick up a patient from a hospital in Pomeroy, Ohio, when it crashed in snowy conditions killing all three occupants. The crew members were pilot Jennifer Topper, 34; nurse Bradley Haynes, 48; and nurse Rachel Cunningham, 33, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. “Any loss of life is tragic, and this is heartbreaking,” Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Robert Sellers said. This was “first responders flying in adverse conditions to help somebody else.”
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Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
I gave a CRM class at a helicopter air medical flight program recently and something occurred that reminded me why it’s imperative that pilots know their aircraft.
The incident happened when I was given a tour of the hospital’s aircraft by the program director and one of the pilots on duty who was a former Black Hawk pilot in the Army. The aircraft looked brand new and I could see it had everything a pilot could ask for to help them while flying in VMC or IMC conditions.
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Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
File this story under “Listen and learn from my experience”, posted on Maria Langer’s blog March 3,
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Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
Helicopter shopping and false advertising were uncovered in a recent Survival Flight Bell 407 crash resulting in three fatalities in Vinton County, Ohio, on the morning of 29 January 2019 in snowy conditions. Pilot Jennifer L. Topper, 34, of Sunbury, Ohio, and flight nurses Bradley J. Haynes, 48, of London, Ohio, and Rachel L. Cunningham, 33, of Galloway, Ohio, lost their lives that morning.
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Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
Initial training at the start of my airline career, after active duty with the Marines, flying both rotor and fixed wing, was performed in-aircraft in a Saab SF-340A. The Saab had a full glass cockpit at a time when most airliners still had steam gauges. My training partner, who had a USCG background, both rotor and fixed wing as well, and corporate flying was having trouble with the transition to glass instruments. After several less-than-satisfactory flights, during a study session, he asked me how to determine which way the aircraft was turning. I was shocked that he still looked at the instruments like your dog watching TV. He didn’t make it through training.
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My Two Cents Worth
I attended the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) HAI Symposium held at Heli-Expo in Louisville entitled “Safety and the Bottom Line” and learned that in the team’s accident analysis it was revealed that 84% of accidents included a Standard Problem Statement of “Pilot Judgment & Actions.” Good crew resource management practices seemingly would ‘cure’ that malady. So why haven’t they? The answer lies in Plato’s Cave.
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My Two Cents Worth
Dan Foulds, owner and lead instructor at AMRM Training Solutions and a board member with the National EMS Pilot’s Association posted a valid question on Facebook. His observation came following the tragic air medical accident in Wisconsin on the 26th of April where 3 people lost their lives in a tour helicopter. Here’s what he said,
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Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
When operating an aircraft with the latest glass cockpit technology a common observation is: “Now I know what my dog’s thinking when he watches TV.” There’s another common comment as well, “What’s it doing now?”
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Categories:
My Two Cents Worth