St. Louis Regional Helicopter Safety Seminar Continues 25 Year Training Tradition

By Carmelo Turdo

The 25th Anniversary St. Louis Regional Helicopter Safety Seminar was held Saturday at Helicopters, Inc., Spirit of St. Louis Airport. Rotary wing pilots, crew specialists and maintainers from around the area gathered for a day of safety presentations, product and service exhibits and helicopter static displays. The program was produced through the FAA's FAAST Team with corporate sponsors providing guest speakers, valuable door prizes and product demonstrations.   

Helicopters, Inc. Spirit of St. Louis Location

 

Exceptional door prizes 

Clyde Ehrhardt, Ehrhardt Aviation Agency 

Paul Ross of EuroTec Vertical Flight Solutions

Bill Hopper of HeliSat Helicopter Services and Technologies

Suzanne Steiner of HeliTrak 

 Three helicopters were available on static display, and the crews remained on site throughout the day to visit with attendees. Pictured here are the Guimbal Cabri G2 from North American Helicopter based at St. Louis Downtown Airport; MD Helicopters MD-500E from the St. Louis Metro Air Support Unit based at Spirit of St. Louis Airport; and Bell Helicopter 206L-3 Long Ranger from Air Evac Life Team based in Troy, MO.

 












Presenters:

Flying Blind: You May Have 20/20 Vision...But What Do You Really See?
Bruce Webb, Director of Aviation Education, Airbus Helicopters

An eye-opening look at how we process what we see, or don't see, especially while concentrating our vision in high stress situations. We can miss seeing something otherwise obvious when we are single-minded, distracted or otherwise complacent. Practicing observation skills, and touching every item on the pre-flight checklist, can increase safety margins significantly.

Startle Response Avoidance

Phil Dixon, FAAST Team Program Manager, Operations, Memphis FSDO

Real-life scenarios provide ample opportunities to learn from others how to avoid, and handle, unexpected situations. From the minor distractions to the major emergencies, flight crews must have a reserve of skills to stabilize and resolve the situation. Constant formal and informal training, along with a methodical approach (read checklist), will contribute to successful outcomes.

 

USHST - The Top 3 Ways We Get Dead In Helicopters

Stan Rose, Helicopter Safety Alliance

A recent survey of helicopter incidents and accidents from the FAA database revealed that 47 of 50 involved small operators. Implementing a structured training environment, including a safety management system, aircraft health and usage monitoring system, and/or flight data management system can help reduce accident rates by a factor of 10.

Advanced Preflight

Bill Hopper, Training Program Manager, Helicopters, Inc. and Owner of HeliSat

Careful, intentional pre-flight inspections are essential to flight safety. A staple of any aviation safety program is Bill Hopper's version of the Human Factors "Dirty Dozen," compiled by Gordon Dupont during his service at Transport Canada before becoming CEO of System Safety Services.  As listed by Dupont (see previous link for details), they are: 1. Lack of Communication; 2. Complacency; 3. Lack of Knowledge; 4. Distraction; 5. Lack of Teamwork; 6. Fatigue; 7. Lack of Resources; 8. Pressure; 9. Lack of Assertiveness; 10. Stress; 11. Lack of Awareness; 12. Norms.  Sprinkled liberally with real-world examples, Bill Hopper's interactive session effectively heightens awareness of the weakness of the human condition and how to avoid the potentially disastrous consequences of human failure. 

Hazards of Self-Medication

Dr. Pierre Moeser, Medical Consultant for MO Pilots Association, U.S. Pilots Association

A survey of over-the-counter medications quickly reveals that many have side effects that can diminish a pilot's (or driver's) performance. Reading the front of the package may identify the symptoms addressed by the medication, but the back panel holds the key to whether it should be taken by a pilot planning to fly in the near future. One must check the warning label for ingredients that cause drowsiness, dizziness or adversely affect the ability to operate machinery. A pilot should wait a period of five-times the dose interval before flying after taking over-the-counter medication.

Big 10 Helicopter Accidents

Fred Harms, FAAST Team Lead Representative, St. Louis FSDO (Ret.)

We take a look at some causes of helicopter accidents from the human factors stand point, including some so unnecessary as to be innately self-fulfilling prophesies of doom. Terms such as "plan continuation bias" and "get home itis" describe the propensity to continue flying into worsening conditions in the hope of avoiding a diversion from the intended destination. The results are sometimes disastrous. In aviation, a more apt warning would be, "Just because you can (or think you can), doesn't mean you should."

The Dangerous Drones

Phil Dixon, FAAST Team Program Manager, Operations, Memphis FSDO

Drones, those not-so tiny RC rotary-winged camera ships, are crowding the skies in greater numbers. Despite the efforts of the FAA to license drone "pilots" operating the larger commercial-grade craft, they do pose a flight danger to manned aircraft. The key lies in training operators to follow the regulations and avoid proximity to manned aircraft operations. 

  

The Aero Experience thanks the FAA FAAST Team and all who contributed to making this program a great success.