Since the first successful civilian helicopter rescue November 29, 1945 few fundamental changes have occurred in the way basic search and rescue is conducted.  There’s still a helicopter pilot, still someone maneuvering the hoist with the rescue “basket,” and either one or two rear crewmen aiding the victim and supporting the operation.

Beginning in 1987 with one helicopter, the company now employs more than 300 people in California, Oregon and Texas.  Privately owned and operated, REACH is known not only for its mission-driven patient care, but also by its distinctive red aircraft, innovative safety initiatives, employee- and customer-centricity tenets and industry leadership.

In the 1930s, a German engineer by the name of Heinrich Focke designed and built a cutting edge helicopter more practical and capable than anything previously developed.  This helicopter, the Fw 61, would shatter the existing helicopter world records and help set the standards of performance and control by which future helicopters would be measured.

The very first conference exclusively focused on Night Vision Systems was recently held in Dallas TX.  The event was exceptionally well attended by Night Vision Goggle (NVG) users, suppliers and government representatives.  The participation of every group that has anything to do with Night Vision operations made this conference different from most in the industry.

“In the wake of the wars, the (Iraqi) capability to launch and field helicopters was reduced to ashes,” said U.S. Army Col. Thomas J. Trossen, the former Chief of Army Aviation Division for U.S. Forces – Iraqi, Advising and Training Mission from July 2010 to July 2011. “It seems only fitting that the headquarters of the emerging Iraqi Army aviation force should be located at a place called Pheonix Base in the International Zone.”

CAMP TAJI, Iraq ‚Äì AH-64D Apache Longbow crew chiefs are proud of their aircraft. They're quick to tell you it's one of the most advanced pieces of equipment in the Army's arsenal. 

They boast that the 58 foot-long war-fighting machine travels up to 227 miles per hour and is armed with as many as 16 Hellfire rockets, up to 75 (2.75 inch) aerial rockets, and can carry 1,200 rounds for its 30 mm machine gun.

By Caterina Hessler, Philipp Jahnke - Due to environmental pollution and the dawning end of mineral oil as one of the main energy resources, clean ways to generate renewable energy gain more and more importance. One of the most important renewable energy sources is wind. Therefore giant wind farms are planned to be built in the Northern and Baltic Sea – but as the number and the size of those parks grow, new problems concerning the care for injured or ill workers arise.

By Caterina Hessler - The “Rega” is one of the most famous rescue institutions in Europe. It has influenced alpine rescue in Switzerland and worldwide, like no other. With more than 13,700 alerts in 2010, the crews of the “Rega” fly for people´s lives 24/7.

By Steve Goldsworthy - Sensory overload is all I can think of as I strap on a Gentex helmet, hook up my full body harness to a restraint hook, and sink into my seat as the giant Sikorsky H3H helicopter lifts off into the fog.

In seconds that big open sliding door reveals nothing but grey as we climb out IFR from KLGB. From my seat I can watch the pilots as they call out altitudes, turns and VOR headings. A few seconds later, we are on top, but since we are still on an IFR departure, we’re still flying on the gauges.

By Caterina Hessler - The state of Thuringia, the “green heart” of the Federal Republic of Germany is famous for its vast forests and the low mountain range of the “Rennsteig.” The capital Erfurt is the home of the state´s police helicopter squadron. The pilots there fight for law and order and sometimes for people´s lives, too.

Story by:  Spc. Amie J. McMillan

ARTICLE & VIDEO

GOMER - Flyin in the Gulf of Mexico: Part 3

In the previous two articles and video supplements I covered the required qualifications and training involved for pilots who wish to work in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).  In this installment, my intent is to explore a few issues that impact the lifestyle of a pilot working in the GOM and some tips for adjusting to this unique work environment.

This is a preliminary report of a survey completed by 568 active helicopter EMS pilots in September and October of 2010. The solicitation to pilots to participate in this survey included the following introductory statement:

GOMER: Working in the Gulf of Mexico - Part 2
Article, Photos, & Video by Lyn Burks

In my experience, if you would like to see how serious a helicopter operator is about safety, then look no further than its new hire or recurrent pilot training programs. On one hand, there are programs which barely meet the FAA minimums, with their training program loosely packaged between the covers of Part 135 Operations Specifications. On the other, there are operators who go beyond the OpSpecs and fill the training “tool box” with innovative techniques and dedicated people.

Written & Video Feature!

Article. photos, and video by Lyn Burks

I remember when I was a much younger helicopter pilot clawing my way up through the helicopter world, one airframe and one mission at a time. Training, ENG, Utility, EMS, Corporate, you know, the usual stuff. I recall the first time I saw the term GOMER on the Justhelicopters.com message board and thought, “what the heck is a GOMER?” Frankly, it doesn’t really sound all that cool!

By William T. Winn - Anyone who has read Professor James Reason’s writings on human factors in accident causation is familiar with his well-known model of how causative factors can line up like the seemingly random holes in slices of Swiss cheese to result in a mishap or in a serious accident. Dr. Reason is professor of psychology at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. He has published books on motion sickness, human factors in transportation accidents, absent-mindedness, human error, and on identifying and managing organizational risk factors.

In the world of public safety, there are few resources in the government and law enforcement toolkit that serve a more varied, impactful and “game-changing” role than the aviation division.  Whether providing security for high profile events, performing search and rescue after natural disasters, covertly tracking the movements of suspects or protecting borders and coastlines, aircrews play an increasingly critical function in maintaining the public’s security.

It wasn’t too many years ago that most helicopter operators in the US conducting EMS operations would hire a pilot, then in company training validate that pilot to commercial standards per the Federal Aviation Regulations, and quickly send him to a field base to conduct EMS operations for a customer without so much as telling him what the EMS mission he was about to perform was all about. It wasn’t a FAA requirement to train to the mission, but it was a requirement to train the pilot to operate the aircraft safely while conducting the mission, whatever that mission might be. That is where a major problem lied and many operators didn’t realize it was an issue that needed to be dealt with.

By Jenna Shepard - There are two main threats to EMS helicopter pilots – weather and darkness, but this really shouldn’t come as a surprise. In 1988, the National Transportation Safety Board investigated 59 helicopter emergency medical services accidents and concluded that low visibility, often caused by poor weather conditions accounted for 61% of all crashes. Since then, little has changed.Although the commercial aviation industry requires that an aircraft be outfitted with everything from weather tracking technologies like onboard radar and GPS to collision avoidance tools, these same requirements are not made of the medical helicopter industry. Furthermore, at a time when air medical companies are being scrutinized due to the sheer number of EMS helicopter crashes and a lack of critical onboard technologies not yet mandated by the FAA, one company is making big strides in the right direction by focusing on weather safety.

By Kerry Sullivan - The article by Susan Parson in the March issue titled “Personal Minimums: A Development Guide” provides a systematic way for pilots to determine realistic safety margins for weather. The EMS operator I fly for requires its pilots to develop their own personal weather minimums which are to be more restrictive than those contained in the Operations Specifications. I have found more restrictive minimums necessary because I do not believe the generally used weather minimums are adequate to keep me out of Inadvertent Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IIMC). Despite strict weather minimums, detailed weather products and annual training in weather and pilot decision making we still have all too-frequent incidents of IIMC. As we are all painfully aware, some of these IIMC occurrences result in fatal accidents.