The argument that fixed wing pilots don’t wear them does not hold water as the dynamics, environment and tasking of the two machines are completely different, particularly when it comes to crashing. In one particular 76 crash the uninjured Co-pilot was trapped in his seat. The Captain helped the crash crew extricate him but 45 minutes after the crash the Captain dropped dead as a result of a seemingly minor bump to the head on the broom closet during the crash. I’m a short ass, and didn’t like the 76 cockpit as I knew the overhead switch panel or door pillar were so close that a lobotomy might very well be in the offing should the worse happen (and I know a lot of people would say that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing).
In the 30 years of operation of the company I worked for we never had occasion to use an emergency exit, life raft, life jacket, immersion suit, or any other item of safety equipment. Is that a good argument that we could/should rid ourselves of all those items and save a bunch of money?
This is the official report of an accident in which a pitch change link became disconnected from a blade. It is because of this type of scenario that I personally would make helmets mandatory for helo pilots.
Bell 412 N524EH Girdwood, Alaska 6th May 1989
WHILE IFR AT 10,000 FEET OVER MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN, THE HELCIOPTER EXPERIENCED VIOLENT VERTICAL VIBRATIONS, WHICH CONTINUED UNTIL THE CRASH-LANDING ABOUT FIVE MINUTES LATER. ON BOARD WEATHER RADAR WAS USED TO GUIDE THE HELICOPTER AROUND THE MOUNTAIN TOPS, WHICH WERE IN THE CLOUDS. AT ABOUT 200 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND, THE HELICOPTER CAUGHT FIRE, TAIL ROTOR CONTROL WAS LOST, BOTH ENGINES QUIT, AND CYCLIC CONTROL BECAME UNRESPONSIVE. THE HELICOPTER WAS DESTROYED BY POST-CRASH FIRE. ABOUT ONE HOUR OF FLT TIME EARLIER, THE HELICOPTER HAD UNDERGONE AN INSPECTION, DURING WHICH THE MAIN ROTOR FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM BOLTS HAD BEEN RETORQUED. ALL BUT ONE OF THESE BOLTS WERE FOUND IN THE WRECKAGE. HOWEVER, THE ROD END FOR THE MISSING BOLT WAS FOUND.
What the report does not say is that the vibration was so violent that the electrical panel fell down from the overhead, the pilots were bounced so violently in their seats, even though their straps were tight, that their heads went through and broke the overhead green house windows and their heads were continually beaten against the door pillar. What saved them? They had helmets (injuries were classified as minor/none). Both engines quit and caught fire because they had been torn from their mountings by the vibration.
Certainly there have been accidents/incidents in the fixed wing world where the pilot would have been better off with a helmet. I know one chap who was flying a Seneca who was rendered unconscious in turbulence by the door pillar. He has no idea how long he was out to it (was solo) but the aircraft was still more or less straight and level (no autopilot) when he woke up. A Pa28 pilot in the US had the same experience, but unfortunately when he came too he did not regain his vision and despite help from flight service subsequently lost his life in the crash.
Have a look at the photo below for what happens when blades decide that they have a life of their own. I did have a very evocative and poignant photo of the RHS pilot slumped in his straps with his head on his chest and the LHS pilot was no where to be seen (you can see what’s happened to his seat). A helmet won’t save you every time but there is many a pilot who thanks God he was wearing a helmet when that blade came through the cockpit, many of them humble R22 mustering pilots.
Safe flying folks.
