PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Helicopter down in NYC (Oct 2011)
View Single Post
Old 6th Oct 2011, 07:53
  #40 (permalink)  
ReverseFlight
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Yellow Brick Road
Posts: 1,127
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
JB, having floats and lifejackets is not about eliminating accidents but reducing the risk of death or injury to persons.

I should add that, further to my post #14, there was a time in the past when I did a lot of harbour scenic flights in a helicopter. Not only did it have pop-out floats, we insisted on everyone wearing the type of lifevest which would only inflate if commanded, rather than the marine variety which automatically deployed when in contact with water. The obvious reason is because an inflated lifejacket may hamper emergency egress from a submerged helicopter.

That said, passengers don't go through HUET training, do they ? Nor do they wear a helmet like I do - the head is probably the least protected part of the body in such circumstances.
ReverseFlight is offline