PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - AS332L2 Ditching off Shetland: 23rd August 2013
Old 6th Sep 2013, 14:06
  #1331 (permalink)  
HeliComparator
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
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jwscud, interesting statistics. I suppose its because we consider offshore airborne radar approaches and night offshore landing so much more difficult, that we consider NPAs to be "safe". The L2 doesn't have EGPWS but it does have an aural warning of "check height" when you go below the height bugged on the radalt, and also "100 feet" when you go below 100' radalt. I'm not familiar with CHC policy on setting the bugs, but in Bristow we set the bugs 100' below MDH. We don't really want a "check height" interrupting at the critical moment when crews are calling "decide", "I have control", "go-around" etc.

In this case, that would give a warning at 200' and at 100'. The former is suspendable, but Bristow SOP is to only do that when the necessary visual references have been acquired. The latter is not suspendable, although its inhibited for RoD >5000'/min.

However, taking into account reaction time and the high rates of descent at low airspeeds we suspect, there might be insufficient time to recover, certainly from 100' and possibly from 200'
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