Originally Posted by
SARWannabe
Excuse my ignorance, but in the most sophisticated helicopters in the civilian world, why aren't all known planned landing sites such as Blacksod provided with GPS approaches with a vertical profile akin to that of an ILS, flown (in the case of SAR) to a very low-minima using auto hover if required? They take very little time to develop, and the cost would be negligable on a £500m contract. I get the necessity for ARA let downs to unknown rescue locations, but routine landings for fuel? I'd argue that the risk philosophy should be closer to that used in HEMS. At adhoc HEMS operating sites, rarely used more than once, the risk permitted is at it's highest in order to facilitate getting the job done. However at hospitals, and hems operating bases, refuel locations etc, used regularly there should be less alleviation as they are planned landing sites, used at a higher frequency, that can be known to the operator, thus procedures can be put in place and followed.
The fact that the obstacle and island weren't in the terrain database, so close to a company approved route, is simply mind boggling. A paper chart, or an iPad and Runway HD would have improved their SA, over all the kit & radar in an S92? Are we saying there is no simple moving map with an OS layer, or chart in the cockpit?
I didn't want to get shouted at for saying the same thing but as an outsider this also surprises me.
I get the general point of radar let downs and pseudo ILS AFCS coupled approaches but to a refuelling site would it be really that difficult to chart a GPS/RNAV approach or even better yet an ANP-AR approach? Sometimes innovation in aviation seems choked by bureaucracy and pointless regulation and hangs on to legacy procedures far too long.
It seems very sad that the minimum speed for EGPWS to be "armed", for want of a better word, was not specified as an SOP for all approaches. I gather that it may not have made a diiference here as there are questions as to wether Blackrock was in the database or not but, it would seem a sensible SOP to arise out of this event.