Emergency Brace Positions?

[Lowlevldevl]

Does anybody give instruction on emergency brace positions as part of their passenger pre-flight briefings?
Every time I fly with the airlines they show the correct emergency brace position depending on where you sit in the aeroplane.
Assuming that the aeroplane brace position is designed to cope with longitudinal decelerative impact forces, is the same position relevant or even safe for a helicopter impact which is substantially vertical?
How would you instruct a front seat passenger to brace in such a way that they won't interfere with the cyclic?

[Dynamic Component]

Pilot Seat:

The pilot is required to control the aircraft during emergency, so he/she should: Push body firmly back in seat to support spine
Push head back against headrest to suport neck.
Keep arms locked close by the side of body.
Keep both legs together with feet pushed on floor or tailrotor pedals.

Seat with Full Retractable Harness(Co-Pilot):

Push body firmly back in seat to support spine
Place bith arms up along chest with hands open and across the side and back of your neck for support
Both legs should be together with feet pushing on the floor.

Seats with Lap Seat Belt ONLY:

Position feet firmly on floor in normal sitting position.
Open knees slightly
Bend forward to plase head between knees.(No need to kiss your ass goodbuy:} )
Position elbows on outside of knees with hands open and across the side and back of your neck for suport.


Hope this helps:ok:

[donut king]

Briefing of emergency actions are a legal requirement!

We( pilots or flightcrew) give it to passengers whereas in the airlines it can be delegated to the fa's.

D.K

[Ascend Charlie]

Another suggestion for passengers next to a door or wall is to place the hand that is on the door side behind the neck, with elbow raised. This way, the forearm can absorb a side whack which otherwise would be passed on to the head.

A conscious passenger with a sore arm is better value than an unconscious or dead one.

After the initial impact and the thrashing around stops, one hand goes to the seat belt buckle, and the other to the door handle.

In my previous life, I made an excellent (!!!) video / DVD of the procedures for Jet Franger, Long Banger, and A 109 including operation of seat belts, opening doors (Hinged and sliding) use of waist pouch life jackets, and brace positions.

Takes about 3 minutes to run, and the short-attention-span male is allowed for by having a busty blonde do the demos.

:uhoh:

[ali250]

As D K has already pointed out it is a legal requirement to brief passengers, however, the briefing card should demonstrate the brace position, and their attention should be brought to it. Normally the dual controls are removed when carrying a front passenger.

[Lowlevldevl]

Thanks very much for your input guys, some good information there that I will try to incorporate into future passenger pre-flight briefs. Just wonder how many of us actually brief on this in the real world? I've been around a long time and only ever came across the issue once. It was during a Chief Pilot check ride in an R-22 and the examiner was an old North Sea driver. I'm pretty sure I got a X in the box for that part of it but he never did tell me just what the correct response was.

[ATN]

Lowlevldevl,

Does your company or authorities allow passengers to seat in the front with the controls fitted ? We must either remove the duals or seat the passenger in the back.

Cheers

ATN

[Ascend Charlie]

There are rules for allowing a passenger to sit in a seat with active controls fitted, and as long as the pilot briefs the passenger not to touch anything, and he is satisfied that the passenger is old enough and responsible enough to obey him, it is OK. A quick elbow to the face is enough to discourage anybody from touching the controls.

For ease of ingress / egress, though, have the sticks removed and put the pedal lock on. For a machine like an S76 or some of the EC machines, removing the controls is an engineer's job.