Training accidents, the costly perspective...

[Old Man Rotor]

Over the last year or so there has been a number of "Threads" discussing the "Pro's and Con's" of "reality based training.............in other words, how far can we go with our exercises without the result of our training being counterproductive.

Counterproductive in the terms of not being benificial as a training tool, due to the "skill" not being able to be sufficiently demonstrated and practiced as you are outside the safety and performance aspects of the aircrafts envolope, and hence there is an area within the exercise that is "Talked" about but not performed, therefore a false sense of achievement or knowledge is consolidated.

Also counterproductive with the extreme costs involved when something goes wrong. This cost is not only in $$$ terms [which is the easiest to handle] but also in the security of the organisation and the welfare of all that depend on the monthly paycheck [paycheque].
Also the damage it does to the individuals involved, I am not referring to physical injuries [in which I understand no one was hurt in the attached picture] but the memory and apprehension that each pilot will take with them on each flight forever more.

And finally [and this is the main focus of my post] but more specifically to the discipline of Checking and Training in general.

Take the attached as an example.....obviously someone went wrong.
From third hand information, an Hyraudlics #1 failure was being practiced in the hover!..[not an unreasonble exercise, considering that an offshore platform may have to be utilized in the real event]....

The point I would like to discuss is...what guidance, input and feedback can we in the industry, provide each other to prevent [minimize] avoidable accidents such as this occurring.
A while ago, I suggested that Pprune via Heliport could assist in a medium to allow the exchange of ideas, standards, techniques together with the personal gotcha's of our collective group.
Put together, the database of this information would fill many books I'm sure....but is not documented anywhere.

Unfortunately there was not sufficient interest in such a view............however there is a lot that can be gathered by such open discussion.

Will we give in a try here????

Hydraulic failures may be a good start........


Edited....To say thanks to Blender Pilot for hosting the picture...Thanks.




http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PPRuNe/412crash.jpg

[3top]

O.M.Rotor,

I very much like the idea of a place where to exchange that kind of info.

However I do not know the workload involved for someone like Heliport to run this special place.

In the past I tried to describe experienced, seen and heared of mishapes or near mishapes. The response was always very "held back" to say the least. It seems everyone is afraid someone finds out who you are (....god beware your boss!), and then you are in for a rough encounter in the head office: Don´t tell this anyone!! Are you nuts!! Not of your business!!

Everyone is afraid it will affect the business negatively.

I believe no one is perfect out there, and most hightimers know a LOT to tell, from where the new guys and even hightimers can learn a lot - that is the idea of this, isn´t it.

However I respect the wish to be ultra anonymous for what ever reason. So if any of the moderators is willing to comb the info, I am on!! However it should be so, that any contributors are known to the moderator!

3top:rolleyes:

[SASless]

Now there was a time....in a land far away....once ruled by a guy named Palahvi, Shah Reza.....where you could do this same routine with a Red, White, and Blue Alouette III, doing engine failures at a hover....not have to repeat the maneuver...pass your base check....and not much was said....assuming you were a member of the visiting home team and not a mere cousin to the visitors. It was Bandar Abbas.....cold weather....who says the home boys do not stick together?

[Arm out the window]

Yeah, great idea.
Pretty much all of us have pushed things a bit too far and learnt from it, and to get the collective (pardon the pun) benefit of all these various experiences would be a good thing.
Obviously a collated database type set up would cost to set up and maintain, but perhaps a more off-the-cuff type arrangement might work.
There's no reason why a thread can't keep being resurrected when it gets too big, like the 'Chinook' ones on the military forum, or 'Where are they now?' on Dunnunda, so perhaps a 'Here's a hot tip, because I once got bitten on the arse by it' thread would work (obviously could be called something more elegant than that!)

[Old Man Rotor]

Thought you were dead and gone to heaven......!!!!