Max

Passenger deaths are minimized if the pilots only wear t-shirts and shorts. That way they will be less prone to fly the aircraft into the drink.

The Sultan

Seems rather a retrograde step. We now have three methods of deploying the liferafts, yet only one for jettisoning the doors, which isn't even within easy reach of pax in the doorway.

Or - less likely to want to put it in the drink - even if that is the best course of action, as they aint gonna survive very long in shorts and t-shirt. This might bias the decision to ditch and cause them to try to push on to land, when in reality it may be the best option to put it in the drink.

Sultan, that was a puerile comment.

Max, there would certainly be no obstacle in my company to providing the best suit available for our passengers.

If we're in the market for radical ideas, by all means give the pilots survival equipment that matches or exceeds the capabilities of that given to the pax.

Then fit a 'weight-on-wheels' microswitch to the pilot's door locking mechanism and increase the gauge of the locking wire on the jettison handles. One of you is nominated Captain, and you have the ability (and are encouraged) to sweep the cabin for reluctant evacuees before joining us in the raft.

While we are all waiting for words of wisdom from the AAIB, I recall a scene from a James Bond film that involved deployment of a rigid inflatable from either an airship, or heli.....perhaps someone remembers more accurately?

Friend of mine, training captain now for a nameless airline, was a young boffin at the time, and actually took part in that interesting ditching, riding the RIB down to the water.... if you buy him a beer he will go into detail...

and if I pass you on the way out, please assume the rank of Captain..

Mary, QinetiQ did some trials with the Royal Marines, to retrieve an inflatable by driving it into the back of a Chinook.



Deployment presumably, as Haynes car repair manuals famously quote, 'is the reverse of the above procedure...'

Now that would be seriously interesting if it were 20ft+ sea:ok:

Re Post 1134.

Reminds me of the theory that the best way to reduce car accidents is to remove the air bags and install a large spike on the steering wheel.

Chinook Water Pickup
 

Taking the concept of self loading freight to extremes.

Someone should.

Thanks Terminus, I'm all for everybody having the same chance of survival in a helo accident/crash/ditch.

Sultan, I'm assuming that your comment was meant to be tongue in cheek, not quite the response I was expecting from a professional in our industry, and in light of the original thread topic not very appropriate.

Look back and see how many of us have objected to the tone and measure of his posts in just the past few weeks.

I save myself from his charming wit by appointing him to the back row of the Peanut Gallery.

Come on guys, I know people died in this accident, but people die all the time. Typically, we don't care because they are brown, live a long way away and talk funny. Even when we do care, I think that to try to ban humour is a big mistake because its a great healer and stress reliever. In my case, the jokes definitely get better the more critical the situation is. I can't be doing with mawkishness.

HC

I agree with your sentiments on humour. The jokes and comments made by crews when on SAR were certainly very close to the bone and helped to relieve the stress of dealing with some very tragic accidents - an example was a young lad who had his hat blown off on a cliff edge - it landed on some gorse so he reached over to get it unfortunately the gorse overhung the edge so he lost his balance and fell about 80ft but was just alive when we reached him - the winchman managed to keep him alive until we reached the hospital - it affected him greatly but with humour we helped him through his emotional trauma. The difference was they were made in private and we wouldn't have dreamed of saying such things in public.

This is a public forum and we don't know if any of the families have been directed to look at it!

This thread started out as a technical examination as to what has happened. If humour is required then I suggest another thread which clearly says it is humourous therefore warning any families.

HF

Or maybe rename this one:

"Caution. After 50 or so pages this thread degenerates, with occasional comments containing some mild pilot-type humour."

The photo in the BBC piece shows George Osborne in a Super Puma. The caption says 'George Osborne flew offshore ... .' Did he? So did he do a dunker?

I notice a blurb in the Civvie Tiltrotor thread that it has a "Heads Up Display".....which leads me to ask why no Helicopters have them?

They also have synthetic vision systems on it too.....would that not be nice to have as well on an offshore helicopter?

Are we really just Bus Drivers who wear Poopy Suits to work?