Rotorcraft Operations and Oversight

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2015 AMERCA Flight Standards Meeting

April 7-8, 2015 Tysons, Virginia USA

Rotorcraft Operations and

Oversight

Dennis McCall

Director of Operations Air Methods Corporation

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• Headquarters - Englewood, CO • Nasdaq Symbol> AIRM

• World’s Largest Air Medical Provider • 1,200 Pilots,

• 4,700 Medical Staff • 290 Bases in 48 States

• Sixth largest aircraft operating certificate in the US

• 400+ EMS Aircraft- Fixed & Rotor Wing

• 49 Tourism Aircraft

• 98,000+ critical care transports in 2014

• 137,000 Flight Hours Per Year

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• Provide an invaluable service to the public by providing crucial transportation of critically ill and injured patients.

• 805 Dedicated Aircraft (no other purpose)

• Transport 265,000 + Patients Per Year

• Estimated Total Patients Flown,1980-2012 5,600,000

• Approximately 375,000 Flight Hours Per Year

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• Single Pilot Day/Night, VFR and IFR, Operations to Approved and Unimproved landing sites.

• Single and Twin Engine Helicopters

• Crew Composition Pilot, Nurse, Paramedic

• Public, Private and Hospital Systems Compete for Transports.

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• 1998 an alarming accident trend begins

• Eight (8) accidents in1998, ten (10) in 1999 and twelve (12) in 2000.

• Ira Blumen, the University of Chicago Aeromedical Network (UCAN) Safety Committee began its own investigation and research in the fall of 2000

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• First Definitive Study in HEMS Accidents

• Can be found here Supplement to the Air Medical Physician Handbook

• Only Dedicated Aircraft in Study

• Accident Factors: Pilot Error, Weather, IIMC, Night,

Fatigue, Pressure and Stress

• U.S. Has Highest HAA Accident Rate compared to

Other Countries

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• Safety Management System (SMS)

• Operations Control Center (OCC)

• Technologies

• Simulation

• Standardized Training

• Regulation – FAA-HAA Rule

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• SMS

Level 4 – Continuous Improvement

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• Staffed 24/7

• Trained Specialists (similar to 121 dispatcher)

• Primary Duties

–

Safety and support for pilots before and

during

all flights

–

Shared Risk Model

–

Compliance

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 Night Vision Goggles NVG

 Helicopter Terrain Avoidance Warning System

HTAWS

 XM Satellite Weather

 GPS Navigation

 Satellite Tracking

 Appareo Vision 1000 flight data monitoring

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• Threat and Error Management (TEM)

• Crew Resource Management (CRM)

• Air Medical Resource Management (AMRM)

• Line Orientated Flight Training (LOFT)

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• All Flights with Medical Crew conducted as Part 135

• HTAWS

• Radar Altimeters

• Flight Data Monitoring

• Operational Control Centers

• Preflight Risk Analysis

• Commercial – Instrument Rating

• More restrictive VFR Weather Minimums

• Enhanced IFR Operations

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• “Safety First” is a Call to Action

• Strong Organizational Safety Culture (SMS)

• Proactive Management that embraces a Just

Culture

• Proper Aircraft, Tools, Facilities for Safe Operations

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• Replace Risk Takers with Front Line Risk Managers

• Train Like you Fly and Fly Like you Train

• No Government, Country, Region or Organization

Competes at Safety. Through Continued

Collaboration and Sharing we will Strengthen and Sustain Safe Operations

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Thank you AFRICA*MIDDLE EAST*RUSSIA*CENTRAL ASIA

• Thank you for Supporting Sustainable

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Presentation Guidelines

• Presentations should be no more than 10 slides

• No more than 15 minutes per presentation

• Please send all presentation materials to [email protected]

• Final presentations MUST be received by Friday, April 3

• Please remember to bring a copy of your presentation to the conference on a USB drive

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FAA Guidance on Helicopter

& Air Ambulance Operations

Richard Prosek

Manager, Part 135 Air Carrier Operations Branch, AFS-250

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• 14 CFR 135 Operations (Commuter and On-demand)

• AFS-250

• Includes Helicopter Air Ambulance (HAA) and air tours • All other commercial rotorcraft operations

• AFS-800

• Part 91 (general aviation)

• Part 133 (external loads)

• Part 137 (agriculture)

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• Principal Inspector (PI) responsible for oversight

• Current:

• FAA Notice 8900.132, Work Program Development for Part 135 Certificate Holders

• Incorporates the use of Surveillance Priority Index (SPI) tool

• Prioritizes work on the basis of risk factors

• Near future:

• Safety Assurance System (SAS) will replace the use of the SPI as operators transition to use of Safety Management Systems (SMS)

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Rationale for New HAA Rule

Between 1991 and 2010:

4

OPERATIONS ACCIDENTS FATALITIES

HAA 74 130 Rule Addresses 62 125 Commercial 29 54 Rule Addresses 20 39 Part 91 51 64 VFR 49 63

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Causal Factors of Accidents

• Inadvertent Flight into IMC (IIMC)

• Night Operations

• Loss of Control

• Controlled Flight into Terrain

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• New rule goes into effect April 22, 2015

• How does the new rule affect the rotorcraft community?

• Part 91: Increased weather minimums in Class G airspace

• Part 135:

• Increased weather minimums for alternate airports

• Demonstrate competence in flat light, white out/brown out and inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IIMC)

• Radio altimeter required (2017)

• Additional overwater equipment requirements (2017)

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• Helicopter Air Ambulance (HAA) Operators:

• Increased Class G VFR weather minimums

• IFR ops at airports without weather reporting

• Transitions to/from IFR

• VFR obstacle planning

• Risk analysis program

• Safety briefings for medical personnel on board

• Operations Control Center (for operators with > 10 HAA) (2016)

• Affects 23 of 73 operators & all but ~200 HAA helicopters

• Pilot in Command requires instrument rating (2017)

• Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System (HTAWS) (2017)

• Flight Data Monitoring System (FDMS) 2018)

New Rule Continued

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• Certificate Management Teams (CMT)

• Established in 2005

• Focused oversight of operators with > 25 helicopters dedicated to air ambulance operations

• Affects 11 of the 73 HAA operators and accounts for ~1200 of the ~1600 HAA helicopters

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• Revised Operations Specification A-021

• Advisory Circular 135-14B, Helicopter Air Ambulance Operations

• FAA Notice 8900.1 Guidance Material

• Advisory Circular 120-96, Operations Control Centers

• Fall 2015

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• Principal Inspector

• Federal Register

• Flight Standards Draft Document Web Site:

• https://www.faa.gov/aircraft/draft_docs/

• Part 135 Air Carrier Ops Branch, AFS-250:

• 202.267.8166

• http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices /avs/offices/afs/afs200/branches/afs250/

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Helicopter Industry Overview

Matt Zuccaro

President & CEO

Helicopter Association International

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Helicopter Association International

• Established 1948

• The professional trade association for the International helicopter community

• 3,900 members in 78 countries

• 91 Affiliate Members in 73 countries

• HAI Members operate over 6,000 helicopters and fly nearly 3 million hours each year

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HAI Members Include

• Helicopter owners

• Operators

• Manufacturers & suppliers

• Service organizations

• Affiliate associations

• Pilots

• Maintenance Technicians

• Students

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HELI-EXPO

World’s Largest Helicopter Trade Show

21,000 Attendees

65 Helicopters on Display 750 Exhibitors

One million square feet of exhibit floor and meetings

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H

elicopter

A

ssociation

I

nternational

Next Heli-Expo Trade Show

Louisville

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WWW.ROTOR.COM

• ROTORNEWS – (Free Daily E-Newsletter)

• 20 LANGUAGE TRANSLATION

• GOOGLE SEARCHABLE

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www.helicopterfoundation.or

g

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Helicopter Foundation Int’l

• Virtual Museum – Searchable database

• School Outreach Program

• Heritage interviews of industry pioneers

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Industry Issues

Helicopter Ambulance Ops Regulation

Next Gen – Interagency Management Council

Noise Abatement – Community Relations Nat’l Parks Overflight Advisory Group N.Y. C. / L. A. Airspace Task Force Foreign Repair Stations

FAR Part 27 / 29 rewrite

Single Engine / Single Pilot aircraft IFR Certification HUMS / FDM Grant Program

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Regulatory Validation & Harmonization

EASA – FAA – CAA – ICAO Legislative driven

Application of Air Carrier rules to part 135 and G.A. ops Safety level goal to unrealistic levels of potential failure

Restrict or eliminate single engine operations

Constraining certification both aircraft and mission (IFR) Lack of international certification and operating rules

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Operational Protocols

1. Twin Engine Aircraft (customer / regulation / mission driven)

Hover out of ground effect on one engine at gross takeoff weight

OEI / CAT A CAPABILITIES ALL OPERATIONS

Human Factors – engine integration and operation

Stable state automatic operation – no pilot interface

2. Multi-mission capability (Tiltrotor Tech)

3. Range, Endurance, Useful load

4. Full IFR & Icing capability (Predicated on operating environment)

5. Ease of Maintenance (modular design)

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I

nternational

F

ederation of

H

elicopter

A

ssociations

International Civil Aviation Organization Heliport Design Working Group

World Climate working group IFR Working Group

Noise modeling Working Group

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HAI Coordination

National Business Aircraft Association

Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association

General Aviation Manufacturers Association

National Air Transport Association

National Association of State Aviation Officials

Experimental Aircraft Association

Aircraft Electronics Association

Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics

Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems Int’l

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M

ILITARY

I

NTERFACE

• Enhance liaison between HAI and U.S. military services

• Network relative to research, development, acquisition and sustainment of military rotorcraft platforms and

related technologies.

• Major focus will be rotorcraft aviation safety and enhancement of operating environment.

• Promotion of noise abatement initiatives and community acceptance of rotorcraft operations.

• HAI to reach out to military personnel transition programs in an effort to assist separating military aviation personnel to transition into civilian careers.

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HAI I

NTERNATIONAL

P

RESENCE

•AHS American Helicopter Society Forum

•AIA/NZHA AIA of New Zealand / New Zealand Helicopter Assoc

ALEA Airborne Law Enforcement Association •AMTC Air Medical Transport Conference

•AOPA Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association •APA American Planning Association

•HAA Helicopter Association of Australia

•Oshkosh Experimental Aircraft Association - “HELI-CENTER” •EBACE European Business Aviation Exposition -Geneva

ABACE Asian Business Aviation Exposition –Shanghais •HAC Helicopter Association of Canada

•HeliRussia Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade -Moscow •Helitech-UK Helitech – Duksford England

•NASAO National Association of State Aviation Officials •NBAA National Business Aviation Association

•Paris Air Show Le Bourget - Paris •Sun ‘N Fun Lakeland, Florida

Farnborough Air show & Exposition, London

ILA Berlin BerlinAir show

AirMed Air Medical Conference – United Kingdom

HeliDubai Trade Show & Exposition, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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A

IRCRAFT

C

ERTIFICATION

• Time delays – Certification

• NOne Required Safety Enhancing Equipment

• Organization Designation Authorization

• Designated Engineering / Airworthiness Representatives

• Inconsistent Interpretation

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Where does the public get its perception of our industry ?

Press coverage of industry events Depictions in entertainment media Unfortunately these are usually negative depictions

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TOPIC OF THE DAY

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HAI SAFETY INITIATIVES

• SAFETY AS A FIRST PRIORITY

• SAFETY ABOVE ALL ELSE

• FLY TO A HIGHER STANDARD

• HUMAN FACTORS

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HAI SAFETY INITIATIVES

• HeliExpo

• Safety Symposium

• Safety Town Hall

• Education Courses

• Safety Challenges

• Safety Forums

• Commercial Operations

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HAI SAFETY INITIATIVES

• HAI Operator Safety Awards

• HAI Pilot Safety Awards

• HAI Maintenance Technician Awards

• Free Safety literature and DVD’s

• SMS

• Flying in the Wire Environment

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FAA GRANT

Flight Data Monitoring / Health Usage Monitoring

Safety: Trend Analysis – Pre Failure

Economic: Extend TBO / Inspection Intervals

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HAI ACCREDITATION PROGRAM

• VOLUNTARY

• MISSION SPECIFIC STANDARDS / ISBAO BASED

(Coordination with other accreditation programs)

• HAI TRAINED AUDITORS

• FIELD AUDITS WILL BE CONDUCTED

• OPERATOR MENTORING PROGRAM

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NEW HAI SAFETY PROGRAM

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Safety Themes

1. What were they thinking ?

2. Let’s Get High

3. Safety from the top down

4. Land the Damn Helicopter

5. Effects of an accident

6. Do we facilitate accidents ?

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WWW.IHST.ORG

REDUCE THE INTERNATIONAL

HELICOPTER ACCIDENT RATE

BY 80 % OVER THE NEXT 10

YEARS

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IHST REVISED GOAL ESTABLISHED

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ACCURATE DATA

1. ACCURATE FLIGHT HOURS FLOWN ARE

ESSENTIAL

2. ACCIDENT RATE WOULD BE LOWER

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Potential Influences on future

• Safety:- Public perception / Regulators /

Legislatures

• Green Initiatives: Exterior Noise / Emissions

• Infrastructure: Heliports / Access to

Airspace

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Potential Influences on future

• Instrument Flight Capabilities

• (Safety / Expanded use / Schedule reliability)

• Technology – NextGen / HUMS-FDM

• (Economic / safety / operational impact)

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HELICOPTER INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

LEVELS

• Expansion of overall business activity

• Retirement of Viet Nam Era personnel

• Higher client standards

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(POTENTIAL) EFFECT ON SAFETY

Shortage of experienced pilots and technicians

Inability of operators to meet business demands and client standards

Lower experience levels (could) result in higher accident rates if proper initiatives and cultures are

not put in place.

Flight Hours are not the sole determinant factor of Safety. Competency and currency in specific

missions, operating environments and aircraft category / type are critical considerations

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Vision

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