Human error in helicopter safety

BeckyAnne117 · October 23, 2015

Dear all,

Please take a moment to read this as it will be greatly appreciated.

I am a keen want-to-be helicopter pilot and for my final year project at the University of Brighton I am researching the causes of human error in helicopter accidents. The aim of the project is to develop a product that could one day go on the market to help pilots reduce error during flight.

It would be extremely helpful to my studies if any willing pilots (who have flown solo at-least once) out there would be willing to fill in a questionnaire for me. Don’t worry, it can be entirely anonymous if you wish for it to be and you do not have to answer all of the questions.

The website is trust worthy and if you have any problems feel free to let me know.

https://www.esurveycreator.co.uk/s/62d3775

I hope that this post is not too irrelevant to the subject of this forum and it will not cause any issues.

Thank you in advance,

Becky Anne

whoknows idont · October 23, 2015

Hi Becky, Sorry to say but I think your questionnaire seems like you don't have enough of a clue about aviation. You probably should have taken a couple of flying lessons before writing it up. To almost every question there is at least one very obvious answer missing. Some of the questions and many of the answers seem quite strange. My recommendation: Get deeper (much deeper) into the matter, then start over. Otherwise your study will not be of relevance and your product will most likely flop.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to mock you here, this is serious feedback.

Eric Hunt · October 23, 2015

Agree, a lot of the questions do not have a suitable answer, and others are just pointless:

"Which instrument do you use the most?"

The clock, so I know when it is time to go home.

Human factors is a huge domain. You missed a lot of other bits, like domestic stress, uncomfortable Bell seats, disagreements with other staff (that girl in personnel really drives me mad!) ,lack of coffee, too much coffee requiring an unplanned pit-stop, and so on.

As Whoknows says, have some real experience yourself, go to a flying school and talk to the staff and students, find out what the real issues are and then re-jig your quiz.

avbug · October 24, 2015

The questionaire makes numerous assumptions, and seems focused on instrument flight. A great deal of helicopter flying, and flying in general, is visual. Some questions, such as whether one checks instruments before making a course change, suggest a lack of understanding of the subject. Even in instrument conditions, one may make a heading change without first checking instruments.

The questionaire seems to be leading the respondent, rather than allowing for input that's borne of actual experience. Instead of asking experienced pilots for their input, the questionaire decides what the experienced pilot is allowed to say, and then limits the scope even further.

It reminds me of some of the old airline psych test questions, such as "Who would you rather kill more, your mother, or your brother?" No chance to say one wouldn't kill either one, and by answering the question, one has already strayed far outside a reasonable response. One must choose, and if one does, one has admitted to wanting to kill one or the other. The questionaire referenced in the thread is similar; it presents answers that may be irrelevant or nothing like what the respondent might say, but leaves the answers as the lesser of several evils. It's pre-loaded.

Matt321 · October 24, 2015

Becky, I've had a decent amount of experience doing research for various classes pursuing a bachelors and masters. In my opinion, your area of research is way too broad. Human factors is a huge area of study. You have questions about decision making, fatigue, instrument layout, operation of switches, etc. Pick one thing and begin your research and post a much shorter and relevant survey, and talk to some pilots before creating it. Even if you got 1,000 responses to your survey you would be hard pressed to draw any conclusions from it, let alone proceed with any new product development. What type of product are you hoping to develop?

Jaybee · October 24, 2015

Though I agree with the gist of your entire post, this one tidbit here...

Some questions, such as whether one checks instruments before making a course change, suggest a lack of understanding of the subject. Even in instrument conditions, one may make a heading change without first checking instruments.

I would say its a good idea to check to see if your heading indicator precessed while in level unaccelerated flight before making your turn.... *shrug*

eagle5 · October 24, 2015

I would say many of those questions need either an N/A option or an If Yes, Please Explain?

Gomer Pylot · October 25, 2015

Eric, FWIW, Bell is far from being unique in having uncomfortable seats. I've flown a lot of helicopters from several manufacturers, and I have yet to sit in a seat that's comfortable after an hour or so. The seats in the S92 get more complaints than almost any other model, and you would think that Sikorsky would have put decent seats in something that big and expensive. But you would be wrong. IMO, seats can be one of the factors that promote human error, because when you've been acutely uncomfortable for several hours, your back is killing you along with your buttocks and legs, your attention to detail is prone to wander, and that's dangerous.

500F · January 7, 2016

Gomer, are you saying pilot comfort has a role in safety?!?!? I thought I was one of the few who felt that way.

I have been saying that for years, in all areas, but especially, I have been saying for years that the USFS heavy steel toe boot requirement, and to an extent the helmet and nomex requirements are counterproductive.

We need to get more engineers to take industrial ergonomics courses... I did, and they are quite revealing.

ridethisbike · January 7, 2016

Gomer, are you saying pilot comfort has a role in safety?!?!? I thought I was one of the few who felt that way.

I have been saying that for years, in all areas, but especially, I have been saying for years that the USFS heavy steel toe boot requirement, and to an extent the helmet and nomex requirements are counterproductive.

We need to get more engineers to take industrial ergonomics courses... I did, and they are quite revealing.

What did you learn in those courses?

avbug · January 8, 2016

Would you prefer a tee shirt and sneakers?

There are valid reasons for nomex, gloves, boots, and helmet while working a fire.

Those same requirements for PPE aren't a USFS thing; it's equally applicable if working fire for BIA, BLM, etc.

500F · January 8, 2016

You are right, its government thing. And the government thinks more is better, and has no grasp of the concept of occam's razor. Have helmets saved lives, yes. Nomex, and boots, I doubt it, I've never seen the statistics and I've looked. The question is how many have they caused due to the fatigue, visibility restrictions doing VR work, and loss of ability to feel the pedals? I'd say at least a few but its impossible to prove. Its impossible to prove fatigue was a factor in the human errors that led to accidents, but there are some where I believe that was the case.

500F · January 8, 2016

ridethisbike.

To condense a college course into once sentence. When you make things easy, and comfortable, they get done more consistently with fewer errors.

avbug · January 9, 2016

You are right, its government thing. And the government thinks more is better, and has no grasp of the concept of occam's razor. Have helmets saved lives, yes. Nomex, and boots, I doubt it, I've never seen the statistics and I've looked. The question is how many have they caused due to the fatigue, visibility restrictions doing VR work, and loss of ability to feel the pedals? I'd say at least a few but its impossible to prove. Its impossible to prove fatigue was a factor in the human errors that led to accidents, but there are some where I believe that was the case.

Loss of ability to feel the pedals? Sounds like a very inexperienced thing to say.

Do you wonder why the US military doesn't assign it's crews sneakers so they can "feel the pedals?" Every wonder about that?

Feel the aircraft. Forget feeling the damn pedals. Make whatever input is necessary to make the aircraft do what you want.

Yes, helmets absolutely do save lives.

I had the same shitty attitude as you, once. I was flying right seat in a PB4Y-2 at the time (Privateer, a B-24, if you're familiar). Some pilots cut flight suits so all that remained was enough to cover their arm and shoulder; to those outside the aircraft, it looked like they were wearing a flight suit. The captain with whom I flew insisted that I wore all the PPE, including boots laced up. He loaned me a video, said take it to the hotel, watch it.

The video was a US Army captain recounting his shoot down in Vietnam. He made it to the ground, survived the crash, went back to look for people. He was badly burned. Everywhere that his nomex covered him, he was good. Everywhere that it didn't, his skin was melted. Horribly. He made the film to urge others to wear their protective gear, including collars up, gloves overlapping, visor down.

Years ago a P2V crew crashed on a fire. One survived the crash, something not widely publicized. One of the crew was found a couple of days later, propped against a cactus, where he crawled. His green suit hid him; he wasn't immediately seen. He died there. The other crew member was getting out of the aircraft when he was roasted in the hatch. There's a good chance he'd have survived with nomex.

Have you ever spent time inside a fire? Not in a cockpit, but in an honest to God fire? Ever go inside a flashover chamber? A burning structure? You'd have a very different view of nomex and personal protective gear, if you did.

I don't know how long you've been flying fire. Chances are that I've been doing it a bit longer than you. A few decades longer, most likely. When I went down on the mountainside I was glad I had on PPE. I was downwind of a very active burn. The aircraft didn't burn, but had it done so (it was smoking when I got out), I'd have been at fire...the one started by the aircraft, and I'd have been very glad to have protective gear.

Yes, it's hot in the summer. Yes, it's an active place, and yes, you may have to move around a little. If you're having problems flying because of your protective gear, stop whining about it and either learn to deal with it or get out and go find something that's not so trying for you. Play tic tac toe professionally, or something equally meaningful. Your biggest hazard there is a paper cut.