Collier County EMS Pilot on Administrative Leave

B-Hill · July 25, 2011

Thoughts on this? I really don't see a problem with this IF the aircraft has a control lock. Our company doesn't allow this but I'm wondering if the EC135's have control locks like the BK and the BO.

This topic seems to get different opinions.

Gomer Pylot · July 26, 2011

No comment. I wasn't there, and the video doesn't show the whole incident, just a few seconds. I don't get out of my cockpit while the rotors are turning, but I've seen it done. It looks like the scene was poorly controlled, I don't see any fire or police personnel anywhere around, and the ambulance drove rather close to the helicopter. My biggest fear on a scene is having someone walk or drive into the rotors, and that's why we always require someone on the ground to be in control of the scene.

Wally · July 26, 2011

I wasn't there either, so have no useful input on this pilot's situation.

As to industry practices that create problems for pilots:

The program I'm at allows pilots to exit the aircraft if required for ground recon, etc., but interprets the FAA's guidance as requiring the pilot to remain within the rotor disc. It's permitted (definitely NOT encouraged!, it's easy to see how the situation could deteriorate) practice IF and only IF the controls can be secured in place. An inop control lock or friction would be a no-go for this practice. "Within the rotor disc" dings guys pretty often.

Some programs do not allow the pilot to leave the controls of a running aircraft, period.

We don't shut down blocking main traffic arteries and try not to do so where we block a single access. If traffic needs to flow in a roadway that doesn't allow "X" distance to the rotors, I'm to clear the route entirely. The catch there is I can't land, even a return, to a night scene without crew aboard to clear where I can't see.

Edited July 26, 2011 by Wally

Darren Hughes · July 26, 2011

It's common practice here in the North East for companies to require their pilots to exit the aircraft with rotors turning as long as they don't leave the rotor disk. Otherwise, as a single pilot operation we'd have to shut down every time we land with a charter on board, which just isn't an option when we're as busy as we are.

With the Astars, seat belts drop out of the door of the aircraft as it is opened, then they hang outside it after the door is closed if someone doesn't put them back inside on top of the seats. If we take off with them hanging out, they beat the crap out of the side of the helicopter. It's a bad design, but we have to live with it. Also, half the time the pax either can't close the door properly or just walk away from the aircraft as if they were born in a barn, so it's up to us to close them, while maintaining a quick turn around. Many times we have to load or offload the bags from the cargo holds also with rotors turning

At the 3 main heliports in NYC, pilots are not allowed to leave the aircraft while the rotors are turning, but they have ground personal that will approach the aircraft, open and close the doors, escort the pax, handle the bags, and also check for seat belts or anything else that might cause a hazard upon us taking off again. For the most part they do a good job(for the most part). But if you land at the likes of Kennedy GAT, where you're generally not allowed to shut down on the spot where you drop your pax, and the ground personal refuse to come under the rotor disk, or Southampton helipad with no ground personal except for a local cop watching and timing your time on the ground in the hope that you'll be on the pad for more than 5 minutes so he can hit you with a fine. In those cases you would idiotically have to trust your pax to close the cabin and cargo doors properly before taking off without leaving the cockpit to check. You then risk taking off with a potentially un-airworthy aircraft, and we all know that the FAA would love that. So it's within our interests, and the most responsible thing to do, to get out with rotors turning in those cases.

Also, if you're flying tours from the Downtown Manhattan heliport, you'll hot swap pilots with rotors turning all day long. That's the only time we're allowed to be off the controls at JRB. As long as you're not taking on fuel, or have pax on board during the swap then it's allowed.

With the Astar, there is a collective lock as well as friction, and the cyclic friction is really effective. So if you double check everything before you get out and are careful while getting in and out, you will never have a problem. If you took it upon yourself to shut down after every drop while working in this area, you'd find yourself out of a job pretty quickly. After all, the FAA does allow it. But, if your company policy states that you will not leave the aircraft with rotors turning then great, you now work for a company that operates a little safer than the next one. Congratulations, and try not to screw it up by breaking their company rules.

jimbo2181 · July 27, 2011

EC135 and EC145 do have control locks but the FAA mandated they be inoperative to lock the controls because one pilot took off with them on. Just another friendly FAA knee jerk reaction that made operations less safe.

Wally · July 27, 2011

To clarify a couple points in Darren Hughes very thoughtful post from an EMS pilots point of view- Whether or not I get out of the pilot's seat almost never has anything to do with passengers or securing the aircraft. I'm out of the seat to handle an issue that arises due to the nature of scene operations that nobody else can do for me: ground recon, consult with scene personnel that I can't reach through the scene commander radio, etc. I'm out of the seat because in my professional judgement, it's a better choice than shutting down for some reason specific to the scene, related to the fact that it's an LZ (imperfect analogy) and not a helipad. We routinely shutdown on helipads, as part of an emergency service we have much more latitude than pure charter ops.

Finally, my understanding is that "within the rotor disc" defines the difference between being at the controls and leaving a running aircraft. I am allowed to take my hands off a control when appropriate, but safely leaving a running aircraft is very hard to do in the FAA's eyes.

Edited July 27, 2011 by Wally