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Monday, May 26, 2014
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Fire And Ice...
While reading a statement made by an accident pilot to the National Transportation Safety Board, I wondered why - as this poor fellow's night was going from bad to worse - he didn't just land the helicopter. This life-and-helicopter saving step gets ignored so often that the Helicopter Association International (HAI) even had a shirt printed up that reads ... "Flight Not Going Well? Land the Damn Helicopter!"
Click here to read the NTSB report on this "hard landing"
Maybe we keep going when we should stop because we have come under the spell of one of the hazardous attitudes. Or maybe we have become complacent. Beyond these factors, I think there is something else at work when we hesitate to land - and it is related to how we pilots view ourselves.
We get-it-done, us helicopter pilots. We are self-starters - dedicated and reliable. If you assign one of us the task of getting a machine and people from point A to point B, we will do our best to make it happen; To complete the mission! We do this both for how it makes us feel inside - how it validates our self-image - and also to keep us in good graces with our employer.
It doesn't help that the picture is clouded by the few "pelicans" in our midst. You know about pelicans, right? A pelican is a pilot who no longer wants to fly. To get a pelican in the air, you have to throw rocks at him. Pelicans take the "safety-out" and use it when they should not: when they want to get off duty on time and don't want a late flight, or when they have other plans or projects. Pelicans invoke safety when safety is not really an issue and teach managers bad habits. Pelicans become known to the EMS folks in the field, who tell stories about the guy who won't fly if there is a cloud in the sky. Pelicans give pilots a bad reputation, just like flight-rats.
A flight-rat is the absolute opposite of a pelican. The flight-rat has decided that he will produce more flight volume than anyone else in the area, and he or she accepts all flight requests immediately, then checks weather and destination to see how many rules they will have to bend to get-it-done. Flight-rats make crews nervous, and wrong-headed managers happy.
So, imagine you are flying along and your helicopter catches fire. You smell smoke from the environmental control unit (ECU) or the instrument panel, or see flames lighting the night sky, or a smoke trail behind you during the day. You immediately - instinctively - push down on the collective and look for a place to land. The prospect of burning to death is so terrible that humans do everything in their power to avoid it. They land and if possible GET OUT of a burning aircraft.
For the even-moderately-smart among us, ice has the same effect. At the first sign of ice - the vast majority of helicopter pilots stop flying.
If they don't the helicopter will stop flying for them. The windscreen will become obscured making visual flight (especially landing) difficult, the inlets will shrink making engines lose power and "backfire" (compressor stall), and the rotor blades will turn into 2x12 planks that produce no lift. When the rotor system slings ice off one blade and not the other, the vibration will shake the aircraft to pieces. The ice will accumulate on the fuselage (body) of the aircraft, which typically is already operating hard-up against max-gross-weight, and the old girl will come shaking and shivering out of the sky - ready or not.
You can read about one such event by clicking here.
Ice was a factor here too.
NTSB Report...
So, since we know enough to stop for fire and ice, why is it that we keep going when things are going south bit by bit. Perhaps it's the incremental deterioration of the situation. Things get a bit worse, and we adapt, and a bit worse, and we adapt again, and then we tell ourselves we are almost there...
It is for these reasons and others that I ask crew members to reach inside themselves and stir up the confidence to know when to say STOP. Because sometimes I your pilot want to get the job done, I want to get the patient to the hospital, or the helicopter back to the base, or to get off on time. I don't want to create any fuss, or draw attention to myself, or create a scene. Sadly, all too often my reluctance to use the wonderful ability of a helicopter to land just about anywhere does indeed create a scene... an accident scene like this one...
I had a wonderful experience talking with a - literally - brand new flight nurse a couple of weeks ago (it was his first day on the job). We were in a room full of people, but the room dissolved and it came down he and I. I was looking directly into his eyes as I was telling him these things, about us pilots and our egos and our humanity. As I talked to him I was alternating between heat and cold, Fire and Ice...
We had a direct link. I could see it and feel it.
I said, "you got this?"
He said quietly, "yes. I do."
Mission accomplished.
Click here to read the NTSB report on this "hard landing"
Maybe we keep going when we should stop because we have come under the spell of one of the hazardous attitudes. Or maybe we have become complacent. Beyond these factors, I think there is something else at work when we hesitate to land - and it is related to how we pilots view ourselves.
We get-it-done, us helicopter pilots. We are self-starters - dedicated and reliable. If you assign one of us the task of getting a machine and people from point A to point B, we will do our best to make it happen; To complete the mission! We do this both for how it makes us feel inside - how it validates our self-image - and also to keep us in good graces with our employer.
It doesn't help that the picture is clouded by the few "pelicans" in our midst. You know about pelicans, right? A pelican is a pilot who no longer wants to fly. To get a pelican in the air, you have to throw rocks at him. Pelicans take the "safety-out" and use it when they should not: when they want to get off duty on time and don't want a late flight, or when they have other plans or projects. Pelicans invoke safety when safety is not really an issue and teach managers bad habits. Pelicans become known to the EMS folks in the field, who tell stories about the guy who won't fly if there is a cloud in the sky. Pelicans give pilots a bad reputation, just like flight-rats.
A flight-rat is the absolute opposite of a pelican. The flight-rat has decided that he will produce more flight volume than anyone else in the area, and he or she accepts all flight requests immediately, then checks weather and destination to see how many rules they will have to bend to get-it-done. Flight-rats make crews nervous, and wrong-headed managers happy.
So, imagine you are flying along and your helicopter catches fire. You smell smoke from the environmental control unit (ECU) or the instrument panel, or see flames lighting the night sky, or a smoke trail behind you during the day. You immediately - instinctively - push down on the collective and look for a place to land. The prospect of burning to death is so terrible that humans do everything in their power to avoid it. They land and if possible GET OUT of a burning aircraft.
 |
| When we smell smoke - We Land! |
For the even-moderately-smart among us, ice has the same effect. At the first sign of ice - the vast majority of helicopter pilots stop flying.
If they don't the helicopter will stop flying for them. The windscreen will become obscured making visual flight (especially landing) difficult, the inlets will shrink making engines lose power and "backfire" (compressor stall), and the rotor blades will turn into 2x12 planks that produce no lift. When the rotor system slings ice off one blade and not the other, the vibration will shake the aircraft to pieces. The ice will accumulate on the fuselage (body) of the aircraft, which typically is already operating hard-up against max-gross-weight, and the old girl will come shaking and shivering out of the sky - ready or not.
 |
| Photo credit Jeff Heinz, The Globe Gazzette |
You can read about one such event by clicking here.
Ice was a factor here too.
NTSB Report...
So, since we know enough to stop for fire and ice, why is it that we keep going when things are going south bit by bit. Perhaps it's the incremental deterioration of the situation. Things get a bit worse, and we adapt, and a bit worse, and we adapt again, and then we tell ourselves we are almost there...
It is for these reasons and others that I ask crew members to reach inside themselves and stir up the confidence to know when to say STOP. Because sometimes I your pilot want to get the job done, I want to get the patient to the hospital, or the helicopter back to the base, or to get off on time. I don't want to create any fuss, or draw attention to myself, or create a scene. Sadly, all too often my reluctance to use the wonderful ability of a helicopter to land just about anywhere does indeed create a scene... an accident scene like this one...
I had a wonderful experience talking with a - literally - brand new flight nurse a couple of weeks ago (it was his first day on the job). We were in a room full of people, but the room dissolved and it came down he and I. I was looking directly into his eyes as I was telling him these things, about us pilots and our egos and our humanity. As I talked to him I was alternating between heat and cold, Fire and Ice...
We had a direct link. I could see it and feel it.
I said, "you got this?"
He said quietly, "yes. I do."
Mission accomplished.
Friday, May 16, 2014
National Mediation Board (NMB) Finds Medical Helicopter Service Subject to Railway Labor Act
The determination of whether an entity is covered by the Railway Labor Act impacts compensation strategy and potential liability as the FLSA exempts from its overtime requirement individuals employed by such air carriers. The coverage determination is made by the National Mediation Board (NMB), which recently issued new opinion re-confirming the applicability of the Railway Labor Act to a medical helicopter service’s employees. TriState CareFlight LLC, 41 N.M.B. No. 15, 4/29/14.
To read this article click here...
By Noel P. Tripp
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
From Whence We Came...
Update: 5/15/14
After posting the info below a couple of days ago, I came to a facebook post this morning about a Vietnam vet who just passed away. He flew with the (former) Caraway Lifesaver Program in Alabama - and was one of the pioneers of HEMS in America. God Speed Don Malloy...
We at Life Saver 4 (Sylacauga) are deeply saddened today with the loss of our pilot, Don Malloy. Don has flown with Life Saver since 1983. Over these 31 years, he has transported thousands of patients to a higher level of care, saving thousands of lives. His quiet demeanor, sassy wit, and vast intelligence will be greatly missed by each of us.
The Vietnam era helicopter pilots are coming to the end of their line. I found this on another website today and decided that it was pertinent to HEMS and should be saved...
(pictures courtesy "oldestfart")
Comments from another army aviator...
"Love it! I graduated from WOCS in Class 89-17 and retired as a W4 just over four years ago -- I was born about a month before the Solo Party picture at the pool was taken. WOW! Time flies (no pun intended).
I think some people get heartburn over the Army pilots, in particular, and the military pilots, in general becuase they resent the brotherhood dimension to our connection to aviation. Look at those guys standing around the pool throwing in the last guy to solo. That was 1964 and it was really no different than the last guy in my class to ride the Solo Cycle -- a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang-style bicycle contraption complete with a tail rotor -- when he soloed at Stinson Stagefield in July of 1989. It was a hot Friday afternoon in front of the A Company/WOCS HQ bulding and I remember it like it was yesterday. CW4 Bob Giffin was the Senior TAC Officer.
For some of us, flying is just a job -- and, yes, I flew yesterday. For others, our military service helped shape us as yound guys by cultivating an awareness that what really defines us is what we're a part of and not, necessarily, just what we do. All military pilots are part of that brotherhood (and, increasingly, sisterhood) and most of us revere it.
The evidence for this is that as a retired CW4 I can look at a photo that was taken before I was born and relate to the moment as if I had been there. I could easily substitute the names for my classmates for the faces under those red hats. Moeover, if given the opportunity, I sure I would have a great conversation with one or all of those guys who were standing around the pool celebrating the fact that their entire class was moving on in their training and that No Man Would Be Left Behind. Regrtettably, however, I suspect some members of that Class were, ultimately, left behind becuase they gave all they had in support a war which they were directed to serve in.
Great job guys. Thanks for the memories. Thanks for your service. Thanks for your leadership.
ABOVE THE BEST!"
(A CW4 Retired Army Aviator)
(Thank you CW4 - for YOUR service, Dan Foulds)
After posting the info below a couple of days ago, I came to a facebook post this morning about a Vietnam vet who just passed away. He flew with the (former) Caraway Lifesaver Program in Alabama - and was one of the pioneers of HEMS in America. God Speed Don Malloy...
We at Life Saver 4 (Sylacauga) are deeply saddened today with the loss of our pilot, Don Malloy. Don has flown with Life Saver since 1983. Over these 31 years, he has transported thousands of patients to a higher level of care, saving thousands of lives. His quiet demeanor, sassy wit, and vast intelligence will be greatly missed by each of us.
The Vietnam era helicopter pilots are coming to the end of their line. I found this on another website today and decided that it was pertinent to HEMS and should be saved...
(pictures courtesy "oldestfart")
Comments from another army aviator...
"Love it! I graduated from WOCS in Class 89-17 and retired as a W4 just over four years ago -- I was born about a month before the Solo Party picture at the pool was taken. WOW! Time flies (no pun intended).
I think some people get heartburn over the Army pilots, in particular, and the military pilots, in general becuase they resent the brotherhood dimension to our connection to aviation. Look at those guys standing around the pool throwing in the last guy to solo. That was 1964 and it was really no different than the last guy in my class to ride the Solo Cycle -- a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang-style bicycle contraption complete with a tail rotor -- when he soloed at Stinson Stagefield in July of 1989. It was a hot Friday afternoon in front of the A Company/WOCS HQ bulding and I remember it like it was yesterday. CW4 Bob Giffin was the Senior TAC Officer.
For some of us, flying is just a job -- and, yes, I flew yesterday. For others, our military service helped shape us as yound guys by cultivating an awareness that what really defines us is what we're a part of and not, necessarily, just what we do. All military pilots are part of that brotherhood (and, increasingly, sisterhood) and most of us revere it.
The evidence for this is that as a retired CW4 I can look at a photo that was taken before I was born and relate to the moment as if I had been there. I could easily substitute the names for my classmates for the faces under those red hats. Moeover, if given the opportunity, I sure I would have a great conversation with one or all of those guys who were standing around the pool celebrating the fact that their entire class was moving on in their training and that No Man Would Be Left Behind. Regrtettably, however, I suspect some members of that Class were, ultimately, left behind becuase they gave all they had in support a war which they were directed to serve in.
Great job guys. Thanks for the memories. Thanks for your service. Thanks for your leadership.
ABOVE THE BEST!"
(A CW4 Retired Army Aviator)
(Thank you CW4 - for YOUR service, Dan Foulds)
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Correction To My Story About Pilot's Beds, ASTNA, And Sleep Inertia...
While teaching AMRM I tell stories. As Robert Shiller wrote,
No harm intended...
Fly safe...
"Psychologists have argued there is a narrative basis for much of the human thought process, that the human mind can store facts around narratives, stories with a beginning and an end that have an emotional resonance. You can still memorize numbers, of course, but you need stories."
I was doing this today in a room full of Boston Medflight folks, talking about fatigue and sleep inertia and a proposal that was once made to remove the beds from the pilot's rest areas. I incorrectly attributed this proposal to the Air and Surface Transport Nurses Association. While on a break, Michael Frakes - who is one of the leaders in the HEMS industry and a former member of the board of directors for ASTNA - pointed out my error and informed me that the proposal initiated with CAMTS, and was resisted by ASTNA. If I have presented at your program and misrepresented this, please take note of this correction to an error of fact.No harm intended...
Fly safe...
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