My


Lifeteam announced it is going to equip their fleet of more than 130 aircraft with Cobham HeliSAS


A (Helicopter Stability


Augmentation System)/Autopilot and Garmin 500H glass cockpits using synthetic vision technology. When I heard the news, I literally leapt from my chair, did a fist pump and yelled, “YES!”


The importance of this news cannot be overstated. The upgraded systems they plan to install will prove most valuable in inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions, documented over the years by the FAA and NTSB as one of the main reasons that HEMS helicopters crash.


Genesys Aerosystems (formerly Cobham) is


a provider avionics systems for of integrated military and civil


customers. Their HeliSAS and autopilot technology offers added safety within the financial reach of many of the HEMS operators.


IT’S PERSONAL


This news is significant to me personally, because for decades I have witnessed the same HEMS crash occurring repeatedly: CFIT and IIMC, loss of spatial orientation, loss of control. I personally learned about the value of having an autopilot back in 1982 when I flew the Bell 222 single-pilot IFR in San Diego from UCSD Medical


8 September 2014


Cents Worth


HEMS SAFETY SCORES BIG


ugust 14, 2014, will be remembered as a red-letter day in the annals of HEMS safety. That’s the day Air Evac


Center. Since then I have flown aircraft with an autopilot in every job I’ve had. In my mind, having an autopilot in every HEMS aircraft to aid a pilot in the event of an IIMC encounter or to unload him during an emergency has always been a no-brainer.


I’ve been writing books and articles and giving keynote speeches in America, Canada, Europe and Australia, highlighting the problem and offering a solution. Now, finally, someone has taken that solution seriously and is running with it. It’s my hope that one day every HEMS aircraft will be similarly fitted.


Air Evac Lifeteam officials say the company will upgrade their entire fleet of Bell 206 LongRangers and Bell 407 helicopters over the next three years. Seth Myers, president of Air Evac Lifeteam said, “This is the next step in Air Evac’s commitment to safety.”


I applaud them for it. In the May 2014 issue of Rotorcraft


Pro I wrote an article entitled, “The FAA’s Missed Opportunity.” I chastised the FAA for not mandating an autopilot be fitted in every HEMS aircraft after they, themselves, documented that half the HEMS crashes could have been prevented had an autopilot been installed if a second pilot wasn’t available. Here’s what I said in


that article: “I predict that the new rules (released by


the FAA February 20, 2014) aimed at our air ambulance industry will not significantly reduce the accident rate. Unless the operators take it upon themselves to install autopilots in every HEMS aircraft before being forced to do so by the FAA, a day will eventually come when a rule will be mandated that all HEMS helicopters must be fitted with an autopilot if not operated using two pilots. Doing it now will save lives.”


Air Evac Lifeteam must have had similar thoughts.


This increased level of commitment to


safety by a HEMS operator is a long time coming. In 2000, The U.S. Joint Helicopter Safety Analysis Team, in their report listed under “Emergency Medical Services – Prioritized Safety Recommendations” wrote:


“Encourage the use of new technology that would assist in raising pilots’ and crews’ situational awareness, e.g., night vision goggles (NVGs), synthetic vision


systems (SVSs), terrain/proximity


awareness, weather in the cockpit, GPS moving map displays.”


Albert Einstein once said, “Those who have the privilege to know, have the duty to act.” For 32 years I’ve had the privilege to know and have been actively speaking out on the subject since August 31, 2010, the date when I became an activist for


By Randy Mains


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