HAI/COLTEN GONZALEZ-HILL DESIGN


FLY SAFE By Jill Browning and Tyson Phillips


Spatial Disorientation:


The Unforgiving Killer Learn how to recognize and avoid spatial disorientation.


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Visit rotor.org/sos to view and download this and additional safety resources,


including videos and posters.


ELICOPTER SAFETY ENHANCEMENT (H-SE) 127A, Recognizing and Training Degraded Visual Environment (DVE) Conditions


Conducive to Spatial Disorientation (SD), was estab- lished in 2017 after previous US Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) research identified and categorized the leading causes of helicopter fatal accidents and developed safety enhancements to address them. A team com- prising a small but dedicated group of industry profes- sionals was formed to lead this H-SE. To tackle the challenge of recognizing and recovering


from SD, the H-SE team examined related accidents and conducted an industrywide survey. Feedback to survey questions about pilot experience with spatial disorientation indicated a gap in both the fundamental understanding of the concept of SD and a pilot’s ability


to recognize the conditions conducive to SD. Further investigation of related accidents highlighted the com- plexity, confusion, and unique environment that encounters with SD cause. Our analysis also prompted a focus on developing


techniques for better decision-making, therein empha- sizing research the National EMS Pilots Association had conducted with Enroute Decision Points (renamed Enroute Decision Triggers, or EDTs) to identify improved methods of training and techniques to recover from and prevent SD encounters. These tech- niques are summarized below.


Preflight Planning Effective risk mitigation begins during the planning phase, including the planning and briefing of the flight.


56 ROTOR DECEMBER 2022


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