errors that can be attributed specifically to the flight


crew (as opposed to organizational failures) are:  Failing to properly plan a flight path  Failing to adequately maintain the helicopter  Failing to operate the aircraft properly  Operating the helicopter in unsafe conditions  Failing to operate the aircraft in accordance with its


operational limitations. A May 2021 FAA study, “Medical Helicopter Accident


Review: Causes and Contributing Factors,” organizes these factors under the broad brushstroke of “planning and training deficiencies.” Training is a topic for another discussion, but planning is something we can directly address as a flight crew. First, let’s take emotion out of the word “mission.”


The definition of the word isn’t just running out to the helicopter with our hair on fire but, according to Merriam-Webster, simply “a specific task with which a person or group is charged.” This is exactly what we do in HAA, and while we have little say over issues prior to the sound of “the tones” or the dispatcher’s phone call, the next step is completely within our control. That’s exactly the step I struggled with as a new HAA


pilot. I felt my specific aircraft training was comprehen- sive and my instructors outstanding, yet there was very little discussion of mission planning for HAA, even though most of us are familiar with the axiom “planning mitigates risk.” What was apparent was that our company hired very


experienced pilots who already knew how to plan a mis- sion. But HAA missions differ from what most of us mili- tary helicopter pilots have experienced. Most military helicopter pilots fly in a dual-pilot cockpit and have never flown single-pilot. Nor have they been the sole decision maker in planning and operations as they find them- selves in HAA. They are also inexperienced in providing their own weather briefings and terrain analysis. And civil HAA lacks the homogeneity and background in training that military crews are accustomed to, which can muddy the judgment and crew resource management acumen of former military pilots.These are huge cultural shifts. In deciding what would work for me in HAA given my


military experience, I determined HAA flight planning had to have a framework, be continuous, and be flexible enough to encompass both scene and interfacility flights as well as VFR, IFR, and NVG (night-vision goggles).


Adapting Military Planning to Civilian Operations Let the eye-rolling commence when I say that what eventually worked for me was the military mnemonic “METT-TC,” which stands for the following six factors of


planning and execution:  Mission  Enemy  Troops  Terrain (and weather)  Time (and time available)  Civilian considerations.


METT-TC is used primarily by the US Army as “a


framework to aid … in analyzing a situation, prioritizing key aspects, and then planning accordingly to achieve success.” That approach sounded reasonable to me, and I easily adapted it to my newfound air ambulance career. METT-TC facili-


Our safety record in HAA, and in public-service aviation in general, would be better if we embraced more of a mission mentality, not less.


tates an organized process that makes the complex clearer and fits with another axiom: if one is well pre- pared, planning is minimal. Whole


weeks are devoted in professional military education to understanding and utilizing METT-TC, but without getting too far in the weeds, I’ll condense it for HAA purposes.


Mission The mission usually includes a mission statement and commander’s intent for an operation. My HAA director of operations doesn’t want to hear from me for every call, so I boil down this “M” into making sure I have a good command of our GOM (general operations man- ual), MEL (minimum equipment list), checklists and pro- cedures, and of course, 14 CFR Parts 91 and 135: the basic knowledge my boss expects me to have as a pro- fessional aviator before turning the blades on company aircraft. I found that once I had a comprehensive understand- ing of this step, I was better able to make informed deci- sions as an HAA pilot.


Enemy I haven’t heard of anyone being shot down in HAA, but we still face an enemy. And it’s one of the most danger- ous. As the Walt Kelly cartoon character Pogo famously said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Remember, a large percentage of helicopter


JUNE 2022 ROTOR 67


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