Antenna Up! Crew Resource Management for Helicopter Pilots
By Randy Mains
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About this ebook
Why is this book important for helicopter pilots? The short answer is to bring you and those who trust their lives to you home safely at the end of each day. Why is it significant that you hold this book in your hands? Because as an aviation professional, the fact you are interested shows you're a pro who cares about flight safety and want to learn more. Why is this book so important to you personally? Because the latest study by the U.S. Joint Helicopter Safety Analysis Team, (JHSAT) found that the majority of helicopter accidents (84%) had a Standard Problem Statement of "Pilot Judgment and Actions," concluding, "There is a greater need for Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM) training to prevent further human-error accidents." Whether you fly your helicopter single pilot or multi-crew, the information in this book will allow you to avoid, trap or mitigate an accident from happening thus avoid becoming one of the 84% in the accident statistics. Safe Flying!
Randy Mains
While flying a tour of duty in Vietnam, Randy Mains was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star Medal and 27 Air Medals. An early pioneer in helicopter air ambulance service, he-along with six other ex-Vietnam helicopter pilots-worked 72-hour shifts to prove the helicopter air ambulance concept could save lives in America as it did in the battlefields of Korea and Vietnam.Randy was the first recipient of the Golden Hour Award, recognizing an individual in the air medical industry for their contribution to further the helicopter air ambulance concept in America. He was also the recipient of the prestigious Jim Charlson Safety Award for his contribution to further air safety in helicopter air ambulance operations worldwide. Over the years, Randy has been a flight instructor, flight simulator instructor and flight examiner evaluating helicopter Airline Transport Pilots from over twenty countries worldwide. A graduate of San Diego State University, with degrees in Journalism and English Creative Writing, Randy has also been a columnist for Rotor Pro magazine, and written eight books related to the helicopter industry. Captain Barnaby's Helicopter School For Bears is his first children's book. You can get in touch with Randy at: www.RandyMains-Books.weebly.com
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Antenna Up! Crew Resource Management for Helicopter Pilots - Randy Mains
Copyright © 2017 by Randolph P. Mains
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the publisher.
Rotor Tales Publishing 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1722846145
ISBN-10: 1722846143
Author’s Note
Two of the best books I’ve read on what could be considered complex subjects were incredibly small, easy to read and understand and have withstood the test of time. That is what I have attempted to do here.
The first ‘little book’ was The Elements of Style published in 1918 by Strunk and White recommended by my English and journalism professors when I went back to college in 1982 to earn my degree. The Elements of Style is still considered a classic, listed as one of the 100 best and most influential books written in English by Time Magazine in its 2011 list.
I came across another small book in 1977 when I had the dream of sailing the world’s oceans before the days of satellite Global Positioning Systems, GPS. To prepare myself for the task, I enrolled in a celestial navigation class where I learned to use a sextant to measure the angles of the sun, moon and the stars to (try to) plot my position on Earth.
The book the professor recommended to the class was a small book entitled Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen, by Mary Blewitt. Her book became the bible for many generations of ocean navigators and a bestseller for over 50 years. Now in its 12th edition, Blewitt’s concise and clear style to explain a particularly difficult skill made it an instant classic. Her aim was to make a tricky subject easy to understand. That is my aim here.
I am not implying CRM is a difficult concept to grasp like celestial navigation. It isn’t. But understanding its importance in getting you as the pilot of a helicopter and those who fly with you home safely cannot be overemphasized.
I learn best if things are made simple. That is what I have attempted to do here by distilling what I consider the very essence, the ‘golden nuggets’ of CRM theory. I’ve approached the subject that way to avoid giving you a headache while you learn the concepts; that is, what can cause you to make an unwise decision. It is my great hope by doing so you will become a CRM ambassador.
Enjoy the (short) journey.
Introduction
A superior pilot uses his superior judgment to avoid situations requiring his superior skill.
That famous quote is, in a nutshell, the very definition of practicing good crew resource management. It is also the definition of what is termed good airmanship.
WHY CRM?
The review of aircraft accidents dating back to the dawn of aviation has shown that 75-80 percent of them have had an element of human error a percentage that is pretty much internationally agreed upon. What CRM training does is teach all stakeholders in an organization what to be aware of that can cause us to make mistakes. A stakeholder is anyone who can have an influence on the safe operation of a flight.
Orville Wright was one of the first people to realize that perhaps it wasn’t just aircraft handling skills that ensure a pilot’s safety. Six years after his historic flight, Orville lost a friend in an aircraft accident. In a letter to his father, he lamented, What is needed is better judgment, rather than better skill.
Many of the helicopter CRM classes in the States are taught by fixed-wing CRM instructors not familiar with the peculiarities of helicopter operations. While the basic CRM concepts remain the same, a common feeling among helicopter aircrews is that the CRM courses they receive are not helicopter-specific to the job they do.
On the 22nd of March 2013, the FAA enacted a new rule making it mandatory for all Part 135 non-scheduled air taxi operators, which includes helicopter EMS (HEMS), to establish initial and recurrent CRM training. This new rule is a huge leap forward for flight safety, particularly targeting the HEMS industry in an effort to reduce an unacceptable accident rate.
The airlines and Western military discovered early on that CRM is a perishable skill that must be continually reinforced in the classroom for safe behavior to continue. To achieve that end their stakeholders attend two CRM classes per year.
Under the new FAA rule Part 135, air taxi operators