I recently came across this occurrence report from Aerossurance, and found it to be a fascinating read:
http://aerossurance.com/helicopters/loc-s92a-offshore-nova-scotia/
This article describes an event in an S92 that came extremely close to an accident, in harrowing detail. In the end, the only result was aircraft exceedances. The S92 avionics collect rich data, allowing a detailed description of the sequence of events, including the aircraft attitude/power settings throughout the incident. The details make for a captivating narrative, where you can feel yourself in the cockpit. This scenario is interesting to me because there are so many factors at play that lead to the near-miss, and many are fundamentals that we teach in the primary instruction of student pilots. Some contributing factors included:
– failure to maintain appropriate rate of closure on approach
– failure to identify a go-around or decision point for the approach
– continuing into a visually degraded environment
– numerous cancellations and delays creating external pressures
– a short final resulting in an excessively steep approach angle
– cockpit communication/CRM.
Despite being items that are regularly discussed in (quality) initial training, all of these elements were present in an operation in a large aircraft with two 7000+ hour pilots on board. I say this not to bring fault to the pilots, but to emphasize how important it is to establish good habits early, and to maintain them well after a pilot leaves training. The article does not surmise what caused the situation to deteriorate the way it did, and I can’t draw full conclusions either. But we can say that vigilance against complacency, consistently applying best practices, and maintaining fundamental skills is crucial during all normal operations. This will increase the chance a pilot is practiced and ready when a demanding situation arises, allowing them to perform to their highest level while under duress. I was once told, “you are always practicing, each moment of your career, for the unknown time when you will be tested.” How has your practice prepared you? Have a look at the article and share your thoughts!
Leave a Reply