U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY AIR PROGRAM DITCHING AT SEA! SURVIVING THE ULTIMATE AVIATION CHALLENGE!...

U.S. COAST GUARDAUXILIARY AIR PROGRAM

DITCHING AT SEA!SURVIVING THE ULTIMATE

AVIATION CHALLENGE!

Donald Zinner

District 7 Flight Safety Officer

AVIATION SAFETY

• AVIATION SAFETY IS THE ABSENCE OF A CONTROLLABLE HAZARD

• HAZARDS MAY BE CONTROLLED BY:

• ENGINEERING (REDUNDANCY, BETTER CRASHWORTHINESS)

• WARNING PLAQARDS

• TRAINING AND EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

• LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT (PFD, EPIRB, LIFE RAFT)

• AVOIDANCE (JUST DON’T DO IT)

• THESE ARE ALL PRINCIPLES OF RISK MANAGEMENT

Ditching 2 Versions

Planned and Immediate

PLANNED VS. IMMEDIATE DITCHING

Planned

• PLANNED DITCHING MEANS SOME TIME TRANSPIRES BETWEEN THE EMERGENCY AND THE DITCHING ALLOWING THE CREW TIME TO PREPARE

• GENERALLY CAUSED BY A POWER LOSS AT ALTITUDE

• HAS THE HIGHEST PROBABILITY OF SURVIVAL

• ETOPS: EXTENDED OPERATIONS OVER WATER

• ETOPS = ENGINES TURNING OR PEOPLE SWIMMING!

PLANNED VS. IMMEDIATE DITCHING

Immediate

• LITTLE TIME BETWEEN THE EVENT AND THE DITCHING

• THE CREW HAS NO TIME TO PREPARE AND WILL EGRESS WITH

LIFE JACKETS ONLY IF THEY ARE BEING WORN

• GENERALLY CAUSED BY A POWER LOSS AT LOW ALTITUDE WHILE ON APPROACH, LANDING, OR MANEUVERING

• HAS A LOWER PROBABILITY OF SURVIVAL THAN PLANNED DITCHING

SOME CAUSES OF DITCHING MISHAPS

• IMMEDIATE

• INSUFFICIENT ALTITUDE AT TIME OF POWER LOSS

• PLANNED OR IMMEDIATE

• FUEL EXHAUSTION AT ALTITUDE

• LOSS OF SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

• VISUAL ILLUSIONS ON NIGHT APPROACH

• MECHANICAL FAILURE

• PILOT INCAPACITATION

• LOSS OF CONTROL

SURVIVAL STATISTICS

Airplane Configurations Involved in Ditching AccidentsUS Civil Aviation: CY 1979-1983

Airplane ConfigurationNumberDitched

NumberFatal

PercentFatal

All Types of Airplanes

High Wing, Fixed Gear 79 8 10

Low Wing, Fixed Gear 38 6 16

High Wing, Retract Gear * 33 7 21

Low Wing, Retract Gear * 64 13 20

Total (All Types) 214 34 16

* Generally bigger faster aircraft

• MORE THAN 80 PERCENT OF DITCHINGS ARE INITIALLY SURVIVABLE

• OF THE 20 PERCENT OF FATALITIES, 80 PERCENT DO NOT SUCCESSFULLY EGRESS (USUALLY REAR OCCUPANTS)

SURVIVAL STATISTICSSUMMARY

• OF THE 20 PERCENT OF FATALITIES, 20 PERCENT ARE LOST AT NIGHT

SURVIVABILITY FACTORS

• SURVIVABILITY DEPENDS ON A NUMBER OF PRIMARY FACTORS

1. THE G FORCES MUST BE WITHIN HUMAN TOLERANCE

2. THE AIRFRAME MUST MAINTAIN ITS INTEGRITY

4. OCCUPANTS MUST SUCCESSFULLY EGRESS

3. THERE MUST BE NO CATASTROPHIC POST-IMPACT FIRE

5. THE OCCUPANTS MUST BE RESCUED

SURVIVABILITY FACTORS

• G FORCES: THE PROBABLITY OF SURVIVAL IS EQUAL TO THE ANGLE OF ARRIVAL

• KINETIC ENERGY TO BE DISSIPATED INCREASES BY THE SQUARE OF THE VELOCITY (KE=1/2MV2) i.e.,

TWICE THE VELOCITY EQUALS FOUR TIMES THE ENERGY

• HUMANS TOLERATE CRASH FORCES WELL ONLY IN THE STRAIGHT AHEAD HORIZONTAL PLANE

• VERTICAL ACCELERATIONS ARE DEADLY

• SIDE ACCELERATIONS ARE DEADLIER!

CRASH FORCES

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSCRASH FORCES

DITCHINGS ARE MORE SURVIVABLE THAN FORCED LANDINGS !

BECAUSE OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE G FORCES OVER A LONGER TIME—MORE TIME TO DECELERATE

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSSURVIVORS MUST EGRESS

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSSURVIVORS MUST BE RESCUED

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSDITCHING PROCEDURES

• POWER ON PLANNED DITCHING IS PREFERRED TO POWER OFF

• IF NO POWER IS AVAILABLE, 20 KNOTS SHOULD BE ADDED TO BEST GLIDE SPEED IN THE LAST 1,000 FEET TO FLARE WITHOUT STALLING

• ENSURE PFD’s ARE WORN AND SECURE LIFE RAFT AND EPIRB WHEN EVENT OCCURS (PILOT BRIEFS THE CREW)

• REMOVE HEADSETS TO AVOID ENTANGLEMENT

• UNLATCH AND PROP OPEN DOORS TO AVOID ENTRAPMENT

• FLY THE AIRPLANE THROUGH THE DITCHING

• TIGHTEN SAFETY RESTRAINTS

• SQUAWK 7700 AND BROADCAST A MAYDAY WITH POSITION

• CONDUCT A THOROUGH PRE-TAKEOFF SAFETY BRIEFING

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSDITCHING PROCEEDURES

• DO NOT LAND INTO THE FACE OF A STEEP SWELL!

• IF AIRCRAFT INVERTS, USE A POINT PREVIOUSLY LOCATED TO ORIENT YOURSELF—PLACE YOUR HAND ON THE ROOF TO CUSHION FALL

• IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO OPEN DOOR WAIT FOR COCKPIT TO FILL WITH WATER TO EQUALIZE PRESSURE

• TRIM FOR NOSE UP NORMAL LANDING ATTITUDE

BUT DO NOT STALL!

• KICK OUT A WINDOW IF NECESSARY

• WHEN AIRCRAFT COMES TO A STOP, EGRESS AS SOON AS PRACTICAL

• DO NOT INFLATE LIFE VEST OR RAFT INSIDE AIRCRAFT!

• RENDEZVOUS AT PREVIOUSLY BRIEFED LOCATION, INFLATE LIFE RAFT AND ACTIVATE EPIRB (HOLD RAFT BY TETHER DURING EGRESS)

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSDITCHING PROCEEDURES

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSENEMIES OF SURVIVAL

• TREAT LIFE-THREATENING INJURIES IMMEDIATELY

• HEAT IS LOST AT A RATE 25 TIMES GREATER THAN AIR

• DEHYDRATION IS THE SECOND GREATEST KILLER

• DON’T GIVE UP! MANY SURVIVORS DIE AS HELP ARRIVES!

• DO NOT REMOVE YOUR CLOTHING; YOU WILL NEED IT

• HYPOTHERMIA IS THE NUMBER ONE KILLER IN THE WATER

• IF WITHOUT POSITIVE FLOTATION, INFLATE TROUSERS OR USE DEAD-MAN’S FLOAT

• REMAIN STILL IN THE WATER TO CONSERVE HEAT AND TO MINIMIZE PREDATOR ATTRACTION (HEAT ESCAPE LESSENING POSTURE --HELP)

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSHEAT ESCAPE LESSENING POSTURE

(HELP)

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSALERT – LOCATE SIGNALS

• THE BEST LOCATE/ALERT SIGNAL IS AN EPIRB W/ GPS

• THE BEST ALERT SIGNAL IS VOICE TRANSMISSION (MAYDAY)

• A FLOATING AIRCRAFT IS EASIER TO DETECT THAN A LIFE RAFT

• A LIFE RAFT IS EASIER TO DETECT THAN A SURVIVOR IN THE WATER WITH OR WITHOUT A PFD

• TRAIN ON THE PROPER USE OF ALERT – LOCATORS SUCH AS SIGNAL MIRRORS, STREAMERS, FLARES, ETC. SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE THE PROBABILITY OF DETECTION

• THE NEXT BEST LOCATE/ALERT IS A MAYDAY WHILE IN RADAR CONTACT


• PROVIDES THE MOST DATA CONCERNING THE TYPE OF EMERGENCY AND INTENTIONS

• VOICE TRANSMISSION OF MAYDAY OVER A/C RADIO

• IS LEAST ACCURATE IN DETERMINING POSITION UNLESS A CLEAR GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE CAN BE REFERENCED OR GPS COORDINATES ARE TRANSMITTED

• OFTEN REQUIRES DIVERSION OF ATTENTION FROM THE EMERGENCY (AVIATE, NAVIGATE, COMMUNICATE)

• ONCE YOU HAVE PROVIDED THE INFORMATION, FLY THE AIRCRAFT!

• USE FLIGHT FOLLOWING—IF YOU DISAPPEAR FROM RADAR OR CALL MAYDAY YOU HAVE GENERATED A POSSIBLE ALERT AND POSITION

• BELOW 500 MSL, TRANSMIT “N123AB MAYDAY DITCHING” -- FLY THE AIRCRAFT!

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSEPIRB – LOCATE SIGNALS

• TYPE OF PORTABLE ELT GENERALLY USED BY SURFACE VESSELS

• EMERGENCY POSITION INDICATING RADIO BEACON (EPIRB) (A/L)

• MANUALLY ACTIVATED (CLASS B)

• OLDER TYPE TRANSMITS TO SARSAT ON 121.5 MHz AND WOBBLE TONE CAN BE HEARD BY OTHER A/C (ACR MINI-B 300)

• LESS ACCURATE – 12-16 NM MILES ON FIRST PASS

• INITIAL POSITION UNCERTAINTY RESULTS IN A 450 SQ. NM AREA

• ANONYMOUS TRANSMISSION RESULTS IN HIGH-FALSE ALARM RATE

• RESCUE A/C MUST HOME TO SIGNAL

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSEPIRB 406 – LOCATE SIGNALS

• EMERGENCY POSITION INDICATING RADIO BEACON (EPIRB) (A/L)

• NEWER TYPE TRANSMITS TO SARSAT ON 406 MHz AND CAN INCLUDE GPS FOR PRECISE POSITION ON FIRST PASS

• ACTIVATE AND LEAVE ON UNTIL BATTERY EXHAUSTED; DO NOT TURN ON AND OFF! BATTERY WILL LAST ABOUT 48 HOURS IN TROPICS

• MORE ACCURATE – 1 TO 3 NM MILES ON FIRST PASS

• INTEGRAL GPS GIVES ±100 METER RESOLUTION that’s about 300ft

• INITIAL POSITION UNCERTAINTY RESULTS IN A 12 SQ. NM AREA

• SOME UNITS ALSO BROADCAST ON 121.5 FOR A/C HOMING

• BROADCAST CONTAINS ID SIGNAL THAT IDENTIFIES THE AIRCRAFT OR USER AND RESULTS IN LOW RATE OF FALSE ALARMS


Not Recommended

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSLOCATE SIGNALS

• DO NOT USE UNLESS YOU ARE REASONABLY SURE THAT THE SIGNAL CAN BE SEEN (PROBABILITY OF DETECTION)

• PYROTECHNICS (A/L)

• IF CLOSE TO SHORE OR A VESSEL, FIRE ONE AERIAL FLARE AS AN ALERT SIGNAL

• SAVE OTHER PYROTECHNICS AS LOCATE SIGNALS


• PRIMARILY A DAY LOCATE SIGNAL

• DYE MARKER (L)

• DISSIPATES AFTER ABOUT 10 MIN DEPENDING ON SEA CONDITION

• DIFFICULT TO KEEP DRY AND FROM DYEING EVERYTHING

• DISPERSES A FLUORESCENT GREEN DYE


• DAY ALERT – LOCATE SIGNAL

• SIGNAL MIRROR (A/L)

• NO BATTERIES REQUIRED

• DOESN’T WORK ON CLOUDY DAYS

• EFFECTIVE UP TO TEN MILES

• TAKES PRACTICE TO AIM

• GLASS IS MOST REFLECTIVE

• POLYCARBONATE OR LEXAN IS ABOUT 60 – 80% OF GLASS

• PLASTIC FLOATS

• CD’s WORK WELL


• SIGNAL MIRROR (A/L)

SURVIVABILITY FACTORS LOCATE SIGNALS

• PRIMARILY A NIGHT LOCATE SIGNAL

• STROBE LIGHTS (A/L)

• BATTERY LASTS ABOUT 8-10 HOURS

• TURN ON AND LEAVE ON!



• PRIMARILY A LOCATE SIGNAL

• RESCUE STREAMER (L)

• DOES NOT DISSIPATE LIKE A DYE MARKER



• PRIMARILY A LOCATE SIGNAL

• RESCUE WHISTLE (L)

• CAN BE USED EVEN WHEN YOU CANNOT SHOUT OR SPEAK

• MUST NOT HAVE A PEA OR OTHER BALL INSIDE

• EFFECTIVE UP TO ONE MILE

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSSURVIVAL EQUIPMENT

• TSO MODEL REQUIRED BY FAA

• LIFE VESTS

• PROVIDES 25 LBS BUOYANCY

• NO SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT OTHER THAN A LIGHT

• NOT DESIGNED FOR CONSTANT WEAR


• SERRATED BLADE WITH SHEEPSFOOT POINT

• RESCUE KNIFE

• CAN BE OPENED WITH ONE HAND

• USED FOR EMERGENCY DISENTANGLEMENT

• WORN ON OUTSIDE OF LIFE VEST


• 75 ML PURE DRINKING WATER

• WATER PACKETS

• SOME IN POCKET OF CLOTHING

• PREVENTS DEHYDRATION IF IN WATER OVERNIGHT

• SOME IN POCKET OF LIFE VEST


• MUST BE TSO FOR PAX FOR HIRE

• INFLATABLE LIFE RAFTS

• PLACE ON RIGHT SEAT AND BELT IN WHEN SOLO

• BALLAST AND CANOPY ARE IMPORTANT FEATURES

• STORE IN A/C WHERE IT IS ACCESSIBLE


• TYPICAL FOUR MAN RAFT (ACTUALLY TWO MAN)


• DOES PROVIDE SOME PROTECTION FROM HYPOTHERMIA

• EASIER TO LOCATE THAN SURVIVOR IN WATER

• NO BALLAST STABILITY OR CANOPY


• TYPICAL FOUR MAN TSO RAFT


• DOES PROVIDE SOME PROTECTION FROM HYPOTHERMIA

• EASIER TO LOCATE THAN SURVIVOR IN WATER

• NO BALLAST – EASILY OVERTURNED


• SIX MAN USCG SAR RAFT


• HEAVY BALLAST & CANOPY – ABOUT 52 POUNDS

• EXCELLENT HYPOTHERMIA PROTECTION – INFLATABLE FLOOR

• AIR DROPPED FROM C-130 OR HU-25

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSRESCUE PROCEDURES

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSRESCUE PROCEDURES

• DO NOT PANIC! PANIC REDUCES YOUR PROBABILITY OF SURVIVAL

• DO NOT GIVE UP, HELP WILL ARRIVE!

• INFLATE LIFE VEST AND GET IN THE LIFE RAFT

• STAY WITH THE AIRCRAFT IF AT ALL POSSIBLE; IT IS RELATIVELY EASY TO SPOT

• IF NOT IN A LIFE RAFT, ATTACH SURVIVORS TOGETHER; DON’T GET SEPARATED

• WHEN THE HELO ARRIVES, DO EXACTLY WHAT THE RESCUE SWIMMER TELLS YOU-- DO NOT TRY TO ‘HELP’ HIM!

• DO NOT TOUCH THE RESCUE BASKET UNTIL IT HAS TOUCHED THE WATER (STATIC ELECTRICITY)

• ABANDON LIFE RAFT AND PUNCTURE-- HELO WILL NOT COME IN TO PICK YOU UP UNTIL LIFE RAFT HAS SUNK

SURVIVABILITY FACTORSEQUIPMENT INSPECTIONS

• INSPECT YOUR GEAR QUARTERLY-- TEST STROBES, EPIRBS, AND RADIOS

• ORALLY INFLATE (OR USE COMPRESSOR) YOUR PDF’S ANNUALLY

• INFLATION TEST AND INSPECT LIFE RAFT ANNUALLY

•CO2 BOTTLE MUST BE HYDRO’D EACH 5 YEARS (DOT).

QUESTIONS?

U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY AIR PROGRAM DITCHING AT SEA! SURVIVING THE ULTIMATE AVIATION CHALLENGE!...

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