Presented to:

By:

Date:

Federal AviationAdministrationHelicopter Training

Educational Series

Rotor Rooter

Dr. Steve Sparks Updated 3/05/13 @ 8:33 AM

Presented to:

By:

Date:

Federal AviationAdministrationRotor Rooter:

Rooting for Autorotational

Success Acronyms, checklists and

memory aids.…a trip down memory lane

Federal AviationAdministration

Federal AviationAdministration

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Objective

Explore how acronyms, checklists and other memory aids can help mitigate risk associated with autorotations….and other helicopter training maneuvers.

Federal AviationAdministration

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Ground Rules

Participate Ask questionsDon’t throw anything at the moderatorMake it personal Achieve one or two takeaways Have fun

Federal AviationAdministration

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From what Perspective…..

Pilot-to-Pilot Instructor-to-Instructor As a Safety Advocate As an Educator As an Evaluator

Point: What happens in Vegas….shouldn’t stay in Vegas!

Federal AviationAdministration

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What started all this madness….?

Professional Pilot Development begins in

the early phases of flight Instruction…Law of

Primacy

-My instructor’s influence! Checklists and prioritization in the cockpit….

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False Sense of Urgency!!!!!!! Self-imposed….. Anxiety generates urgency Instructors get impatient, so expectations

become unrealistic… We associate efficiency with quickness

Point “Extra seconds” invested in a thorough setup can pay huge dividends!

Federal AviationAdministration

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Inattention and Complacency

Question: If we can standardize everything, why can’t we mitigate mediocrity from our performance?

Question: How can we enhance our performance in the cockpit by “remembering” to do the basics?

Recurring accidents….what are the positives?

Federal AviationAdministration

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Reasons for our complacency

Complacency sets in because….we want to do it our way, we know best, the environment changes, we get in a hurry, we believe nothing bad can happen to us, checklists and procedures go out the window, we got away with it before, rules and regulations don’t apply to us, we’re better than the average pilot, we get bored, we want to try something new……

Federal AviationAdministration

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Teaching and Using Checklists

ChecklistChecklist

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Comments made about checklists…..

They’re a crutch.... I’ve got thousands of hours, so I don’t need

checklists….The flight environment is too dynamic for

checklists….I’ll just do my flows!They’re too bulky….

Flight hours do not equate to perfection!

Federal AviationAdministration

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Practical Test Standards

PTSPTS

Required use of checklists

Federal AviationAdministration

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Checklist Discipline

The use of the word “checklist” in PTS– 76 times: Instructor PTS– 50 times: Private PTS– 48 times: Commercial PTS– 35 times: ATP PTS– 19 times: Instrument PTS

Checklist usage is required!

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Percentage Share of Accidents by Industry/Mission (Years 2000, 2001, 2006)

1. Personal/Private 18.5 percent

2. Instructional/Training 17.6 percent

3. Aerial Application 10.3 percent

4. EMS 7.6 percent

5. Commercial 7.5 percent

6. Law Enforcement 6.5 percent

Federal AviationAdministration

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Percentage Share of Accidents by Activity(Years 2000, 2001, 2006)

1. Instructional/Training 22.8 percent

2. Positioning/RTB 13.2 percent

3. Personal/Private 12.4 percent

4. Passenger/Cargo 9.8 percent

5. Aerial Application 9.0 percent

13. EMS 1.1 percent

Federal AviationAdministration

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So why ACRONYMS?

They’re fun and simple memory aids They’re inexpensive They help us complete and prioritize tasks

(critical/noncritical & obvious/not so obvious) They just stick…. They give the evaluator a glimpse into your

thought process…”what is he/she going to do next”?

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Pre-flight Autorotation Briefing “PRE-AUTOS”

• P = Progressive Approach to Autorotations

• R = Recovery gates (300, 200 & 100 feet AGL)

• E = Environment

• A = Airspeeds

• U = Understanding the principles of an autorotation

• T = Techniques

• O = rOtor limitations/warning sounds

• S = SAFE (Spot, ATC, Fight Instructor intervention, Engine)

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In-flight Pre-Autorotation Setup Briefing Acronym….”HASEL” check

• H = Height AGL (appropriate entry altitudes)

• A = Area clear of hazards

• S = Setup and security

• E = Engine/system parameters

• L = Look out for traffic & obstacles

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Autorotation Scanning Acronym….(RATS)

• R = Rotor

• A = Airspeed

• T = Trim

• S = Spot

Points:

Repeat the acronym over and over (prevents fixation)

Go-around early if the picture is not right….

Plan-Continuation-Basis (PCB). “I can salvage this

maneuver”

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Risk Assessment Acronym

I…lliness

M…edication

S…tress

A…lcohol

F…atigue

E…ating

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Preflight: Be attentive and never trust anyone with your fluids or hatches….

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Positive Influence-”We never read about the accidents that never happened”

• Quantifying the positives…

• Glass half-full mentality…actually

the helicopter industry’s glass is

99.2% full of safety success

stories…really!

• Everyone in this audience has

influence…..Student

Pilots….Commercial Pilots…and

Instructors

(You are the ones we are trying to reach)

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Which path are you going to take?

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Questions