HELICOPTER "CREW" TRAINING
{for UTILITY PATROL, CONSTRUCTION, and MAINTENANCE CREWS}
The airlines, military, and the corporate transportation industries have realized for years that operating an aircraft as a "CREW" exponentially decreases their potential of having an accident. Using all the experience on board an aircraft in performing any specialized mission has been the basis of on-going "CREW" training programs since the early 1980's, following lengthily government research that suggested that 80% of all aircraft accidents were a result of crew error.
Upon completion of the course, patrol, construction, and line maintenance crews will have a firm understanding of the diverse skill sets necessary to operate a utility helicopter in a safe, responsible manner in the communities they serve. They will also learn how to protect themselves, the public, and their company's interests in the event of an emergency. The course covers complete crew-safety and has the options of additional course work which enhances the utility crew's skills in line problem diagnosis. In-flight training is also available. Crews that successfully complete the training and pass the exam are awarded a certificate of training.
{for UTILITY PATROL, CONSTRUCTION, and MAINTENANCE CREWS}
 |
 |
The airlines, military, and the corporate transportation industries have realized for years that operating an aircraft as a "CREW" exponentially decreases their potential of having an accident. Using all the experience on board an aircraft in performing any specialized mission has been the basis of on-going "CREW" training programs since the early 1980's, following lengthily government research that suggested that 80% of all aircraft accidents were a result of crew error.
If you factor out deep space exploration and covert military operations under fire, no other realm of flight is more demanding and less forgiving than operating a utility patrol, inspection or line maintenance helicopter in the wire environment. Pilots and linemen spend most of their day in this hostile environment at speeds, and proximity to wires and obstructions not found in any other helicopter application. If there is any mission that desperately needs to employ all the skills and knowledge available on board the aircraft, airborne power line patrol and maintenance certainly heads the list. Until now, there has never been an effort to develop the much needed mission specific training aimed at giving utility crews the tools they need to accomplish safe, cost effective, and productive flight operations in the low-level wire environment. |
 |
 |
Crew Training or Crew Resource Management (CRM), as the airlines call it, establishes an attitude and a set of standard operating procedures which makes mandatory use of all the knowledge available on board the utility helicopter to assure the safe and productive outcome of the flight. There is a great deal of information, critical to flight safety, which must be exchanged between the pilot and the patrol/lineman, which is very often neglected; especially in routine helicopter patrol operations, where exposure to the wire environment is the greatest. In most airborne utility work, helicopters contain a seasoned patrol/lineman, who is an EXPERT on the one thing that causes almost all utility helicopter accidents, the wire environment. In helicopter patrol and maintenance operations, the patrolman/lineman is just as vital to the safety of the flight as the pilot because of the extensive knowledge he/she possesses of the utility environment in which the crew is operating. |
The Helicopter Crew Training program developed by Utilities/Aviation Specialists Inc. has been designed to fill a very definite void in the degree of safety and the quality of inspection found in many of today's airborne utility patrol, construction, and maintenance programs. It is endorsed by organizations such as the Electric Power Research Institute, (EPRI) and the Helicopter Association International, (HAI) and has been developed through years of research and interaction with utility companies and helicopter operators world-wide. It is taught to in-house flight departments, as well as, utilities that use contracted helicopter services to meet their helicopter needs. Instructors have spent years as utility pilots and are qualified journeymen linemen as well. |
 |
Upon completion of the course, patrol, construction, and line maintenance crews will have a firm understanding of the diverse skill sets necessary to operate a utility helicopter in a safe, responsible manner in the communities they serve. They will also learn how to protect themselves, the public, and their company's interests in the event of an emergency. The course covers complete crew-safety and has the options of additional course work which enhances the utility crew's skills in line problem diagnosis. In-flight training is also available. Crews that successfully complete the training and pass the exam are awarded a certificate of training.
A detailed
description of the course and the training
options are available by contacting:
UTILITIES/AVIATION SPECIALISTS INC.
(219) 662-8175 USA
ALTHOUGH THIS
COURSE WAS DESIGNED FOR THE GAS, ELECTRIC, AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY
FLIGHT CREWS, IT IS APPLICABLE TO ALL FLIGHT CREWS WHO MUST OPERATE LOW
LEVEL AS A CREW.