Aviation: Safety Around Helicopters

For several years I worked around helicopters. Safety is never more important than when you are either near or inside an operating helicopter. This is because their is rarely a second chance when someone makes a thoughtless mistake near a running helicopter.

One of the first things said to me by a helicopter pilot, giving a safety talk about working around helicopters was, slow down. Don't get excited. People hear the noise, and sense the vibrations, of the quickly moving rotor blades of a helicopter and become excited. They start rushing about, doing things in a hurry. That is their first mistake. A big part of safety is thinking before you act.

The biggest killer, in accidents that occur around helicopters, is being absent minded and not realizing where you are in relation to the running helicopter. It is a good idea to always look around and be sure of your position. One must also look down at the ground, to check if it is uneven. Some spots in you path toward the helicopter, may be higher than others, reducing the distance between your head, and the turning rotor blades. Be very cautious if you have to walk up hill toward a helicopter. It is a good idea to bend your head slightly and watch how high the turning blades are above you.

Some of the most important safety tips are the following:

Always approach a running helicopter from the front, where the pilot can see you. As much as possible stay in the pilot's viewing area and watch for him to give you the ok to approach when he is landing, don't just head up to the machine. When the machine is safely down, he will gesture to you, to come forward. Never approach a helicopter from the tail, where the quickly moving tail rotor can be hard to see. This is vital to your safety. Think about the clothes you are wearing, particularly whether anything is loose, like a hat, that could fly off and up into the rotor blades. There is a lot of wind and sometimes dust swirling around a running helicopter. Remove loose things and hold on to them. Rotor blades are very light and move very fast. The moving blades can easily be damaged by striking any object flying into them. It is ok to shade your eyes from the dust with one hand, as long as you can keep an eye on where the helicopters rotors are located, in relation to your body. Be careful not to raise your hands above your head, while under the rotor of a helicopter. Safely carry tools if possible at waste level. Never carry tools near a helicopter over your shoulder.

That is safety outside a helicopter.

Safety inside a helicopter starts with opening and closing the doors. Be gentle, especially closing the doors. The doors are very lightly built. If you want to stay on the pilot's good side, don't slam the door shut. Gently pull the door tightly closed and twist the latch handle closed. Always do up your seat belt. When exiting the helicopter, wait for the pilot to tell, or indicate to you that it is safe to exit the machine. Landing is a critical time, for a helicopter. If the pilot is landing on snow or an uneven slope where he has to keep the rotor lift power on, to hover land, while you exit, wait for the pilot to tell you it is ok to open the door and step out. If you were to shift your weight out of the door when the pilot was not ready for you, it could flip the helicopter on its side. That would be a big mess. It would very likely be your last mess.

Using these safety tips can make your work around helicopters fun and easy on the pilot.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Safety

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Aviation: Safety Around Helicopters

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