Helicopter Safety
Within
the last month a couple of helicopters have ditched in the North Sea. In one
instance the pilot managed to float the chopper upright and all were saved (you
have to be bloody good to pull that stunt off). The other as far as I know at
this point in time, all were lost, my deepest sympathy to all involved.
I
used to travel on these helicopters and have lost friends on them. I am myself
trained in survival. One part of my training involved being strapped in a mock
helicopter, dunked to around fifteen feet then tipped upside down. The idea is
that all the passengers should then calmly undo their safety belts and swim out
of the crowded cabin in orderly fashion and swim to the surface.
When I was doing my training I sat in my seat and just before we were dunked I stuck my hand up and said to the instructor ‘hang on, let me make sure this belt comes off’. Yes, I was very wary in a scared sort of way. I tried to get it off but couldn’t. The problem was simple, the belt had twisted and the release catch was on the inside. Now on the surface where I could breathe and SEE the problem was easily rectified; had I been underwater, in a crowded cabin unable to breathe or see the situation would have been dire.
The
moral of this story. All those travelling over water in helicopters should be
supplied with emergency goggles just as offshore workers are provided with ear
defenders. The training and suits for offshore work are expensive, this extra
cost to allow all onboard to be able to see underwater if the worst comes to
the worst would be well worthwhile.
The
unwanted truth is that lives are put at risk for a few pence. I have brought the matter up in the industry
but to the best of my knowledge goggles are still not supplied. I don’t believe
for one minute that not supplying them is deliberate, its one of those things
that gets under the radar. Even when you bring it up it gets lost in the crowd.