Helicopter Flight Information

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Helicopter Emergencies

There are several conditions that when encountered may become an emergency. The rapidness of occurrence of the sequence of events in these situations varies with the conditions present. The outcome of the event will be relative to the pilots preparedness, awareness, and ability. An important but little know point is the Critical Wind Azimuth which is not known to most low time pilots, and even flight instructors.

There are warning signs that lead to all of the conditions listed to the left. Whether or not an emergency is actually encountered may depend on the pilots actions. The fact is that helicopters, when operated near the limitations, are often on the verge of some of these conditions.

It is imperative that pilots are constantly aware of the flight conditions that may lead to one of these emergencies, and the he/she use that awareness to avoid the emergency condition that may be associated with the current flight profile.

There are two things that are commonly overlooked or ignored in aviation in general, and helicopter flight as it applies here. Those two common items are the gross weight limitation and the wind direction. The gross weight limitation is just that, a limitation. Any pilot who flies an aircraft over-gross is simply negligent. There is no excuse for it, and no justification. The same applies to the pilot's awareness of the wind direction. Failing to maintain awareness of the wind direction is something that occurs from time to time by less experienced pilots. The important issue here is that a pilot should not continue flight into a condition that if the winds are unfavorable, and/or unknown, could result in a loss of control. It is the responsibility of the pilot to maintain safe flight conditions at all times.

Interestingly enough, when flying helicopters, vibrations are something that we learn to live with; some are normal, others are trying to tell us that something is about to go seriously wrong. All the pilot needs to do is learn the difference. It is a fact that the onset of nearly every emergency will begin with some sort of vibration which is out of the normal range. When the pilot detects a change in vibration, he/she must quickly analyze the cause or source and determine the required action, and then act without delay.

Other Emergencies

As with all aircraft, there are other emergencies which can occur such as an engine failure, inadvertent flight into icing conditions, electrical failures, and fires, etc. The possibilities and or the causes of these conditions does not change relative to the type of aircraft that you are flying so I will not address these in detail here. All pilots should study the POH and any other material that pertains to the type of aircraft they are flying and the type weather conditions that they will be working in. The actions that you will take may be different per the POH of a particular aircraft for some failures. Weather is another issue, you simply must avoid flying in weather that contains hazardous potential. This is not to say that you must not fly when there is bad weather, however you must know your limitations and the limitations of the aircraft and the weather. Do not let yourself become a statistic as many pilots have.

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Last modified: 01/19/08