15 mars 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

Preparing to ditch — a new way of training for helicopter emergencies Social Sharing

Jane Adey · CBC News

Imagine you're an offshore worker on a helicopter flying to an oil platform and you hear the words "prepare to ditch" from your pilot.

Adrenalin surges through your body as you raise your arms across your chest and assume the brace position. But will you remember what to do? Will panic take over?

A St. John's company is working with the Marine Institute to help offshore workers become more comfortable in the air and better prepared for emergencies.

Brainstorming a solution

Ten years ago, in the days after the crash of Cougar 491, Anthony Patterson began thinking about how to improve safety in the offshore.

His company, Virtual Marine, was in the early days of developing simulators for lifeboat training in the water.

But Patterson, whose team specialized in marine simulations, knew his company had some technologies that could apply to the air.

"We brainstormed on how we could create a better training experience," said Patterson, and they developed a small helicopter simulator.

"We're very good at modeling boats in the water and then even the helicopter floating in the water, but the part about the helicopter flying through the air, of course, we had no expertise with that whatsoever," said Patterson.

That's when Cougar Helicopters got on board.

Virtual Marine brought its helicopter simulator to the lead pilots at the company. With the simulator, they flew the different kinds of manoeuvres they'd use if they had to ditch at sea.

The simulator collected the data. and Virtual Marine embedded it into their simulation system to create the flight paths in an emergency.

The simulator consists of a large box made to look like exactly like the inside of a helicopter. A motion bed, attached to the underside and controlled by a computer, allows workers to feel the same kind of movement as they would during a flight.

The seatbelts are the same, the windows are the same and the views out the windows are the same as they would be in real life.

It's important that the simulator be as realistic as possible for Liz Sanli, a researcher in ocean safety at the Marine Institute with expertise in skill learning over time.

She's focused on how workers learn and how much they retain when asked to perform a task again at a later date.

"So we're looking at how we can train during practice to help them remember all those steps when they're in a stressful situation down the road," said Sanli.

Right now, workers are trained in a swimming pool on how to escape a helicopter submerged in water but training for the actual flight occurs in a classroom. By sitting inside a helicopter flight simulator, Sanli says, the workers' experience is more accurate.

"You're getting that experience of physically doing the task so you get to go through the steps you get to experience them you can sometimes experience mistakes in a safe environment and learn from those mistakes rather than just watching somebody else do it, for example," said Sanli.

"You also can simulate some of the feelings, so you can hear the sounds, you know that you're in a different environment and that can better match some of the more advanced training or perhaps even a real emergency."

Sanli measures anxiety levels of participants and follows how well the protocol sequence is followed under a variety of conditions.

She monitors what happens when trainees are seated in different positions and when they train in light and in darkness, getting as much information as possible to make training efficient and effective.

"It's a big responsibility to have this evidence to make decisions when it comes to regulations, when it comes to decisions about training to have it based in evidence. It's safety that's at stake," said Sanli.

For now, research on the simulator continues with hopes it will soon augment the training done by offshore workers. Patterson,says ten years after 17 lives were lost in the offshore, he's glad to have contributed what he could to try and make the industry safer.

"This really was something that was more than a job," he said. "It was something that we had to do, to do our part to bring safety to the community. Everybody in the company, we all worked extra hours. I'd say this is the one that all of our engineers have the most pride in, accomplishing this task."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/helicopter-cougar-crash-safety-offshore-1.5048792

Sur le même sujet

15 janvier 2020 | Local, Sécurité

RCAF still dealing with legal issues on new rescue aircraft name – military doesn’t know when it will be able to announce a name
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Updated: January 13, 2020 The RCAF is still working its way through various legal issues as it tries to come up with an official Canadian name for the Airbus C-295 aircraft, the service's new fixed wing search and rescue plane. The new name was supposed to be selected by November at the earliest and December at the latest. But now the RCAF says it doesn't know when it will announce a name for the planes. “The list of possible names for the CC-295 has been further narrowed down, and those names are currently undergoing legal, contractual, and trademark vetting,” RCAF spokesperson Major Jill Lawrence explained to Defence Watch. “Once the process is complete, and when appropriate, the RCAF will formally announce the new name. At this time, there is no anticipated date for that announcement.” No details were provided on the new shortlisted names. The RCAF first consulted the operational search and rescue community which came up with ten names, later narrowed down to five. After that, the public was asked to vote on the names. Around 33,000 people voted, according to Lt.-Col. Steve Neta, the director of RCAF public affairs. Another 1,600 comments were left on various RCAF social media sites. The RCAF then went back to its search and rescue personnel for more consultation. The RCAF published the five names being considered and an explanation for each name: CANSO II: Canso aircraft served with 11 RCAF squadrons during the Second World War. They operated from both coasts and were employed in coastal patrols, convoy protection and submarine hunting. After the Second World War, Cansos served with the RCAF in photo reconnaissance and search and rescue roles until they were finally retired in November 1962. GUARDIAN: A guardian is an entity that protects a community under a set of values. IRIS: Iris refers to the faculty or power of seeing. Iris was also the goddess of sea and sky in ancient Greek mythology. KINGFISHER: Found all across Canada, this bird patrols up and down rivers, constantly searching for prey. Within the First Nations of the Northwest, the kingfisher has long been recognized for its speed and agility, as well as its keen searching and hunting skills. A kingfisher was depicted on the 1986 Canadian five-dollar banknote in the “Birds of Canada” series. TURNSTONE: Turnstones are one of the migratory marvels of the Arctic bird world. They have been known to fly more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) in a single day. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/rcaf-still-dealing-with-legal-issues-on-new-rescue-aircraft-name-military-doesnt-know-when-it-will-be-able-to-announce-a-name
6 août 2020 | Local, Terrestre

Canada launches production of new combat vehicles
ByDylan Malyasov Aug 5, 2020 Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said that production on the first Armoured Combat Support Vehicle, or also know as ACSV, has begun in London, Ontario at the General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada manufacturing facilities. These new vehicles will fulfill a variety of combat support roles such as that of Troop/Cargo Vehicle (TCV), ambulance, command post, and mobile repair and recovery, according to a press release issued Tuesday by National Defense. The contract for this project was awarded last September, and since then, a number of subcontracts have been awarded by General Dynamics to allow work to start. These subcontracts represent over $137 million in investments to more than 30 Canadian businesses from coast to coast to coast, creating and sustaining over 400 jobs across the country. This is a big step forward as the government continues to deliver on Strong, Secure, Engaged, Canada's first fully costed and funded defence policy. As per the Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy, General Dynamics will re-invest an amount equal to the value of the contract to create and sustain well-paying jobs across the country. These vehicles will replace the current fleets of M113 Tracked Light Armoured Vehicle (TLAV) and the LAV II Bison. The first vehicle is expected roll off the production line this December, with deliveries occurring through February 2025. Testing, training, and procurement of spare parts will be required before the initial vehicles are distributed to Canadian Armed Forces bases in 2022. “These vehicles will form the backbone of the Army's combat support fleet, and be used on a wide range of operations including domestic disaster relief and international peace support missions,” said Harjit Sajjan. “Thanks to the flexibility found in our defense policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, work on the vehicles has started years earlier than expected and ensures that we continue to support well-paying Canadian jobs and critical innovation in communities across the country.” The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry also added that “Our government has ensured that this contract supports Canadian jobs and provides benefits to Canadian industry, including small and medium-sized businesses. Through the Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy, this project will continue to strengthen key industrial capabilities that support the Canadian Armed Forces and help to keep Canada's economy strong.”
21 janvier 2024 | Local, Aérospatial

Lifetime cost of military's Cyclone choppers set to soar past $14B, government document reveals | CBC News
The lifetime cost of buying, owning and operating the air force's troubled CH-148 Cyclones is now expected to top $14.87 billion, according to leaked internal Department of National Defence briefing documents obtained by CBC News.

Toutes les nouvelles