What is Terrain Avoidance, and why don’t helicopters use it?
Until the helicopter crash, it was a routine flight. On March 23, 2004, an Era Aviation helicopter was transporting eight crewmembers to the drilling ship Discovery Spirit, 180 miles off the Texan coast in the Gulf of Mexico. Although the weather was clear, the helicopter flew in total darkness during the early night flight, leaving the flight crew with no point of reference over the Gulf. At about 7:30 pm and 70 miles into their journey, the Sikorsky S-76A++ helicopter slammed into the water at full cruising speed, killing both crewmembers and all eight passengers.
What caused the helicopter to crash? A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation found that both the pilot and co-pilot were certified and qualified, the helicopter was in perfect working condition (except for its Flight Voice Recorder), and that weather was not a factor.
“The helicopter crashed into the water at a high airspeed, a shallow descent angle, and a near-level roll attitude,” reads the accident report. This led investigators to realize that the cause of the accident was a “controlled flight into terrain.” In other words, the pilots did not notice that they were flying lower and lower until it finally ran out of room and hit the Gulf waters.
Controlled Flight into Terrain
Controlled flight into the terrain is more common than you might think. It sounds almost ridiculous, that trained pilots would simply fly into water, the ground, or the side of a mountain without taking evasive action. But the reality is that controlled flight into terrain or CFIT happens all the time. In the case of the Era Aviation flight described above, the pilots would not have seen their gradual descent into the water because it was pitch black (though they were supposed to be periodically checking their instruments).
In other cases, weather may play a factor. In the case of airplanes, instrument landings during night or bad weather have caused the plane to fly into hills and other objects near the airport.
For these reasons, commercial airliners now use Terrain Avoidance Warning Systems or TAWS. If a plane is flying too low, or is headed towards an object like a mountain, flashing lights and a recorded warning tell the pilots to pull up. These systems have reduced CFIT accidents to almost zero – for those aircraft that have them.
The problem is that private planes and helicopters, both considered to be “Class C” types of aircraft, do not require them. The NTSB report on the March 23, 2004 accident specifically states that: “If a terrain awareness and warning system had been installed aboard the accident helicopter, the system’s aural and visual warning should have provided the flight crew with ample time to recognize that the helicopter was descending toward the water, initiate the necessary corrective actions, and recover from the descent.”
Even EMS helicopters, which as an industry suffers an accident rate approaching military helicopters in combat, do not require TAWS – and most accidents occur at night or in bad weather conditions, and often involve controlled flight into terrain.
Both the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recommend helicopters use a TAWS system. However, the FAA stated that it could not mandate them because “nuisance” alarms would cause too many problems for the lower-flying helicopters. It is looking at ways to implement a helicopter TAWS (or H-TAWS) system, but until use of such devices is mandated, few companies will be willing to invest in this expensive safety feature.
Fault Lies with Operators, Not Government
Yes, government agencies like the FAA are charged with helping ensure that any type of aviation flight is safe. But ultimately it is up to the operators to ensure the safety of their helicopter flights.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a helicopter crash, contact the Willis Firm right now for free and professional advice about your legal rights. You may be entitled to compensation to cover medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. But nobody is going to just give it to you. Get David P. Willis fighting on your side to ensure you get the settlement you deserve.
