No compromise on safety for copter flights, says CAAM

 

Relief missions and emergency flights are exempted from rules for helicopter pilots to submit risk analysis reports. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) has clarified that it will not compromise on the need for safety risk analysis before a helicopter lands at a destination, even if it’s for delivering assistance.

However, it said permission from landowners before landing was not necessary during aircraft emergencies, search and rescue operations or flights to supply aid during natural calamities such as floods.

CAAM CEO Chester Voo said a safety risk assessment was crucial when something out of the norm was being done to ensure the pilot or the organisation involved had thought it through and planned the operation properly.

“In aviation, it is not just about executing a flight but also about the pre-flight planning and what is required to be done by the pilot and organisation involved which includes proper planning and risk mitigation.

-ADVERTISEMENT-

Ads by 

“A safety risk assessment can be generic in nature and then adapted to be added in on the day of operations or (to meet) the complexity that might happen depending on the mission.

“There are many ways to do a proper one, and this must be diligently done without excuse as this might be the only thing that might save your life,” he told FMT.

He was responding to a recent report in FMT which quoted operators of helicopters and pilots as saying the additional rules were major obstacles to the industry.

They said requirements for a safety report at the landing area and getting permission from the owner of the land they wanted to land on even before taking off were included in a civil aviation directive on Oct 15 last year.

On claims by senior pilots that they had been trained to do risk assessment of areas they planned to land by circling several times, Voo said while experience was one thing, the ability to process, think and document was key for the safety of all.

“It is about educating everyone, especially the younger generation, not just by methods of documenting this but through leading by example. CAAM welcomes all industry leaders and players to come over and discuss with us openly.”

He said if any experienced pilot insisted safety risk assessment was not practical, it showed overconfidence. He reminded aviators that it was overconfidence that would result in carelessness and, in some cases, recklessness.

As for permission to land, he said it was obviously not needed if the helicopter was facing a life-or-death situation, involved in search and rescue operations and emergency flights to supply aid or other forms of help during natural calamities such as floods.

“But for all other purposes, landing on someone’s land shall require permission and the discipline to obtain this.”

Voo said the need to serve and perform was highly encouraged and applauded but helicopter pilots must ensure that during these missions, the lives of the operating crew and those on the ground were not endangered due to lack of thinking, planning and the mitigation of possible risks. - FMT