By: Bruce Campion-Smith Parliament Hill
Published on Saturday, June 15, 2013
OTTAWA—Two weeks after
the fatal crash of an air ambulance helicopter crash in northern
Ontario, ORNGE has temporarily suspended night-time chopper flights to
58 remote sites across the province.
While the cause of the May 31 midnight crash in Moosonee may not be known for many months yet, the air ambulance service says it is taking the actions for “maximum safety.”
“Rotor operations at
night are certainly an area where you have to be very vigilant,” Dr.
Andrew McCallum, president and chief executive officer of ORNGE, told
the Star in an interview.
ORNGE has implemented
several changes in the wake of the crash that killed four employees,
including suspending night flights to 58 landing sites that involve
so-called “black hole” approaches.
Such conditions occur
in remote areas where the lack of lighting, such as house and street
lights, leave the pilot with few visual cues for their landing, raising
the risk of an accident.
“We do know that
probably black hole approaches are the biggest challenge for rotor
(emergency medical service) pilots,” McCallum said.
Rather than
conventional lighting, these 58 helipads are marked by reflective cones
that mark the landing site when illuminated by the landing lights of an
approaching helicopter.
In the coming weeks,
ORNGE chopper pilots will get additional training on landing at
reflective cone helipads. As each crew completes the training, they will
be allowed to resume flights into these sites. The training is expected
to take two weeks.
Of the 58 sites, the
helipads at Grassy Narrows, White Dog, and Sioux Narrows — the three
used most often by ORNGE — are getting new lighting systems altogether.
“I’ve just said to our
staff that this has got to be fast-tracked,” McCallum said. “Once we
have those in and train people we will be able to return it to service.”
In the interim, ORNGE
will be relying on its fixed-wing fleet of aircraft to perform medical
evacuations, along with land ambulances, spokesperson James MacDonald
said.
“Every effort will be made to minimize delays,” he said Friday.
“ORNGE generally uses
these helipads for modified scene calls, where the patient is already in
the care of emergency medical personnel. At this time of year, there is
an abundance of daylight hours, reducing the instance of night time
flights,” MacDonald said.
Finally, ORNGE is
reminding pilots on its procedures for night-time departures, which
typically involves climbing to 150 metres above the ground to ensure
terrain clearance before making any turn towards the destination.
ORNGE has sent a
bulletin, “reminding pilots to exercise heightened awareness during
operations, especially when operating at night in remote areas,” the
agency said in an email to the Star.
“We’re doing a whole
bunch of things out of an abundance of caution. We’re reminding people
about night departure procedures and reinforcing how you do this. We’re
not saying that’s what it was,” McCallum said.
The Sikorsky S-76
crashed after a midnight departure from Moosonee en route to
Attawapiskat to pick up a patient. After a brief climb, the chopper
descended into the forest next to the airport. It was airborne for less
than a minute.
The four crew onboard
were killed: Capt. Don Filliter, First Officer Jacques Dupuy, and flight
paramedics Dustin Dagenais and Chris Snowball. A funeral service was
held Friday for Dupuy, the last crew member to be laid to rest. A memorial service is planned Tuesday in Toronto.
ORNGE initially grounded its remaining S-76 helicopters but they resumed service after the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has said it found no early evidence that a mechanical problem had crash the crash.
There are questions
whether the inky blackness of the northern Ontario airport and the
possibility of pilot disorientation played a role in the chopper’s crash
so soon after take-off.
“I think it’s really
important that we not jump to conclusions here. I think there’s a lot of
things still in play,” McCallum said.
“This is not
technically a black hole situation that is associated with this
accident. We don’t know if disorientation at night was a factor.”
In the lobby of
ORNGE’s Mississauga headquarters this week a small memorial was on
display to pay tribute to four killed in the crash. A table displayed
photos of the men along with books for visitors and employees to write
notes of condolence. Bouquets of flowers dotted the tables in the
reception area.
“It’s been extraordinarily difficult for our people,” McCallum said.
“We’re working with
them to try and make this post-event period as easy as can be. We’ve
been very respectful of people who have had concerns going back to the
job.”
Source: http://www.thestar.com
Source: http://www.thestar.com
No comments:
Post a Comment