Aviation Safety

Here's the section from the UAF remote safety document and there are additional resources below:

UAF Helicopter Safety and Etiquette:

UAF has an older guide called Remote Travel Safety Guide. Find it online here:

https://www.alaska.edu/risksafety/download/RemoteTravelSafetyGuide.pdf

Posted here is the pertinent section regarding helicopter safety.

If possible, deploy some light weight material as a wind sock to indicate wind direction to the pilot. Wait for directions from the pilot before approaching the aircraft. AFTER the pilot has acknowledged your presence and you are cleared to approach the aircraft:

• Approach or leave in pilot's field of vision, usually from the front of the aircraft.
• Approach or leave machine in a crouching manner (to stay below the main rotor).
• Stay away from the tail rotor.
• Approach or leave on the down slope side.
• Carry tools horizontally and below waist level, never upright or over the shoulder.
• Fasten seat belt after entering helicopter and leave it buckled until pilot signals you to get out.
• Never leave the helicopter while it is at a hover.
• Do not touch bubble, or any moving parts (tail rotor, exposed linkage, etc.).
• Do not slam the helicopter doors.
• Wear survival clothing in flight, up to the waist, in case of an emergency.
• Keep heliport clear of loose articles (water bags, empty cans, etc.).
• Keep people away from helicopter during takeoffs and landings.
• Keep cooking and heating fires well clear of helicopter.

BLM guidance

(More specific but much of it is focused on the operator rather than the passenger):

https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.opengov.ibmcloud.com/files/uploads/Field_Reference_Guide_2014.pdf  (chapter 2 and 3 are useful)
https://www.doi.gov/aviation/library/guides

The biggest difference there is PPE. BLM recommends Nomex or similar for all clothing and UAF is less restrictive. I outline my clothing down below. One take away from aviation safety seminars has been that if your air craft crashes, most of the time there is not a fire triggered by impact but head injuries are always a concern. So be strict on the helmet but it is okay to be less so on the clothing. Also, winter time in Alaska, when you talk risks, hypothermia is a bigger risk in the event of a crash than fire.

ASH Handbook and Oil field safety rules

Here is the current ASH handbook (a safety book issued to all oil field workers):
http://alaska.conocophillips.com/sustainable-development/safety/Documents/2014%20Alaska%20Safety%20Handbook.pdf
The helicopter section begins on page 53.
Helicopter Travel

• The helicopter pilot is in complete charge of the aircraft and passengers at all times during flight operations. Pilot is to provide passengers with an emergency briefing prior to flight.
• Keep clear of the helipad until the helicopter has landed. The helipad is not to be used as a staging area for passengers or equipment.
• When boarding or leaving the helicopter, passengers are not to enter the rotor blade arc until the pilot has signaled that it is safe to do so.
• Under no circumstances shall any passenger walk under the tail rotor or tail boom. When it is necessary to walk around the helicopter, the trip is to be made within sight of the pilot and around the front of the aircraft only.
• Do not distract the pilot with unnecessary conversations or actions.
• Never throw anything out of the helicopter because of possible damage to the rotors.
• Passengers shall not be aboard the aircraft during refueling operations.
• Wear appropriate warm clothing and footwear for the weather, or transportation may be denied. Secure loose items such as hats.
• Safety glasses are required for boarding and exiting helicopter where there isn’t a dedicated paved or hard surface heliport.

Tooolik Field Station Helicopter Safety Manual

Giving this a read I think it does the best job of covering things to be aware of in an approachable fashion. Ideally I would make this required reading... however, it has not been digitized yet and so you will need to find a paper copy. Also, there is no discussion of fire resistant clothing choices. There are some references cited in it that are available online though:

• Helicopter Safety for Outdoor Leaders and Guides
  • nicely written short book which goes a bit more in depth than what you'll find from BLM / ASH / UAF. It is geared specifically to the heliskiing industry but reading it has good general applicability, to.
  • http://www.rescuedynamics.ca/articles/pdfs/HeliLeader.pdf

Survival Supplies and Personal Gear

The 2 Person Helicopter Survival Bag (or the three person model) should accompany you on any trip. If you are dropped off. The survival bag should remain with you and your party. You should aim to have wool layers if possible for your long underwear situation. Also good are fire resistant outerwear. It is trickier in winter to find enough fire resistant layers but merino wool is a good choice and as time has gone on, nomex outerwear is easier to find on the internet than it used to be. For example: http://www.massif.com/massif-systems/fire-and-ice/flamestretch-pullover.html http://www.supplycache.com/FR-Brush-Pants/products/21/

Additional Personal gear suggestions

• Bring food for one day and snacks for a second day (in addition to what is in the survival bag)
• In the helicopter, wear leather gloves
• A helmet is highly recommended
• Try to wear as little synthetic clothing as possible with the exception of foot wear (for winter season travel)
• Bring a light daypack which contains:
  • fieldbook & pencil
  • Small First Aid Kit
  • Multitool
  • gloves x2
  • fleece vest
  • sunscreen
  • sunglasses
  • water (in a nalgene plus a small thermos)
  • balaclava x2
  • fleece hat x2
  • raincoat for wind protection
  • temperature depending, a down jacket
  • a fleece pull over
  • mittens
• store necessary synthetic heavier layers (like down jackets) in the daypack for use once on-site.
• if you will be dropped off somewhere, the 2 person survival bag should remain with you.. and there should be one two person survival bag per two people. So, work with three people requires 2 survival bags.
• check in with the safety point of contact after landing (by text message) at the remote site

Others can chime in here but a typical clothing set up for April & May helicopter work is:

• Large winter boots
• Fire safe pants
• Nomex long underwear top and bottom
• iA merino wool layer mid layer
• Often a medium or heavy weight fleece synthetic lower between nomex and jeans in cooler temperatures or when outdoors for a long while
• on top, a nomex pullover jacket
• Underneath that will be merino wool again
• if it is breezy I will wear my traditional windbreaker under the nomex pullover.
• if it is quite cold I may add another fleece jacket as well but usually they remain in my day pack with heavier layers.

Communications options

• Use a satellite tracker (preferably Iridium constellation based)
• Bring a charged satellite phone
• communicate take off and departures to your point of contact
• use of flight following is recommended

Job Hazard Assessment Examples

• General Helicopter:
  • https://www.rotor.org/portals/1/committee/upac_guide.pdf
• Wilderness Helicopter Work:
  • https://www.wilderness.net/toolboxes/documents/safety/JHA%20Helicopter%20Operations_ROMO.doc
• US Fish and Wildlife Service Example
  • http://www.fws.gov/fire/ifcc/Esr/Safety/Job_Hazard_Analysis_Forms/BLM_Helo_Ops_JHA.rtf
• NRCS Job Hazard Assessment for snow survey work:
  • http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs144p2_042999.pdf