An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir June 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 12 | by WESLEy BOURKE PHOTOS CPL NEVILLE COUGHLAN AND SGT KARL ByRNE F lying in a helicopter or airplane is generally a safe, comfortable experience. However, there is always the outside chance of things going wrong. In the case of those operating frequently at low level over water, the only realistic option in an emergency may be to 'ditch'. Crew members involved in a ditch can suddenly find themselves strapped to their seat inside a rapidly darkening cabin as it fills rapidly with ice-cold salt water and starts to sink. It is vital that anyone who finds themselves in such a position doesn't panic and knows exactly what to do. As members of the Defence Forces are tasked with conducting maritime patrols and search-and-rescue at sea roles it is incumbent on the organisation to ensure these personnel are fully trained to deal with such worst-case scenarios, and these are not just fantasy situations as over the years several Air Corps aircraft have had to ditch in water due to mechanical failure or bird strikes. In addition, air safety regulations require pilots, air- crew and passengers who operate in aircraft over water to undergo specialist training to prepare them for such emergencies. In Ireland this training is carried out in the National Maritime College Ireland (NMCI) in Cork. There are two phases of compulsory training to be undertak- en: helicopter underwater egress training (HUET) and sea survival training. All personnel involved in over-water air operations must undergo HUET every two years and sea survival training every five. For this journalist to get an understanding of these emergency drills and what aircrews have to go through, getting wet was the only option. Both elements of training take place in the NMCI's environmental pool, complete with HUET simulator. The pool can simulate harsh sea conditions through wind and wave generators as well as providing extreme rain conditions. Joining up with pilots and aircrew from No 3 Ops Wg, only two of whom had undergone the course before, the sheer sight of the pool and the HUET simu- lator caused a ripple of anxiety to travel through the group. Nervous jokes were thrown about to ease the tension, as even though everyone could swim there is something about the prospect of being buckled into a seat and submerged upside down in water that gets the heart rate soaring. Naturally (and thankfully!) you are not expected to jump into the simulator and hope for the best. The first half of the day is spent going through the emergency procedures to be followed, such as adopting the bracing position before ditching. Now, there is the perfect scenario where the aircraft simply glides down to the water. In the case of a heli- copter it releases its flotation devices and for a plane it just floats on its wings. Everybody gets out into the raft and you don't even get your feet wet. This can happen

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