Regulation: Helicopters in Focus

As technologies improve in the avionics industry, access to increased safety and efficacy standards also follow suit. However, regulations have always worked hand in hand. Some have been standardized for decades, whereas others continue to be proposed to support current needs. Governing bodies also work to continuously observe and evolve areas of improvement.

According to the FAA Helicopter Safety toolkit, crash-resistant fuel systems support occupants’ safety by delaying or reducing post-crash fires. Regulations in this area work to minimize fuel leaks and fuel ignition sources. An FAA Reauthorization Act passed in 2018 mandated that any helicopters manufactured after April 5, 2020, must have crash resistant fuel systems, regardless of original certification date. This was put into effect to reduce a subset of helicopters lagging in regulatory requirements. Crash resistant seats which absorb crash energy and prevent head injury during a crash are also vital.

U.S regulations span a wide variety of helicopter capabilities. For example, since 2017 helicopter air ambulances must have helicopter terrain awareness and warning systems, known as HTWAS. Since 2008, helicopters used in commercial air tours over water beyond the shoreline are required to be equipped with fixed floats or an inflatable flotation system.

New proposals are brought forward all the time. A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration shared with Avionics International, “On January 10th [2023], the FAA proposed a rule (now available for public comment) that would require charter, commuter and air tour operators and aircraft manufacturers to implement Safety Management Systems (SMS). The SMS program is a set of policies and procedures where companies identify, monitor and address potential operational hazards early on, before they become serious problems.”

Although an airline requirement for SMS has been in effect since 2018, this proposal expands it to others in the aviation industry. Companies in the past have opted in voluntarily like Boeing, Bell, GE, P&W, and Sikorsky, but this proposal would “require certain certificate holders and commercial air tour operators to develop and implement an SMS,” the FAA’s spokesperson shared. It also impacts helicopters. “It would pertain to anyone who manufactures airplanes or helicopters, and anyone who conducts Part 135 operations or air tours under Part 91 in airplanes or helicopters,” they added.

Gilles Bruniaux, Vice President of Product Safety at Airbus Helicopters, explained to Avionics how a helicopter manufacturing company can work symbiotically with regulation agencies. “In general, regulatory changes from both EASA and the FAA target safety improvements for helicopter operations. Accidents and incidents are thoroughly analyzed and discussed, with mitigation technologies identified within the various industry organizations such as the ESPN-R [European Safety Promotion Network Rotorcraft], VAST [Vertical Aviation Safety Team], and the USHST [United States Helicopter Safety Team].”

“Airbus Helicopters is very involved in these bodies, both in the steering and coordination and significantly contributes its expertise to the various working groups, with active analysis of our own data.”

David Solar, Head of General Aviation and VTOL Department at EASA, shared with Avionics International how the agency developed a 2018 Rotorcraft Safety Roadmap which is in use today. The goal of the Rotorcraft Safety Roadmap is to “reduce fatal accidents by 50% in 2028 compared to 2017,” Solar said. This roadmap encompasses a wide array of regulations—from “new ditching requirements for helicopter occupants in case of a ditching or a water impact event” to “guidance for rotorcraft Night Vision Imaging System (NVIS) aircraft lighting systems” and “guidance on analyzing an Advanced Flight Controls (AdFC) Systems.”

Other regulations include improvements for flight data recorders for safety investigations, reduction of catastrophic and hazardous failures in main gear boxes, and an increase in hours required to renew a helicopter pilot license, among others. Updates are always evolving, and more are to come in Q1 2023.

Furthermore, virtual reality simulators have become an important asset for safety in helicopter training. “We have qualified the first Virtual Reality simulators for the Robinson 44 and H125 helicopters,” Solar explained. “This is with the goal of alleviating the need to do some risky maneuvers on the real helicopter due to lack of simulator (not existing or with very limited availability) improving simulator accessibility and reducing the cost of training.”

Such simulators support having “more ‘mission specific’ training especially on external cargo and sling loads where today’s full flight simulators are not suitable,” he shares. It is expected that simulators can “address 20% of the accidents that are today taking place during training.”

Simulators also lower training costs that come with helicopter rentals—which can be upwards of $600 per hour for even the smallest helicopter. “Beyond the design aspects which are now implemented at 90%, we are working hard on the training and simulations aspects. The more we train pilots, the better they will be able to handle critical situations. The key for this is to dramatically lower the cost of training and enable new simulator devices,” Solar noted.

“These new simulator devices are cheaper, with great capability and with a very low footprint. Some of them are mobile and could go directly to the operator. In parallel, we are working on increasing the crediting of simulator hours into the training, avoiding to do ‘too much’ on the real helicopter,” he added.

Finally, United Nations agencies can also work cross-functionally to monitor and support regulations. Miguel Marin, Operational Safety Chief at ICAO, a UN specialized agency in air transport, suggested in a statement shared with Avionics that helicopter guidance goes “beyond the code of performance/engine performance.” This can include supportive training requirements such as for technical crew members like winch operators.

It’s important to note that regulations are only one part of providing critical safety that mitigate death and injury. Technology improvements play a vital role too. As an FAA spokesperson shared, “Over the past two decades, the U.S. helicopter fatal accident rate has been nearly cut in half, from 1.27 fatal accidents per 100,000 flights to 0.67.” This decrease in accident numbers is “due to safety improvements by manufacturers, a stronger safety culture in the industry, and a greater emphasis on safety education by industry and government,” the agency’s representative noted.

Safety regulations serve as a baseline for quality control and improve regulatory compliance. However, it works hand-in-hand with technology innovations—like that of virtual reality simulators for training and updated safety management systems. Together, they support safety standards for many years to come.