Army grounds aircraft for a safety review following recent deadly crashes

[okikuma]

Not surprising. We have two generations of youth that spend the majority of their time with tunnel vision, intensely focused upon and staring at little multicolored screens most of their day. Totally oblivious to anything around them, lacking any situational awareness of everything outside their field of view. This learned behavior is brought into the car behind the steering wheel and into the cockpit.

Wayne

Army grounds aircraft for a safety review following recent deadly crashes

After 12 soldiers died in the last month the Army ordered a stand down to review safety measures for its fleet of aircraft.

taskandpurpose.com

Task & Purpose

Army grounds aircraft for a safety review following recent deadly crashes

The order comes after 12 soldiers died in the last month.

BY NICHOLAS SLAYTON | PUBLISHED APR 29, 2023 7:10 AM EDT

U.S. Army AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter assigned to 1st Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (ARB), June 3, 2019. (U.S. Army).

A day after two U.S. Army helicopters collided, killing three soldiers, the Army is ordering a stand down for all aerial units in order to review safety measures.

The order, announced on Friday, April 28 by Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville, calls for a 24-hour stand down in aerial operations in order to review safety matters and refresh their training. Aerial teams who are carrying out “critical missions” are exempt from being grounded.

“The safety of our aviators is our top priority, and this stand down is an important step to make certain we are doing everything possible to prevent accidents and protect our personnel,” McConville said in his order. “During this stand down, we will focus on safety and training protocols to ensure our pilots and crews have the knowledge, training and awareness to safely complete their assigned mission.”

Per McConville’s order, all active-duty aviation units must complete the stand down between Monday-Friday, May 1-5. For members of the Army National Guard and Army Reserve, they have through May 31 to carry out the stand down, due to their relative training schedules. During the stand down, the Army will conduct a review of flight mission briefing, as well as maintenance training.

The decision comes a day after three soldiers with the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment died when two AH-64 Apache helicopters collided and ultimately crashed near Healy, Alaska. Another soldier was injured and taken to a hospital. The helicopters were on their way back from a training flight when the collision occurred.

Along with Thursday’s fatal crash, the Army has had other aerial disasters this year. In March, a pair of HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters crashed in Kentucky, killing a total of nine soldiers. Both that and Thursday’s incident are under investigation. Per McConville’s statement, the Army has not found any pattern or commonality linking the two incidents.

In addition, a pair of Tennessee Army National Guard soldiers died in February when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Alabama and two soldiers were injured after their Apache helicopter rolled while attempting to lift off in Alaska.

The Army Isn’t the only branch to issue safety-related stand downs following deadly incidents. Last June the U.S. Navy issued a similar stand down following a series of crashes involving aircraft. That came after five mishaps in two weeks. The Marine Corps issued a similar stand down order that month following its own crashes.

“We are deeply saddened by those we have lost,” McConville added in his statement. “It is their loss that makes it all the more important we review our safety procedures and training protocols, and ensure we are training and operating at the highest levels of safety and proficiency.”

 

[ArnaudHP]

You can't rule out medical issue...

Senior Army flight surgeon warns pilots could die in mid-flight from vaccine side effects

A senior U.S. Army flight surgeon with specialized training in infectious diseases has filed an affidavit against the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for active-duty military personnel, warning that problematic heart side effects may cause pilots to die in mid-flight.

m.washingtontimes.com

 

[WaspAir]

That's a nearly two-year old story of a "warning" about a perceived danger that seems not to have been supported by actual aircraft accident data in the meantime.

In any event, post-mortem examination of the victims' remains certainly can rule out medical issues. When I hear of a military mid-air, vaccine side effects is pretty far from from the first possible cause that comes to mind.

 

[Doug Riley]

Extremely tight formations and night-vision goggles come first to my mind. It's an inherently dangerous form of flying.

 

[okikuma]

Myocarditis and Pericarditis After Vaccination for COVID-19

This study investigates the incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis emergency department or inpatient hospital encounters before COVID-19 vaccine availability (January 2019–January 2021) and during a COVID-19 vaccination period (February-May 2021) in a large US health care system.

jamanetwork.com

Extremely tight formations and night-vision goggles come first to my mind. It's an inherently dangerous form of flying.

And with those vision limitations, one must remain extra vigilant with situational awareness in relation with nearby terrain and aircraft. This goes back to the lack of situational awareness I started this discussion with.

The past year on two separate occasions, I was invited to fly X-country with two different young (twenty-something year old) pilots. Each flight was months apart. They were building time to obtain their CFI.

Before the flight started, I asked where are we flying to, what is the route, what is the weather, what alternate airports are on the route, and are there any NOTAMS active? On both instances, each young pilot looked at me with blank stares. Then each one told me verbatim, "Man you're old school. The GPS will tell them which direction to fly, if "I" need to know the weather, my phone will tell me, if I need an alternate, my GPS will tell me." Neither one admitted checking for NOTAMs. I need to add that neither pilot had flown the route nor land at the airport they were planning to fly to before. I said to them, "Let's pull out a PAPER sectional and review the route together. Reviewed the airports including fuel availability we were flying to and the alternates, review all the frequencies we shall be using on AirNav.com. Checked weather and NOTAMs. On one flight, we found out that the airport we were flying to had several taxiways closed for construction. For the separate flight, we found out the alternate airport chosen was closed for runway resurfacing.

What got me was both pilots asked me, "Do you always waste your time doing this planning before every flight? I said, "Yes always since day one when I started to fly. And it is NEVER waited time" Again each reply was almost verbatim. "If I need any of this information, I will do this during the flight there. Otherwise I deal with the changes when it happens. That's what GPS and phones are for." I told them in performing this exercise before every flight, you will lay down the foundation for situational awareness within your brain. They have become familiar with everything before entering the cockpit. Then their reply was, "I don't do this when I get into my car. I don't know the route nor my location I need to be at. My GPS tells me all and I get there. It's much easier that way."

During each flight, when sitting at the hold short line and receiving "Cleared for Takeoff" from the tower, both pilots never looked at the approach end for any aircraft approaching nor down the runway to see if it was clear before starting the takeoff roll.

After exiting the Class C Airspace, I said, "Let's contact ATC and use Flight Following." More old school comments. Then each pilot tells me that they solely rely on ForeFlight and ADS-B for separation. I said there is no harm in using both, whereas they said that's more work. I dialed it in anyway and had them ask ATC. Enroute, i noticed both pilots kept their heads in the cockpit looking at pretty colored pictures and ignoring ATC and not looking out the windows. These are VFR flights.

Enroute on one flight, I noticed a Cessna at our 2 o'clock position about 1,000 feet below. I call the aircraft out. The pilot replies without lifting his head, "I don't see it on my screen." At about 1 o'clock ATC calls out the aircraft to us. The pilot still says he doesn't see it on his screen. I said, "GET YOUR F***EN EYES OUT OF THE COCKPIT, LOOK AT OUR 12 TO 1 O'CLOCK POSITION AND TELL ATC YOUR LOOKING FOR THE AIRCRAFT." I watch the Cessna pass under our nose about 600 ft below. I point out the Cessna with my finger outside his left window and he finally sees the Cessna as ATC tells us traffic is no longer a factor. Then he still says, "I never saw it on my screen." A total lack of situational awareness outside the cockpit. A learned behavior from spending majorly of his time with concentrated tunnel vision looking at little colored pictures on electronic screens and totally oblivious of anything outside his field of view.

Wayne

 

[Aerofoam]

That's frightening, a lot of the military UAV guys I have worked with ONLY know how to operate the UAV from the screen,
if anything goes sideways they don't have a response. I have been hired as an "External Pilot" to simply take off the aircraft, assume a course and switch it to auto, then when it comes back, land it manually.....
This is the big driver for VTOL UAVs, the pilots don't need to know how to fly them....
I think a couple weeks of training actual flying skills would pay for itself in many ways.....

 

[WaspAir]

I would be more trusting of autonomous aircraft than those flown by such time-building "pilots".

 

[Vance]

I had a client who flew Black Hawk helicopters for the Utah national guard.
He was very good and had good situational awareness.

 

[okikuma]

I had a client who flew Black Hawk helicopters for the Utah national guard.
He was very good and had good situational awareness.

Vance, How long has this UT Guard aviator been flying? Most ARNG Aviators are older and with mid to high time hours of civilian and military hours combined.

Wayne

 

[Vance]

I don't know, he appeared very young to me but I am old and it makes my age awareness unreliable.

 

[Mayfield]

I don't know, he appeared very young to me but I am old and it makes my age awareness unreliable.

You and I aren't old geologically Vance. When we were born electricity was already being used in the homes of the wealthy and there were even telephones in some places. There were cordless phones, after a fashion.

 

[Sv.grainne]

I don't know, he appeared very young to me but I am old and it makes my age awareness unreliable.

It's amazing how perception of age changes!

 

[WaspAir]

You and I aren't old geologically Vance. When we were born electricity was already being used in the homes of the wealthy and there were even telephones in some places. There were cordless phones, after a fashion.

I remember those days.
Awfully inconvenient when that Bering Strait land bridge submerged. I couldn't walk the three thousand miles to school every day anymore, and had to invent the boat to make the crossing. Glad we had plenty of mastodon skins for sails.

 

[okikuma]

I remember those days.
Awfully inconvenient when that Bering Strait land bridge submerged. I couldn't walk the three thousand miles to school every day anymore, and had to invent the boat to make the crossing. Glad we had plenty of mastodon skins for sails.

When I was your age, I had to get up and turn the channel on the TV.

Wayne

 

[Sv.grainne]

That was when my favorite show was Victory at Sea, but I couldn't stay up to watch. So I snuck out of my bedroom and watched around the corner! Never got caught!

 

[Mayfield]

When I was your age, I had to get up and turn the channel on the TV.

Wayne

Yep. All three channels. On the air at 6 or 7. Signed off with the National Anthem at 11 PM

 

[Sv.grainne]

What a ripoff, we only got 2!

 

[Mayfield]

What a ripoff, we only got 2!

We had rabbit ears on top of the TV. It had to be adjusted differently for each of the three channels. I think they were all VHF.

 

[okikuma]

Yep. All three channels. On the air at 6 or 7. Signed off with the National Anthem at 11 PM

Growing up in Los Angeles, we had seven VHF stations: 2. 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and six UHF stations: 18, 22, 28, 34, 52, 58. There was much TV to watch until the evening sign off. At lease one station would show the following film before the National Anthem.

Wayne

 

[Sv.grainne]

We had rabbit ears on top of the TV. It had to be adjusted differently for each of the three channels. I think they were all VHF.

Yes Rabbit Ears! Wow, time capsule... Yes, all vhf back then.