Preflight Your Passengers

https://medium.com/faa/preflight-your-passengers-5f5b8c83ef70

For many helicopter pilots, flying with passengers is part of the job. That means these pilots must heed the importance of an effective passenger preflight briefing to help ensure everyone remains safe before, during, and after the flight.

This rang true for Chris Baur, who, while flying helicopters for the U.S. Coast Guard in the 1980s, was also a charter captain, flying passengers between Coast Guard missions. Baur, now president and CEO of Hughes Aerospace and the industry co-chair of the United States Helicopter Safety Team, recalls a flight that required some action to keep his passenger safe. The flight landed safely at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after picking up a famous comedian and Saturday Night Live alum from a northern New Jersey heliport at night. The passenger exited the rear of the helicopter while it was still running and before the arrival of a marshaller — a person designated to open aircraft doors and escort passengers to the terminal. This passenger had flown many times with Baur and was briefed and familiar with the procedures, especially embarking and disembarking from the front of the helicopter.

Baur locked the controls and jumped out of the helicopter, stopping the passenger just in time from walking into the spinning tail rotor that was invisible in the darkness. The passenger turned to him with the look of “why did you just grab me?” Because of the noise, Baur then pointed to the tail rotor and ran his finger across his throat to indicate to the startled passenger that he could have been killed.

“He looked at me again, and gave me a big hug,” Baur said. “I pulled him away, and said, ‘Let’s go farther away from the tail rotor,’ and then sent him on his way.”

To help keep your passengers safe and prepare them on what to expect during a helicopter flight, watch the FAA’s Rotorcraft Collective video called Preflighting Your Passengers at youtu.be/xpMQNHvxC7c.