A Flight Risk Assessment Tool For BizAv, Part 1

Aviators share a common core requirement even though their missions and operating environments contain vast differences. They must be adept at proactively identifying risks and formulating strategies to mitigate those risks. While the two accidents described below could segway into a wide spectrum of important safety topics, a key common element that will be the focus of this article is risk assessment.

On Feb. 22, 2022, two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the Utah National Guard were performing winter mountain training.  The mission included landing the helicopters in a tight formation simultaneously on a mountainside. The intended landing spot was within a short walking distance of the ski lifts in the high mountain bowl of the Snowbird ski resort.  An abundance of skiers were on the slopes that day partaking in the fresh light snow that had fallen previously.

A helicopter at a slow speed such as during hover or landing is generating high velocity downwash.  As the two Black Hawks flared to land, the immense rotor downwash quickly created a white out.<\/p>

A degraded visual environment is a serious and well-known risk. A pilot can experience a total loss of outside reference when rotor wash causes loose dirt, sand or snow to whip around the rotorcraft. The pilot is unable to see nearby objects to provide the outside visual references necessary for aircraft control near the ground.  

Once inside the cloud of snow or dust, crews are vulnerable to excessive sink rates, lateral drift and obstacle collisions. It interferes with the pilot’s ability to maintain geospatial awareness of the intended landing point. It can cause spatial disorientation as the blowing sand, dust or snow create the illusion of a tilted horizon. Blowing sand or snow around the cockpit windows can also lead the pilot to experience “Vection illusion,” where the helicopter appears to be turning when it is actually in a level hover. These can cause the pilot to make incorrect control inputs.

The trailing Black Hawk drifted slightly to the right and subsequently rolled onto its side.  The main rotor blades broke apart. A piece of the main rotor struck the adjacent helicopter’s tail rotor. The damage to the second helicopter’s tail rotor negated its ability to counter the torque from the main rotor, resulting in a complete spin.  

The pilot of the second Black Hawk was able to land in the soft snow with no serious injuries in a feat of laudable handling skills under extreme conditions. The estimated cost of damages to both helicopters was estimated at $9.23 million. It is also fortunate that the high velocity debris from the disintegrating main rotor blade did not strike any of the nearby skiers standing in the ski lift line.

Astute readers who follow aviation accidents may recognize that this unit had another accident nearly two years later when an F-35 pilot, who had only 35 min. of experience in an AH-64 Apache simulator, was allowed to take the controls of an Apache while attempting to hover at the end of an orientation flight under the supervision of a chief warrant officer in the accompanying seat.  

The F-35 pilot, who was a colonel in a nearby Air Force Reserve unit, reverted to his fixed-wing training and applied an inappropriate control movement during a hovering attempt. The Apache was destroyed and the colonel suffered serious injuries that required surgery and extensive rehabilitation.

The subsequent investigation highlighted the F-35 pilot’s lack of qualifications as well as the pilot-in-command’s inadequate flight control management. The report also criticized the unit’s chain of command for failing to adequately enforce standard operating procedures, citing similar leadership failures in the 2022 accident. The investigation raised questions about the adequacy of current safety measures and oversight within the national guard unit.  

A User-Friendly Resource

Is there a formal checklist in civilian aviation to help pilots proactively and systematically  identify areas of possible risks and highlight hazards in need of mitigation? The answer is yes. 

The FAA has constructed a Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT) that is user friendly and free to use on-line. One of the strengths of the FAA tool is that it recognizes the tendency for a pilot to get fixated on an individual risk. This can lead to overlooking other risks as well as the cumulative collection of other risks.

The FRAT includes the general categories of Pilot, Flight Conditions, Airport, VFR Flight Plan, IFR Flight Plan, and Approaches. For example, the Pilot category asks quick questions about the pilot’s flight currency, sleep, dual instruction within the last 90 days, completion of a WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program phase, and instrument currency and proficiency.

The on-line worksheet is simple to use, quickly tabulates the accumulated risk points, and provides an easy to understand green-yellow-red color coding to give the pilot a visual indication of the risk level of the flight—a tool that applies well to the general aviation pilot.

In Part 2 of this article, we discuss how the FRAT can be modified for business aviation.