B-177166 In-Flight Escape Systems for Helicopters Should Be
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.J REPORT TO THE CONGRESS I In-Flight Escape Systems For Helicopters Should Be Developed To Prevent Fatalities 6a777766 Department of Defense BY THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STAT GOMPTROLLER GENERAL OFTHE UNITED STATES WASHINGION DC 20648 B-177166 To the President of the Senate and the 4 Speaker of the House of Representatives / We are reporting that In-flight escape systems for helicopters should be developed to prevent fatalltles. We made our review pursuant to the Budget and AC- countxng Act, 1921 (31 U s.c 531, and the Accounting and Auditing Act of 1950 (31 U S.C 67). We are sending copies of this report to the Director, Office of Management and Budget, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Army, and the Secretary of the Navy, Comptroller General of the United States Contents Page DIGEST 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 5 2 URGENTNEED FOR HELICOPTER IN-FLIGHT ESCAPESYSTEMS 6 3 EFFORTS TO DEVELOPA CAPSULE IN-FLIGHT ESCAPESYSTEM 9 Technlcal feaslblllty demonstrated 9 Appllcatlon to operational helicopters 9 Development efforts 13 4 EFFORTS TO DEVELOPAN INDIVIDUAL IN-FLIGHT ESCAPESYSTEM 15 Indlvldual in-flight escape systems 1.5 DOD emergency funds requested for the Cobra 18 No provision for an in-flight escape system In the advanced attack helicopter 19 5 CONCLUSIONSAND RECOMMENDATIONS 20 Recommendations to the Secretary of Defense 20 Agency comments and our evaluation 21 Matters for conslderatlon by the Congress 23 APPENDIX I Letter of November 29, 1972, from the Director of Defense Research and Engineering 25 II Principal offlclals of the Department of Defense and the Departments of the Army and Navy responsible for the actlvltles discussed xn this report 27 ABBREVIATIONS DOD Department of Defense GAO General Accounting Office COMPTROLLERGENERAL!S IN-FLIGHT ESCAPE SYSTEMS FOR REPORTTO THE CONGRESS HELICOPTERSSHOULD BE DEVELOPED TO PREVENT FATALITIES Department of Defense B-177166 ------DIGEST WHYTHE REVIEW WASMADE FINDINGS AND COIKLUSIONS Because of increasing hellcopter Navy-sponsored studies show that crash fatalltles, GAO wanted to most helicopter fatalltles result know how technological developments from uncontrolled descents which, in were being used to reduce hazards turn, result in crashes causing to helicopter crews and passengers structural failures and fires The studies show also that in-flight es- Backpound cape systems could prevent over 40 percent of these fatalities Other From 1958 to 1968, Army and Navy proposed survivability features could hellcopter flying hours increased ;ur;h;r reduce fatalities (See more than 7 times, but helicopter crash fatalities increased more than 17 times Most of these fatal- The Navy has studied such escape sys- ities occurred during noncombat op- tems since 1962 However, the Army, erations which uses helicopters the most, has concentrated on reducing InJuries The conflict in Southeast Asia and fatalities by developing and greatly expanded the use of hell- installing energy-absorbing seats to copters The lives lost through reduce impact forces and crashworthy military helicopter crashes in this fuel tanks to prevent fires Al- area increased from about 40 in though the Army system 1s important, 1963 to about 1,000 a year from it offers protection to crew members 1968 through 1970 and passengers only when Impact forces are low (See p 18 ) Most military fixed-wing aIrcraft-- particularly those used in combat-- From September 1967 to September have some means of occupant escape 1972, 210 Army and 10 Marine Corps during flight, such as eJection Cobra pilots were killed in Vietnam. seats Escape systems have pre- In 1969 and early in 1970, U S vented over 2,800 pilot deaths since Forces lost an average of seven 1960 Per hours flown, accident Cobra helicopter pilots a month in fatality rates for helicopters are Vietnam. A Navy analysis indicated higher than for fixed-wing aircraft, that in-flight escape systems could but helicopters do not have such have prevented 6 out of every 10 escape systems The Navy determined Cobra pilot deaths (Seep 15) that equipment could be installed on helicopters to permit occupants In March 1972 the Navy obtalned to escape at altitudes of 100 feet $500,000 to begin developing or higher lndlvldual-type escape systems for Tear-- 9heet 1 the Cobra hellcopters The Army IS --Monitor the current development of helping to fund this development the escape system for the Cobra effort (See p 18 ) Although the helicopter to determine whether the Army agrees that an in-flight escape concept could be applied to the de- system 1s desirable for its new ad- sign of the advanced attack hell- vanced attack helicopter, its cur- copter rent design requirements do not provide for such a system GAO --Reevaluate the design requirements believes that the development of for the advanced attack helicopter an in-flight escape system should to insure that it will be capable be emphasized at this time to In- of accepting an in-flight escape sure its avallabl11 ty for this system When It becomes available helicopter (See pp 19 and 20 ) (See p 20 ) The Navy has deemphaslzed develop- GAO further recommends that effort ing and testing a capsule-type in- to develop a feasible solution to flight escape system for larger provide an in-flight escape capa- troop transport helicopters prl- bll I ty for the larger cargo- manly because of the additIona passenger helicopters be continued weight involved (See p 14 ) AGENCYACTIONS ADD GAO recognizes that the develop- VNRESOLKFDISSUES ment of In-flight escape systems for cargo-passenger helicopters In commenting on GAO's draft report, may pose severe problems and the Department of Defense (DOD) said constraints regarding weight and It would continue efforts to Increase complexity However, available the effectiveness of escape systems technology for capsule-type in- but disagreed that emergency In- flight escape systems has been flight escape systems should be in- demonstrated Therefore GAO be- cluded In helicopters now being lleves effort to develop a developed or planned for development feasible system for the troop- carrying helicopters should be DOD contended that an in-flight es- continued cape system had not been "demon- strated to be the most effective method of improving flight safety, RECOMMENDATIONSOR SVGGESTIOflS considering both human life values and dollar costs I' (See app I.) Available technology for individual In-flight escape systems should be GAO believes that DOD IS not ade- applied to the design of new attack, quately considering the costs of observation, and training hell- not having emergency in-flight es- copters which have fixed crews cape systems Specifically, GAO recommends that the Army* --Trained and experienced aviators and other trained military person- --Emphasize and give pr-ionty to nel are killed Army and Navy developing an in-flight escape estimates of the Initial cost of system for the advanced attack training each helicopter pilot helicopter. range from $20,000 to $100,000 --Death benefits must be paid consideration For a detailed dls- cuss~on of DOD's reasons for obJect- --New pilots must be tralned lng to the recommendations, see page 21 --Hellcopter pllot and crew morale-- as well as military readiness--is MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION adversely affected BY THE CONGRESS GAO IS bringing this matter to the GAO recognizes that it may be expen- attention of the Congress because sive to develop, install, and main- of its continuing interest in mill- tain an in-flight escape system but tary developments affecting the believes that the potential decrease safety of military personnel and in the number of fatalities and because congressional monltorlng severe inJuries warrants further may be needed to stimulate actlon Y CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Parachutes and electIon seats have provided reasonably effective means of escape from fixed-wing alrcraft for over 20 years A Navy lnvestlgatlon showed that In-flight escape systems in these arrcraft had saved 2,800 lives from 1960 to 1970 However, helicopter crews and passengers have no means of safe escape when in-flight emergencies cause the pllot to lose control of the craft Because of the hellcopter’s spinning rotor blades and inherent lnstablllty, it 1s not practicable for the crew and passengers to use parachutes and ball out Successful parachute escapes from helicopters are rare If a pllot can control the helicopter after an in-flight emergency occurs, such as when engine power 1s lost, he can attempt to land the craft using “autorotatlon” (controlling descent by using the upward flow of air through the rotor blades to make them rotate) Just before landing, the angle of the rotor blades 1s changed to produce a lifting effect which cushions the impact Autorotatlon, however, does not provide full survival capability, as shown by helicopter casualty statistics --about 5,000 fatalities in Vietnam alone since January 1961. We wanted to know whether the military was glvlng enough conslderatlon to technological developments which could prevent such fatalities We reviewed Army and Navy efforts to develop hellcopter personnel survival sys terns --mainly in-flight escape systems-- and their plans to install them in planned, developmental, and operatlonal hellcopters We also reviewed reports on Navy-sponsored studies, Including feasibility studies, of the helicopter escape and survival problem We interviewed offlclals of the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, the Army, and the Navy in the Washlng- ton, D C., area and of the Naval Weapons Laboratory