HELICOPTER FLIGHT IN DEGRADED VISUAL CONDITIONS

摘要

The UK Civil Aviation Authority has sponsored research to investigate the causes of accidents involving civilrnhelicopter operations in degraded visual cueing conditions. The objective of this initiative was to identify potentialrndevelopments of the civil regulations and requirements that would help to prevent and/or mitigate accident-pronernscenarios. The research involved a review of accident statistics and a follow-on piloted simulation investigation,rnthe results of which were compared with the findings of a review of the applicable civil regulations. Poor aircrewrnsituational awareness and spatial disorientation, or controlled flight into terrain following inadvertent entry intornInstrument Meteorological Conditions, were identified as primary causal factors. The strong inter-dependencyrnbetween helicopter handling qualities and the visual cueing environment was highlighted, emphasising the needrnfor improved instrument displays for flight in degraded visual conditions, and improved requirements andrnguidance for control augmentation and flight control mechanical characteristics.