Rotary Wing Sortie Study by Phase of Operation for FY 69.

摘要

This study represents a different approach in analyzing Army aircraft accidents to determine specific causes and the degree of occurrence in order that accident prevention measures may be applied more directly to the area of training and operations that produce the most accidents. It is developed around the sortie divided into phases and subphases to illustrate varying degrees of accident occurrence in helicopter operations and the points of highest exposure. The accident rate based on the sortie is not designed to replace the accident rate based on flying hours but rather is intended as an aid to the commander and aviator in effective aviation resource management and subsequent accident prevention. The approach used in this study is not entirely new since the sortie has been used as an index to combat exposure in describing the vulnerability of the helicopter in combat and has similar value in determining the hazard exposure that results in accidents. The sortie study is only one of many possible approaches in developing methods of analyzing aircraft accidents. It opens the door to virtually unlimited in-depth research and studies to reduce the complex inter-related elements of an accident to manageable proportions. As a follow-on to this study, each phase will be separately studied in depth and reports of findings and conclusions published as the individual study phase is completed.