A cabin full of smoke is a flight crew's nightmare, but for aviation training provider AirCare International, it’s just another day at the office. That scenario is one it creates many times a day, in fact. The company (Booth N1321) provides simulated hazards using devices such as its FACTS VIII simulator, a 53-foot-long trailer-mounted device that can faithfully recreate emergency situations in an aircraft cabin. During the convention, the Long Beach, California-based device, one of three in the company fleet, will be stationed outside the rear doors of the Las Vegas Convention Center, near the shuttles to the static display. Attendees are invited to take a free ride into the danger zone on a walk-up basis.
The “flight” begins like most, with a flight attendant passing through the cabin and inspecting passengers' seatbelts to make sure they are safely belted in. That’s important because things will likely get bumpy. The simulator is supported by a set of hydraulic lifts and airbags, which can mimic the full motion of flight, turbulence and even a hard landing or a ditching. It is controlled by an operator in a small compartment just aft of the “mockpit,” a generic cockpit with functioning communication equipment, so pilots can speak with the cabin. As guests enter the cabin, they may notice an innocent-looking laptop on one of the tables. They should keep an eye on it, as portable electronic devices in thermal runaway is just one of the hazard scenarios the company can simulate, along with decompression, landing-gear failure, medical emergencies and planned and unplanned evacuation.
The simulator replicates the cabin of a large business jet, one that can carry up to 13 passengers, with forward and aft galleys. It features interchangeable emergency exits that can mimic those found on Gulfstreams, Globals, Challengers, Falcons and Hawkers. The aim is to make the experience as real to the cabin crew and passengers as possible. The simulator is equipped with real emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers, oxygen bottles, passenger oxygen masks, life vests, medical kits, emergency lighting, signs and placards. If the scenario calls for the flight attendant to find a fire extinguisher in a dark smoky cabin, remove it from its holder and pull the pin, that’s exactly what they will do. The simulator’s surround-sound system also helps in establishing a sense of realism and urgency, as sound effects are played by the system operator.
After the flight attendant has helped passengers escape from whatever mock peril they were exposed to, it takes as little as five minutes to reset the simulator for the next group of victims. In a typical training scenario, the customers would then gather for a debriefing on the experience.
“What we have seen in the past few years that we think is very interesting is a change in the way some flight departments with strong safety cultures are using the sim,” said Martin Hamilton, vice president of marketing and business development for the company, which also provides crew staffing and telemedicine services. “It used to be that our sims were just a tool for training emergency procedures—get on the sim and do the drill, hope it goes ok, get off and go have a beer because they’ve checked the box.” Now, he said, more flight departments are using the simulator intentionally as a safety management system tool to test out their standard operating procedures, along with communication and coordination between the pilots and cabin crew. “We’re watching them get on, and not get off until they’ve ironed out their kinks and weaknesses. So [they're] using the sims to find and identify weaknesses and then remedying the issues immediately. They are going beyond training and getting into CRM and SMS.”
But according to Hamilton, it’s not only crews that are benefitting from the experience. “The other thing we’re seeing is more executives being trained,” he told AIN. “Directors of aviation are convincing their execs to get on and do training, which is just extraordinary. We’ve heard several flight departments tell us that after doing this, it opened up doors of communication, gave the execs an appreciation of the flight department's function and helped to sell other safety initiatives.”