Survitec is introducing a new compressed air (CA) emergency breathing system (EBS) for offshore helicopter passengers and crew. The EBS can be deployed in a single action, using one hand, and is already integrated into the company’s Halo lifejacket, introduced last year. It features a mouthpiece with an integrated nose clip, a braided low-pressure hose, larger reinforced carbon composite compressed air cylinder, and weight of just 2.09 pounds.
“The introduction of a 310 bar cylinder allows us to substantially increase the amount of breathable air available for use by the user in a water-impact scenario," said Nigel Parkes, Survitec's head of lifejacket design. "By combining composite materials within a pocket shielded and reinforced for impact protection, our design teams have also delivered a much lighter, more resilient CA-EBS,”
Survitec noted that the primary reason for developing the new EBS was the additional air demand from someone panicking or is otherwise under extreme stress. Its new EBS delivers 80 percent more air than required by UK Civil Aviation Authority CAP 1034 guidelines. Developed in 2013, that standard requires an EBS to provide survival air for 60 seconds to a depth of two meters.