Story ID: 414
EASA Studying Helicopter Underwater Escape
By: Mark Huber
Caption: EASA has contracted with the CAAi for a new study on helicopter underwater egress which will be used to validate or amend EASA CS-27 and CS-29 standards. 
Word Count: 325
EASA has contracted with the CAAi, the technical cooperation arm of the UK Civil Aviation Authority, for a research project to investigate underwater evacuations of offshore helicopters and occupant survivability.

The two-year project, which began this month, has been dubbed Helicopter Underwater Escape #2 and will be funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research program. It is a follow-on to the Helicopter Underwater Evacuation project conducted from 2019-2020 and was spurred by the UK Air Accident Investigation Branch’s report on the fatal August 2013 crash of an Airbus Helicopters Super Puma into the sea during a botched instrument approach to the Sumburgh Airport in the Scottish Shetland Islands. Four of the 18 passengers aboard died. 

The new study will focus on high-priority EASA recommendations from the earlier research project, specifically with regard to the jettison of push-out emergency exits in inverted and submerged helicopters and the ability of passengers to egress from a submerged helicopter cabin with full seats. From the research, the study will attempt to determine the appropriate minimum jettison force for the exits to either validate current EASA CS-27 and CS-29 certification standards or provide the basis to promote proposed amendments. It will also try to establish how long it takes the occupant to conduct an underwater escape in order to either validate or justify future revisions to CS-27 and CS-29 Amendment 5. To conduct testing, the CAAi is working with Fleetwood Test House—part of Blackpool & The Flyde College's Fleetwood Nautical Campus—which is one of the top nautical test houses in the UK.

Maria Rueda, CAAi managing director, noted, “Since 1997, there have been four offshore helicopter accidents in the UK claiming the lives of 38 offshore workers and flight crew. By carefully examining the different elements and characteristics of underwater evacuations and reporting realistic survivability data, we are confident this study can further enhance the existing high standards of offshore helicopter safety standards.”