Establishing a New Pilot Selection Procedure for the Royal Netherlands Navy,
Abstract
Many pilots and flight observers of the 7 Squadron, one of the helicopter squadrons of the naval air service of the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN), often tell us the following story: About fifteen years ago a pilot of a Lynx helicopter was about to land on the helicopter landing platform of a frigate. There was a fierce wind blowing and the sea was rather choppy. The usual procedure under such weather conditions is to keep the ship in a geographically fixed position so that it lies more or less still, to give the pilot and the flight observer the possibility to land safely. This however, did not happen this time. After the helicopter had hovered' above the frigate for quite a long time, the sea became somewhat calmer and the pilot decided to land. By then the captain thought that it had gone on long enough and he estimated that the pilot could land when the ship moved half speed ahead (for now the sea had become calmer). However, when the pilot had nearly landed, the ship accelerated. But when it gained speed it leaned sideways in the waves at the moment the helicopter nearly touched down. The pilot managed to steer away to the right and saved the aircraft. With this story they try to explain two things: (1) Firstly that, according to the airmen, captains of frigates often underestimate how difficult it is to land a helicopter on the flight deck of a ship. (2) Secondly this story is meant to emphasize to outsiders how well-trained the crew of these helicopters have to be.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA362237
Entities
People
- Linda K. Kruithoed