Films about underwater entrapment have dazzled cinema audiences for decades. In Hollywood, the underwater rescue business is big, from a commercial airliner landing on the Hudson River at the helm of Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger to rescues with submerged cars, boats, ships, and even submarines. In the case of helicopters or float plane crashes over and into water, preparedness is necessary outside of film story arcs. Helicopter underwater egress training (HUET) and aviation survival and egress training (ASET) are taught internationally by both military and commercial enterprises. But it’s not just private entities taking the lead. Regulatory bodies like the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) play a crucial role, offering preparatory courses for flight personnel to become adept at survival training in the case of a crash over water.

The FAA and private HUET/ASET entities discussed their programs and practices in this article. As a private entity handling HUET training in Canada, Bryan Webster of Aviation Egress Systems travels around the USA in a full-size Class A motorhome or Mobile Training Center, providing fixed-wing and helicopter egress training. They’ve been in business for over 20 years following an early career accident that Webster survived. Consultant Michael Benton of VyClimb Consulting of Colorado and Oregon offers safety operations and emergency planning services. He recommends training pilots and crew every three years.

HUET/ASET regulations

It includes a discussion on the psychology of survival, aircraft exit procedures, search and rescue operations, signaling devices and their use, fire starting/building, personal survival kits, rafts and accessories, and helicopter pickup devices

The FAA has HUET training programs as listed on its website. According to an FAA spokesperson, “The course is available to general aviation (GA) personnel. It provides basic knowledge and skills for coping with various survival scenarios. It also teaches students how to assemble and use a personal survival kit easily. The course examines survival in desert, arctic, and water environments from two points: pre-flight preparation and the skills needed to endure those extremes. It includes a discussion on the psychology of survival, aircraft exit procedures, search and rescue operations, signaling devices and their use, fire starting/building, personal survival kits, rafts and accessories, and helicopter pickup devices.”

The FAA has trained 344 people since 2022.

Additionally, it shares information about stocking a survival kit for a water or marine crash via aircraft.

In the case of water-based egress training, the FAA offers course information on the following:

• Ditching and sea survival
• Underwater egress
• Water Survival Lab consisting of:
  • Ditching and egress
  • Flotation and swimming
  • Raft boarding and righting
  • Rescue (pickup) devices
  • Shallow water egress trainer (voluntary).

The spokesperson said: “The course is designed to be an introduction that provides basic knowledge and skills for coping with various common survival scenarios. It also teaches how to easily assemble and use a personal survival kit.

“We conduct hands-on practice sessions based on device/personnel availability, and they may include a fire-starting lab, signaling lab, thermal (cold) chamber, ditching tank, underwater egress trainer, and an aircraft emergency evacuation (smoke) simulator. The principles and techniques taught apply to the type of survival equipment that can be found or carried onboard GA aircraft.”

EASA’s website notes: “EASA offers training only to its own staff and to members of the national aviation authorities who perform work on behalf of the Agency.” Therefore, no public courses are listed for pilots and crew for HUET or ASET.

Objections to training

It may seem logical for all helicopter or float plane pilots to consider HUET and ASET training. Still, according to Benton, there are two primary objections to taking the egress or ditching training classes: cost and fear.

Cost is usually the first objection because it is more than just the training costs. It also typically includes travel expenses and possibly premiums to cover open shifts while crews are away

He said: “Cost is usually the first objection because it is more than [just] the training costs. It also typically includes travel expenses and possibly premiums to cover open shifts while crews are away. This is what usually drives operators to build their [own] programs. Building your program is usually optional if the HUET training isn’t mandatory. Mandatory training usually also includes language [that sets] a minimum standard for the type and resolution of training, so the DIY option is better than nothing if done safely.”

He added that fear, the second objection, occurs because it is an anxiety-producing activity. “It is almost a situation of ‘ignorance is bliss’, where an organization regularly flies over water and has the necessary equipment to be legal, such as individual flotation devices, but they use hope as a ‘plan’ that nothing will go wrong. Some feel that if they have staff working there for years and suddenly mandate HUET, some staff will refuse the training and then be put in a situation of training or resigning. Some programs fly over huge lakes and may not be doing the training because of several objectives.”

Reasons to train

Webster found his passion for training early in life following a plane crash in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was learning to fly and only had 30 hours of flight time. The pilot was experienced, but there was an intense orange glare at sunset. The river below them was dirty brown silt, and BC Hydro had just added power lines. The pilot in command tried to avoid the lines and failed. They crashed into the river and were both knocked unconscious by the force of the water. Webster saved the pilot’s life by pulling him out of the plane and once they were on shore, some fishermen helped them call an ambulance.

“Shoulder harnesses save lives; I am proof of that.” He said that flying over power lines was “hair-raising” after that experience.

Since then, he has flown 35 different airplanes, worked for numerous companies, and a year later had another challenging flight over water. He was asked to set up a program for the company and found that commercial egress training was hard to find. He started the business in 1998 and hasn’t looked back. He and his wife travel around Canada and have trained about 9,600 people at 70 locations. Thirty of those trainees have later on been in water crashes and have survived, along with 27 passengers.

Transport Canada has followed its success and decided that all commercial float plane pilots must, by law, take their training or something similar every three years

Transport Canada has followed its success and decided that all commercial float plane pilots must, by law, take their training or something similar every three years.

“Business is good; at this point, it is a little overwhelming,” Webster said. He added that they have a positive following with the flying community. He said most aircraft are float planes, but they also train for helicopter crews, including paramedic helicopter pilots. 

Webster added that training is important because “in cold water, your chances of survival go down. When you hit the water, you tend to gasp and take in water due to cold shock. When the plane goes upside down, there are more fatalities. Roughly 80% [of people in water] have difficulty.” He teaches people to keep a seat belt on when they go under because finding an orientation point to escape from is easier.

Methods of training

Depending upon the program, there is classroom training, and hands-on or pool training using egress simulators. Aviation Egress Systems also has portable equipment that can be transported country-wide on airplanes or trucks. “We fly out in an airline and set up the equipment in a local pool. We can be anytime, anywhere.” The equipment is free-floating. They have one piece like a six-seat light aircraft where people can go underwater and practice holding their breath while solving problems. “It is all very user-friendly,” he said, noting that their equipment continues to evolve.

Depending upon the program, there is classroom training, and hands-on or pool training using egress simulators

Benton provides academic training “around aircraft safety, egress, and survival, but for underwater egress and water survival, we would refer them to a specialist in this area because it is so important to get hands-on training in a pool with the necessary equipment like aircraft cockpit and cabin simulators, compressed air breathing systems, simulated water egress training chairs, etc. Additionally, the in-water training comes with unique safety requirements, such as trained divers, that are outside the scope of our offerings.”

He also offers pre-accident and incident planning, post-accident response, on-scene investigation, and months of ongoing follow-up with the investigation and regulatory authorities.

Frequency of training

Both Webster and Benton recommended retraining at three-year intervals. Benton added: “Regulations will vary by jurisdiction and mission, but I recommend that anyone who travels by helicopter over water beyond glide distance of land should have HUET training at least every three years. This would apply to any aircrew, such as pilots, technicians, hoist operators, medical personnel, etc. We had to get HUET and CABS training for warm and cold water when I had to fly offshore.”

Pilots and crew, no matter the mission, should be prepared to escape the aircraft rapidly for the sake of their lives and the lives of the passengers

Benton also cited that open communication should be important in emergency response training: “Open communication is critical across the various teams that play a part in the planning and response. We have had huge success working with regulators and investigators through open communication and transparent collaboration.”

Summary

Water-based accidents in helicopters, float planes, and other aircraft can happen anywhere, anytime. The experts shared that pilots and crew, no matter the mission, should be prepared to escape the aircraft rapidly for the sake of their lives and the lives of the passengers. Underwater egress training is a proven solution to overcome the fear of going down in the water.