Air Rescue Systems - ARS - Especialistas em Segurança Pública - Helicópteros
Autor: Jeferson Espindola | Publicado: 2015-08-30T16:12:00-03:00






The police helicopter has a long and distinguished history as law 
enforcement's “eye in the sky,” providing a unique and invaluable aerial
 perspective to enhance the safety, awareness, and effectiveness of 
officers on the ground. Today, however, with budgets tightening and 
resources under scrutiny, many agencies are seeking to expand the role 
and capabilities of their rotary-wing units, elevating the overall 
significance and worth of their aviation program by turning their 
aircraft from simple aerial observation platforms into true 
multi-mission assets.



This expansion in 
capability can include taking on highly specialized missions such as 
airborne firefighting, and human external cargo (HEC) operations that 
require rappelling, fast-roping, short-hauling or hoisting. But these 
types of missions bring with them many potential risks, and as such, 
they are not disciplines that can be approached casually; one’s failure 
to adequately assess, identify, and manage these risks could result in 
catastrophic consequences.


&nbsp;“These disciplines seem simple on the surface,” said Bob Cockell, 
VP of Air Rescue Systems Corp. (ARS), a leading training, response, and 
equipment provider specializing in HEC. “However, it’s the small details
 that are missed in the assumption that, because we have a helicopter, 
we can and should perform these missions. Frankly, there are programs 
that should steer clear of these HEC operations for a number of reasons —
 experience, commitment to training, staffing, [and] aircraft 
capabilities are just a few.”



Based outside the
 small city of Ashland in southern Oregon, ARS offers a highly 
specialized blend of services and products aimed to help foreign and 
domestic airborne public safety operators gain the training experience, 
personnel expertize, or specialized equipment they need to safely 
navigate these challenging waters.&nbsp;




Tailor-made Training



As a training 
provider, ARS is certified for external load operations under U.S. 
Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) part 133, which allows for HEC 
operations and training for a variety of helicopter rescue techniques. 
ARS also holds an FAR part 141 certificate as a pilot training school, 
offering courses in advanced piloting techniques and vertical reference 
for external load operations.&nbsp;



ARS employs 15 
full time instructors, whose backgrounds range from military operations,
 to civil law enforcement, fire/rescue, emergency medical service, and 
tactical elements. The team operates a fleet of five aircraft: a hoist 
equipped MD Helicopters MD 902, an MD 600, an MD 520N, an MD 530F and an
 MD 500E.



Training courses are individually tailored to meet an operator’s 
specific mission requirements, and can be brought to the customer and 
conducted at their home venue, or completed at ARS’s Oregon facility. 
There, students enjoy the convenience of full service on-site 
accommodations, including housing, cooking, and laundry facilities 
(meals are also catered daily).



The facility’s 
beautiful mountain setting offers a diverse operational environment, 
providing students a variety of real world challenges — from flying in 
mountain environments, to conducting operations around tall timber or 
heavy foliage canopy, or over flat and moving water.




In addition, portions of the facility itself have been developed 
with structures that can be utilized for flight and tactical training 
objectives, such as a tall helicopter operations tower, complete with 
balconies and windows. Other structures representing rooftops were built
 low to the ground, and are used for practicing helicopter insertions 
via fast-rope or rappel, or human extractions by hoist or short-haul.



Pilots
 can hone their precision flying skills by performing toe-in, one-skid, 
and hover operations, or they can fly beyond the developed facility and 
train among the more challenging natural terrain, which reaches up to 
6,000 feet in elevation.



“We may not understand all of the nuances of their team, their 
culture, [or] their response area — they’re the best ones to do that,” 
said Cockell. “We just guide them through the process to create a safe 
program, fulfilling their goals and objectives within their budget, and 
[provide] a realistic approach to their response needs.”&nbsp;



Air-One
 Emergency Response Coalition, a multi-jurisdictional air support unit 
serving Illinois and southern Wisconsin, is a long-term ARS customer. 
The coalition operates 12 helicopters, and relies on ARS for instruction
 and operational guidance for its multi-mission program. “ARS brings 
professional training, buttressed by a steadfast and unwavering 
commitment to safety,” said Dan Bitton, Air-One’s commander. “They are 
not just a contractor; they are truly our training partners, with our 
best interest in the forefront.”



ARS is scheduled to provide Air-One with a number of external load 
courses this year, including cargo, advanced HEC, and Bambi Bucket, as 
well as initial and recurrent hoist operations.&nbsp;



“We
 know these are dangerous operations, and it is incumbent on me, as the 
unit commander, to mitigate risk to the fullest extent possible,” said 
Bitton. “The discipline in making the commitment to retain a SAR 
[search-and-rescue] subject matter expert is no different to me than the
 mandate to retain the manufacturer — Bell Helicopter — as our pilot 
training subject matter expert.”



On the Hawaiian island of Kauai, ARS maintains a regular training 
schedule for personnel from the island’s police and fire departments, 
who share the use of a single MD 530F to perform two distinctly 
different missions. Kauai is known for its dramatic, steep and wildly 
rugged terrain, providing an alluring draw for outdoor adventure seekers
 — as well as illegal marijuana grows. Both agencies have long used 
short-haul for the high volume of technical rescues they are required to
 perform, as well as for the ongoing marijuana eradication efforts 
throughout the entire island chain.&nbsp;



“ARS 
understands that nobody knows the challenges that we face better than 
us,” said Daniel Oliveira, operations sergeant in charge of Hawaii’s 
domestic cannabis eradication/suppression program (DCE/SP). “They aren’t
 there to try and change anything about our program. They are truly 
there to support us.”



Putting it into Practice



An
 ARS initial hoist or short-haul course typically involves 40 to 48 
hours of classroom and field instruction, and begins with eight to 10 
hours in the classroom. “We have a very immersed, didactic portion that 
starts off every class, covering helicopter operations, safety, CRM 
[crew resource management], hazard identification and risk management,” 
said Cockell. “The skills come easy once they can manage those other 
issues.”



Students are then introduced to all the various hardware, aircraft 
rigging, safety equipment, and rescue systems. For experienced rescuers,
 this acts as a refresher.



“[ARS] operates on a
 best practices baseline, ever evolving to keep their training up to 
date,” said Bitton. “Every step of our program begins with intense 
ground based training with ‘hands-on’ by our unit members.”



The
 class then moves into the field, where core modules are taught and 
hands-on skills and procedures are introduced, reinforced — and 
reinforced again. Emphasis is placed on the basics: working around the 
aircraft, close quarter positioning, and the use of equipment.




In what might be considered the “crawl” stage, students are 
introduced to skid riding and basic short-haul or hoisting techniques. 
“When we progress to flight operations, ARS instructs in [a] building 
blocks format, making certain all [students] attain the required 
knowledge before moving on to the next block of instruction,” said 
Bitton.



In the days that follow, as students 
become comfortable with the techniques and procedures and begin to gel 
as a team, the “walk” stage begins. Instructors challenge the students 
using controlled scenarios, steadily elevating the situational 
difficulty at the different venues.&nbsp;



The 
culmination of the training is the “run” stage, as ARS instructors 
develop and choreograph realistic and challenging scenarios in the 
field. The students must assess the situation, develop a plan, and 
successfully execute the mission using the skills they have been taught.




Upon the students’ successful completion of the course, ARS 
instructors are quick to emphasize the importance of prudent management 
of their new skills. “We challenge these organizations to constantly 
look for reasons to not do what they’re trained to do — rather than jump
 at the first opportunity,” said Cockell. “We share our achievements and
 failures to make our customers achieve the highest level of ‘risk 
managed’ response.”



Expanded Service



As
 well as its many training offerings, ARS provides airborne response 
services to public safety agencies who may require the capabilities of a
 helicopter and crew. For instance, ARS will launch their aircraft to 
perform an emergency short-haul or hoist rescue, or perhaps support an 
agency on a pre-planned tactical mission where they might provide aerial
 insertions into a remote marijuana grow.




ARS also supplies teams of skilled rescue and medical personnel to 
fulfill long- and short-term contract programs around the globe. In 
partnership with Erickson, it recently completed a multi-year contract 
in which it supplied rescue hoist operators, paramedics and emergency 
medical technicians (EMTs) in support of training missions for the U.S. 
Army in Alaska. A similar program in Hawaii currently utilizes over 30 
full- and part-time paramedics and EMTs. Next year, in partnership with 
AAR Airlift and British International Helicopters, ARS will supply 
rescue personnel for a long-term contract in the Falkland Islands. Using
 two SAR-equipped AgustaWestland AW189s, the team will provide SAR and 
medical evacuations for military operations, as well as for the island’s
 civilian population and local fishing fleet.&nbsp;



Further
 global expansion this summer will see ARS develop its training presence
 across the Atlantic through a new entity, ARS Europe. Developed by ARS 
with a European partner, ARS Europe has set up operations in Prague, 
Czech Republic, at a former Soviet military base. In addition to rescue 
courses, it will provide initial pilot training sanctioned by the 
European Aviation Safety Agency.



In addition to its training service and the provision of highly 
skilled personnel, ARS also creates its own specialized equipment for 
rescue, utility and tactical applications; this is the final element of 
ARS’s core philosophy to provide a complete service solution to its 
customers.



To create these products, the 
company has its own in-house team, which handles everything from the 
design and engineering to the manufacturing of the products. Among the 
equipment developed and manufactured by ARS are innovative victim 
extraction devices, fast rope and short-haul kits, personal retention 
lanyards, cabin/door anchors, and comfortable, lightweight tactical or 
rescue/safety full-body harnesses.



“The knowledge of SAR equipment that ARS brings to the table, I 
believe, is unprecedented,” said Bitton, who credits one of ARS’s safety
 devices as being responsible for saving two of his personnel. “[That] 
ARS [is] manufacturing and testing SAR equipment affords Air-One access 
to the latest in SAR equipment and mission safety,” he said.



The
 Kauai agencies also have high praise for the ARS equipment they employ.
 “ARS brings a quality short-haul system that can withstand the vigorous
 demands of our mission,” said Oliveira. “It’s a system that we 
absolutely love because of the easy attachment to the helicopter. 
Because we deploy and retract ropes constantly during our mission, it’s a
 quick and safe process.”




Much of the expertise behind ARS’s hardware manufacturing is the 
result of a long-term partnership with John Yates and his company Yates 
Gear. The company is a highly-regarded manufacturer of mountaineering 
and rock climbing equipment, and has an extensive product line of 
professional utility, rescue, and tactical hardware.



ARS’s
 ISO 9001:2008 accreditation for its quality management system assures 
customers the company has met the industry’s highest manufacturing 
standards, and, earlier this year, it also earned approval from the FAA 
for its quality control system. The latter will prove particularly 
important as ARS works toward FAA TSO-C167 certification for personnel 
carrying device systems (rescue harnesses).



Throughout the world, the role of the police helicopter is 
evolving. Crews are being asked to tackle unfamiliar and demanding 
missions that require new perspectives, skill sets and hardware. Through
 the three-pronged provision of training, personnel, and equipment, ARS 
aims to offer customers a complete service solution, helping them safely
 adapt to this extremely challenging, and ever-evolving, environment.




Fonte: www.verticalmag.com