Helicopters are being used in the utilities industry now more than ever, not only for transport but also for inspection and maintenance of their T&D assets. To meet today's challenges of system reliability, helicopter crews are becoming an integral part of collecting accurate and timely data for system quality and maintenance planning. This trend is expected to continue rising rapidly, especially since the National Security Agency has raised grid system protection and reliability to a “hot-button” issue.

However, there is more to utility helicopter operations than simply finding someone who can fly a helicopter. The “wire zone” is an area in which pilots are not trained to fly. More care is required today, as dangers are growing daily with the addition of cell towers, more transmission lines and more flight missions than ever before for utility system maintenance and upgrades.

Like many utilities around the world, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA; Knoxville, Tennessee), which owns and operates seven helicopters, is using helicopters for line inspections, stringing wire, setting poles, and placing crews and tools in areas that are otherwise inaccessible. With more than 17,000 miles of transmission lines spanning a seven-state service territory, TVA also retains helicopter service providers for specialty jobs and during heavy workloads such as storm seasons.

If your company is utilizing helicopter assistance or is thinking about developing helicopter operations, utility operations management need to make sure they understand the crucial safety and operational issues and the differences in flying in a wire zone.

National statistics show that, on average, there is one aircraft wire strike every 14 days. At least one person dies every 17 days as a result of an aircraft wire accident. The increasing need for utilities to manage helicopters operations can pose a great deal of uncertainty for an industry unfamiliar with the complexities and culture surrounding the sometimes-turbulent helicopter business.

Utility helicopter auditors across the country are finding a number of common misconceptions held by utilities, line maintenance and construction contractors, and many helicopter service providers that can seriously threaten the safety and cost effectiveness of a utility helicopter operation. Understanding these misconceptions might save many lives and eliminate unnecessary accidents.

Misconception #1

The patrolman on board a patrol helicopter is just a passenger doing his job of inspecting or surveying.

On the contrary, the patrolman is nearly always the resident expert on the one factor that causes most patrol accidents: the wire environment. Most patrolmen have extensive knowledge of the traps and dangers inherent in the wire environment; and the ability to communicate that flight-critical information to a pilot, whether a company pilot or a contracted pilot, is vital to the safety of a mission.

Today's passenger on patrol serves as a copilot based on new training dedicated to wire flying. During Wire Strike Avoidance training sessions conducted by the Helicopter Association International, instructors show an actual patrol accident filmed from inside the helicopter, where the patrolman and pilot were both killed as a result of the lack of information flow between them. In the dozens of testimonies heard during joint pilot/patrolmen training sessions conducted for utilities around the country, it is most often the patrolman who spots a problem in time to avert an accident.

Fortunately, TVA and many other utilities, such as Xcel Energy, Kentucky Utilities and PacifiCorp to name a few, realize this fact and have been busy training their pilots and patrolmen in Wire Strike Avoidance and a modified version of what the aviation industry calls Crew Resource Management (CRM), which helps utility flight crews to operate safely as a team.

Misconception #2

All helicopter operations who operate under Federal Aviation Regulations Part 91 or who are certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under Part 133 or Part 135 are qualified to operate helicopters in the utility wire environment.

Operating a helicopter in the low-level wire environment is an entirely different skill that is far more complex and demanding than any other type of flying. There is no provision anywhere in the mainstream aviation education process to equip or prepare a pilot for operating in an environment that is unforgiving to all but the most experienced. There are also no provisions made to examine an operator for competency in the utility environment.

Some FAA inspectors have little helicopter operating experience, and those who do are often limited to transport missions. This lack of utility-specific helicopter experience is further complicated by the fact that utility operations require numerous subsets of skills and procedures experience, such as minimum approach distances, that don't come simply from an FAA certificate.

TVA conducts in-depth prequalification of all pilots and helicopter contractors, inspecting log books, visiting their facilities and reviewing maintenance records books. Personnel are interviewed and shops are inspected for cleanliness and organization.

Misconception #3

A high number of flight hours and a low number of accidents are key indicators in selecting a helicopter contractor.

This is probably one of the most common mistakes utilities make in qualifying a helicopter contractor to do work on their system. While a minimum amount of flight experience should be required in both rotor craft and the type of helicopter you will be using on your system, the most important qualifier is a pilot's experience operating a helicopter in the wire environment and doing the type of work you are requiring him or her to do. Likewise, the accident history of an operator is an important consideration, but fewer accidents do not necessarily mean you are dealing with a safe operator.

Utility crews have the greatest exposure to the wire environment of any other helicopter application, and at altitudes and proximity to structures never encountered in other disciplines. Statistics have found that most helicopter accidents on utility missions involve highly experienced pilots with thousands of pilot-in-command flight hours under their belts. Helicopter pilots must have a thorough working knowledge of the transmission system and the wire environment in order to work in this unique environment and be able to competently anticipate the lineman's needs, such as proper speed, altitude above and distance away from the lines.

For example, an educated utility pilot knows how to look at a string of insulators and how it is pulled, which will indicate when a line is about to make a turn. The pilot is also aware that overhead static lines don't always go straight down the line; they may go to another line right across his flight path.

Misconception #4

An in-house flight department usually will be much safer than a contractor.

While it is true that a case can be made statistically that corporate flight departments are safer than chartered aircraft, that statistic applies to personnel transport only. The overall safety of a utility flight operation, where the aircraft is also used as a tool to inspect and service the grid, will be directly proportionate to the utility and helicopter skills of the pilots, crews and the department manager and/or chief pilot, in addition to the normal skills associated with transport operations. It is not uncommon for auditors to find in-house flight operations using the wrong equipment or staffed with pilots insufficiently trained to operate in the wire environment on utility missions. This can happen when executives build flight operations centered on their transport needs rather than the needs of the transmission service. Staffing and managing an operation with transport pilots and expecting them to carry out safe and meaningful work in the low-level wire environment is often an unreasonable request and one that has raised serious safety concerns among many utility employees. Transport skills are fairly routine and in no way qualify a pilot to operate a helicopter in the wire and obstruction environment.

Fortunately, many utilities are taking their responsibility for helicopter safety seriously by only allowing “qualified” operators to bid on flight contracts and making sure that in-house crews are trained and experienced in the types of flying missions they are assigned. More and more, utilities are taking a hard look at the advanced skill sets helicopter service providers need to guarantee the safety of its employees and operate on or near their expensive T&D assets.

Helicopters Don't Have to be a Risky Business

Operating helicopters in the utility environment does not have to be a risky business. Hard lessons learned by several utilities in the recent past have shown that managing aviation risks, ahead of an accident, is far more cost effective and productive than dealing with the crisis that ensues in the aftermath.

By setting up a well-thought-through prequalification process and having an ongoing quality-assurance program, this valuable tool can be as safe as any other piece of equipment in the field.

Terry Herring is manager of helicopter operations for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). He is a 10,000-hour pilot with 18 years experience in the utility industry and has been with TVA for 13 years. He has a bachelor's degree from Auburn University. He currently serves on the Utilities Patrol and Construction Committee of the Helicopter Association International. TVA utilizes helicopters primarily for line inspections and for construction and maintenance projects in inaccessible areas, environmentally sensitive areas and national forests where cutting roads is not appropriate. trherring@tva.gov

Robert A. Feerst is president of Utilities/Aviation Specialists Inc. He has 36 years experience in aviation, with 32 years of operating in a joint gas-and-electric utility. He is a commercial pilot, rated in both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, and a former pilot/manager for a large Midwestern gas-and-electric utility. He has a bachelor's degree from Purdue University and master's degrees in aviation business management and aviation/aerospace operations from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Bob is also a former chairman of the Utility's Patrol and Construction Committee of the Helicopter Association International. feerstuas@sbcglobal.net