UK Search and Rescue Partners Frequently Asked Questions ABOUT BRISTOW HELICOPTERS Q. What is Bristow Helicopters experience of search and rescue? A. Bristow Helicopters has a proud 42 year history of providing world class search and rescue services in the UK, beginning in 1971 with Whirlwind helicopters at RAF Manston in Kent and continuing with the operation of S-61 SAR helicopters working at four SAR bases until 2007 (Stornoway, Sumburgh, Lee-on-Solent and Portland). Bristow Helicopters has flown more than 44,000 SAR operational hours in the UK and conducted over 15,000 SAR missions, during which more than 7,000 people have been rescued by Bristow Helicopters Ltd crews and helicopters. In 2013 Bristow Helicopters began delivery of the UK Gap SAR contract for Northern Scotland which sees our crews delivering the SAR service from bases at Stornoway and Sumburgh with a fleet of state of the art Sikorsky S-92 helicopters. In the North Sea, Bristow Helicopters was the first civil helicopter company to work in the region and remains one of the main service providers to the oil and gas industry. In addition, we currently deliver SAR operations in Australia, Canada, Norway, Russia and Trinidad. Q. Where can I find updates and details on the future service? A. Visit our dedicated search and rescue website www.bristowsar.com TRAINING Q. Will Bristow Helicopters provide adequate opportunity for training exercises with partner organisations? A. Yes. We recognise our role as one of many organisations committed to providing SAR services and anticipate much of our training will involve local SAR operational partners and volunteer teams. Furthermore, Bristow s contract with the Department for Transport commits us to carrying out 50 hours of training each month which will include SAR stakeholder training. We are confident that the allocated training time will allow us to properly engage with all partner organisations to continue the essential working relationships required for the continuation of world class SAR service for the UK. In addition we will work with local stakeholders to produce an annual training schedule. In most events we will be able to coordinate training to meet the training schedule of voluntary
organisations. There will also be the ability to conduct ad hoc training if we are informed of specific days of the week when training takes place. Q. How will the 50 hours of training each month be broken down between different organisations? A. Our training schedule will be flexible to meet the needs of each organisation. In many cases we will endeavour to organise major exercises involving several different organisations at one time. Our teams will also be responsive to circumstances. For instance, if we have been on several missions in a short space of time with some organisations but not with others, training priority would be given to those who have not recently been active. Q. Can you train over the allocated 50 hours training time each month if required? A. We do not anticipate the need to change the number of training hours allocated as part of the contract, however, it will be possible for Bristow Helicopters to roll over unused training hours in one month into the next. This in combination with the fact that the 50 hours are for each base, meaning that there will be more than 50 hours available in any given month due to the overlapping coverage of the new basing system. Q. Partner organisations will need time to become familiar with the new aircraft and kit. How will assimilation training be planned and carried out will there be a schedule? A. Yes. In advance of the search and rescue service going live, it will be vital that all partner organisations receive adequate training with the new helicopter crews, aircraft and kit. Bristow is in the process of mapping all of the relevant organisations across the UK with whom we will need to work. In the coming months we will begin contacting these organisations to discuss training needs and processes and begin planning a full assimilation training schedule prior to each base going live. In general we want to establish productive and on-going two-way communication with all the SAR partners we will be working with in the years ahead. Q. Will partner organisations receive training with both the Sikorsky S-92 and the AgustaWestland AW189 given that both may assist in operations? A. Yes. Although the closest base to your organisation may be an S-92 base, it is likely that your next nearest base may be an AW189 base. It is important that teams are made familiar with both aircraft as either could be tasked to work with you on a SAR mission. This training will be built into the training schedule and will be made available in advance of any of your nearby bases coming online. Q. What will be the process for organising training exercises will partner organisations need to contact Bristow or will Bristow coordinate all training? Who will be our contact at the base? A. Although Bristow will proactively establish a training schedule, this will be flexible and our teams will be happy to hear from you about training exercises you are planning, which they will endeavour to attend where possible. Once our teams are on the ground at each base they will be able to work closely with local partners to set up training and will be readily
contactable. Once appointed the Chief Pilot at each base, who will be the main contact, will get in touch. Q. Will Bristow attend regional stakeholder events and meetings? A. Yes. We are committed to regular liaison with regional as well as local stakeholders. Q. Will Bristow use e-learning / classroom training in addition to real life exercises? A. Yes. Bristow is developing a range of resources to help organisations who will work alongside the SAR helicopters become familiar with our aircraft, kit and processes. This will include e-learning as well as printed materials which will be shared with the relevant organisations. Q. Will Bristow s paramedics need training placements at local hospitals? A. Yes. Bristow is in discussion with the Ministry of Defence to obtain a list of hospitals currently used for paramedic placements. It is likely that we will set up placements at the same hospitals through the established channels. We will look to confirm this in the coming months and make contact with the relevant hospital teams. Q. How will you ensure that the paramedics receive ongoing training and remain current, and how will you ensure they get front line experience? A. Ongoing Continued Professional Development (CPD) is a required part of qualification validity for all of Bristow Helicopters paramedics and a significant part of this is focused on ensuring that our paramedics skills stay up to date and current. Q. How will you ensure that operational partners situated further from your base locations receive the same amount of training as others who may be closer? A. The proximity to the base is not a factor in determining the priority of training. All potential users of the SAR helicopter will need to understand how they can safely interact with the helicopter. The Chief Pilot at each base will work with all partner SAR organisations to identify opportunities to train and build up familiarity with the SAR helicopter. Q. Will Bristow charge for participation in training exercises? A. No. Training with operational partners is a vital part of our ability to deliver the service and there will be no charge for anyone participating in our exercises. TRANSITION Q. What was your rationale for selecting the new base locations? Are these locations now fixed or is there any intention to move away from any of the proposed bases in the future? A. The 10 selected bases across the UK are strategically located near areas of high SAR incident rates and the bases will help to ensure maximum operational SAR coverage across the whole of the UK and to reduce transit time and disturbance, helping us to exceed environmental requirements.
Our SAR services will be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and will be able to launch within 15 minutes between the hours of 08:00 & 22:00 and 45 minutes between 22:00 & 08:00. Our base locations, equipment and processes will allow us the ability to surge multiple aircraft to a single incident if so tasked by the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC). Bristow is committed to maintaining these bases for the duration of the UK SAR contract which runs until 2026. Q. When will helicopters and crews appear at a base? A. The ten search and rescue helicopter bases across the UK will commence operations through a phased approach starting in April 2015 with the final base coming online in summer 2017. Our helicopters and crews will begin to arrive and train at each base 3 months before operations commence. Q. How will the handover take place when military bases close and you commence operations? A. There will be a set date for each new base when the Bristow service goes live. It will then be the responsibility of the ARCC to begin tasking Bristow s helicopters for missions. Q. Organisations require enough time to make any changes that are necessary to their processes and buy new compatible kit. When will Bristow make this information available? A. Bristow understands that our partners need time to prepare for these changes. We will be contacting organisations throughout 2014 to begin conversations about processes and requirements and to begin planning training. Q. Where will you get the SAR experience to ensure a seamless transition to the new service? A. Bristow Helicopters is fully aware of the importance of ensuring consistency in the delivery of this vital SAR service. We have enormous respect for the service that our military colleagues have provided over the last 70 years of UK Search and Rescue and their legacy, heritage and experience will be honoured and carried forward by Bristow Helicopters in the new contract via a managed transition process agreed with the Ministry of Defence. Bristow Helicopters search and rescue service will be delivered by experienced crews with world class skills to execute SAR operations. Our personnel will be drawn from a combination of Bristow Helicopters and ex-military personnel to develop continued best practice and we will ensure that vital local knowledge is carried over into the new contract. Q. Certain organisations, lowland rescue for example, have a memorandum of understanding with the military; will you honour these or require new ones to be agreed? A. Bristow will aim to match intent of the agreements some organisations already have in place with the military. However, it will understandably wish to review, refresh or replace those agreements with new ones that reflect the new arrangements.
Q. When is each of the bases expected to go live? A. The expected live dates for each base are as follows: Inverness and Humberside 1 April 2015 Caernarfon and Manston 1 July 2015 St Athan 1 October 2015 Prestwick and Newquay - 1 January 2016 Lee-on-Solent and Sumburgh (currently operating Gap SAR) 1 April 2017 Stornoway (currently operating Gap SAR) 1 July 2017 Q. Which assets will cover the Boulmer area before Prestwick goes live? A. RNAS Gannet at Prestwick will continue SAR operations until Prestwick goes live. The ARCC will determine which assets will be tasked to incidents which may have been previously covered by RAF Boulmer. OPERATIONS Q. What are the contractually required response times and how are they justified? A. Response times to incidents are from the requirement to reach all high and very high risk cells within 60 minutes. Given the new aircraft, which will be used under the future service will be faster and have greater capabilities than the current Sea King fleet we have modelled that overall response times to incidents should fall as a result. Q. Are the response times to get airborne under the new service the same as today? A. Yes. Our aircraft will be airborne within 15 minutes between 0800 and 2200 and within 45 minutes at all other times. Bristow will always strive to exceed this. Q. Will cost ever be a factor in making operational decisions? A. Never. The search and rescue helicopter service will remain a state controlled function. All taskings will come through the ARCC in Kinloss, as they do under the military service. Bristow s pilots will assess the risk of a mission against the chances of saving lives in the same way as military pilots currently do. Q. Will other SAR organisations be insured when working with the MCA s helicopters? Will they have to contribute towards this premium and will there be an age limit? A. Yes, authorised personnel will be insured when working with the MCA s helicopters. There is not an age limit. Q. How will you ensure that Bristow s aircraft are capable of landing at the sites which the military Sea King currently can? A. In the coming months we will be conducting an audit of all landing sites currently used by the military SAR crews. We will then contact all relevant bodies with details of the S-92 and AW189 to ensure that we are able to use these landing sites in the future.
Q. Will Bristow s aircraft be able to use remote refuelling sites so that aircraft can remain close to the scene rather than return to base? A. Yes, Bristow s SAR helicopters will be able to stop at any commercial airport to refuel. Q. Will Bristow s operations be impacted by the fact that they are a commercial organisation flying under the civilian regulatory framework? A. No. Bristow is working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority to ensure that our civilian aircraft have the regulatory framework to allow them to operate in the same way as the military. As such, we do not anticipate any regulatory limitations caused by their civilian status. Q. Will Bristow s crews undertake medevac tasks, respond to road traffic accidents, or emergency evacuations? A. All SAR taskings come from the Air Rescue Coordination Centre in Kinloss. They put risk to human life first when tasking and we would respond as they direct, as the current military provider does. Q. Is the Isle of Man covered by the SAR service and which bases would respond to incidents there? A. Yes, the Isle of Man is part of the UK Search and Rescue Region (SRR). It falls within the range of bases at Caernarfon, Prestwick and Humberside. Q. What is the standard crew on each Bristow aircraft? A. Each aircraft will carry a pilot, co-pilot, winch operator and winchman paramedic. Q. Who decides which hospital casualties are taken to give that the closest may not always be the most appropriate for treatment? A. The SAR Commander will, in consultation with his crew and local receiving hospitals, determine which hospital is the most appropriate for receiving a casualty. This decision will also take into account available landing facilities and weather. Q. Are both aircraft types able to land on hospital helicopter pads? A. Not all hospital landing pads are built to the same standard and it is possible that some will be unable to accommodate the larger helicopter flown for search and rescue. Bristow will be conducting an audit of helipads currently used by the military in the coming months. Q. Who has primacy when both the MCA/Bristow and Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) aircraft respond to the same incident? A. A working group has been set up within the Department for Transport to establish a framework for determining primacy. This group aims to have completed this workstream by the time the new contract goes live. Q. Under the new contract will we still see helicopters from overseas, such as Belgian helicopters, being tasked to UK incidents on occasion? A. The nature of our relationships with neighbouring states, as set out in our plans for international cooperation, will not change.
Q. What is Bristow s standard numbers for an MRT team in the AW189 and will you retrieve MRT personnel off hillsides/cliffs following the safe recovery of the casualty? A. The AW189 will be able to carry 6 MRT members with full kit and if the operational tasking allows for it, yes we will be able to retrieve MRT personnel following the safe recovery of the casualty. Q. What engagement will Bristow be doing with the general public around the bases? A. We understand the importance of the base to the local community and are committed to keeping the public informed of developments as we move towards to contract commencement. While operations remain the number one priority, we have in the past opened up our bases to visits from schools and community groups. Q. Who will provide top cover given that Nimrod is no longer? A. Support to long range search and rescue is provided by fixed-wing aircraft provided to the MCA under a separate contract. The Government can also task a military C-130 Hercules if required. Q. How will you reach 30 degrees west of the UK search and rescue region given that Nimrod is no longer? A. The Nimrod would never have been conceivably tasked to the western edges of the UK Search and Rescue Region. It is incumbent on ships in the proximity of a maritime incident to render assistance if required. Q. Will you be flying over residential areas and how will you approach aircraft noise in and around the vicinity of the base? Bristow Helicopters is committed to minimising any disturbance or inconvenience caused by the noise associated with helicopter flights, take offs and landings both at and in the vicinity of, our SAR helicopter bases. The aircraft flight paths for the proposed SAR facilities are the same as the existing runway flight paths at the commercial airports. Exceptions to these flight paths are made only for the purpose of saving lives, where speed is of the essence. Both the AW189 and the S-92 are modern, state-of-the-art helicopters that are fully compliant with all noise regulations for aircraft operating within the European Union. Q. What is the estimated time to reach the Northumberland area from Prestwick and Humberside? A. The estimated flying time for the AW189 based in Prestwick to reach the Northumberland area is less than 1 hour.
AIRCRAFT AND KIT Q. How many aircraft will be situated at each base to maintain availability? A. Two aircraft will be located at each of the 10 SAR bases. Bristow is contracted to provide one fully operational aircraft at each base. Q. What is the purpose of the additional S-92 and AW189? A. These additional aircraft will be used for mission training of our crews. Q. Both your aircraft types have dual hoists. Are you able to use both hoists at the same time? A. No. Dual hoists are designed so that one is available as a backup to eliminate single point of failure. Q. What are the stretcher size limits for the AW189 and S-92? Can they accommodate a variety of stretchers such as the McKinnes MK6 and 7, the McAdros and the Bell? Will it be possible to turn large stretchers into the main doors while winching from the air? A. We have received the dimensions of the various stretchers used and will provide an update once we have been able to trial them with our aircraft. Q. Where will you undertake casualty work in the AW189? A. Bristow has chosen a cabin layout for the AW189 SAR variant which maximises cabin space. Casualty work can be undertaken in the main cabin and seats can be folded away to allow for extra space. Q. Do Bristow SAR aircraft carry auto-pulse? A. We carry a pulse monitoring device on the aircraft. Q. How long will Bristow s hoists be? A. Approximately 300 feet. Q. How will the downdraft on the new aircraft compare to that of the Sea King? A. The downdraft on the S-92 is greater than that of the Sea King. Bristow will work with teams to develop techniques for dealing with this as part of our joint training programme. Q. Will the new aircraft have an underslung capability? A. Yes. All of our aircraft are capable of carrying underslung loads but will not carry the necessary hook at all times. This capability would be used on an ad hoc basis and after consultation with the MCA and CAA. Q. Do you have thermal imaging and is it as good as the military equipment? A. Yes. All of Bristow s aircraft will be equipped with High Definition Forward Looking Infra- Red (FLIR) and thermal image camera technology. Bristow has gone to great lengths to obtain the necessary International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) export licence in order to invest in the best possible night vision goggle (NVG) technology available to the civil
market. Bristow s new S-92 SAR aircraft are the first type in Europe to be certified for NVG and have the first glass cockpit to be certified NVG compatible. Q. Are the AW189 and S-92 able to operate in the same conditions as the Sea King? A. Our aircraft will be equipped with a range of cutting edge search and rescue technology including NVG and high definition forward looking infra-red technology enabling them to conduct operations in the same conditions as the Sea King. In addition, unlike the Sea King, both the AW189 and S-92 are equipped with de-icing capability on all parts of the aircraft. Q. The AW189 SAR variant is not yet in service. When will it be certified? A. The manufacturer is currently working with EASA to obtain certification for the aircraft.