The Need for Increased Fidelity in Flight Training Devices to address the ‘Rotorcraft Loss of Control Inflight’ problem

Abstract

This paper examines the trends in rotorcraft accident statistics, particularly regarding Loss of Control In-flight accidents (LOC-I), with the aim of stimulating interest in new research relevant to this area. Despite recent safety initiatives, LOC-I rotorcraft accidents have been identified as a significant and growing contribution to accident rates. The fixed-wing commercial airline community faced a similar situation starting in the late 1990s and, through a coordinated international effort, developed a new training program to help reduce accident rates. Lessons learned from the fixed-wing work are presented to highlight the need for improved rotorcraft modeling tools to reduce rotorcraft accidents through higher-quality, simulator-based training programs. The findings from previous and ongoing rotorcraft modeling and simulation research are presented, and areas for further research are identified. A proposal is made in the paper for a workshop to bring together the key rotorcraft stakeholders to develop future steps in tackling rotorcraft LOC-I accidents

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