OT Search and Rescue

I suspect that will happen once their aircraft need to be replaced.

Colin Bignell

Reply to
Nightjar
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Nos are irrelevant Plots are quite valuable

Reply to
bert

They are very relevant if, as claimed, the main purpose is the recovery of RAF pilots.

Colin Bignell

Reply to
Nightjar

That is it's raison d'être. The civilian stuff has grown out of that.

Reply to
bert

As it is primarily civilian stuff these days, why not have civilian operators? Bristow have already saved more than 7,000 lives in the UK in over 15,000 missions.

Colin Bignell

Reply to
Nightjar

Or are considered expendable in some circumstances...

Reply to
Apellation Controlee

That's a shocking indictment of their taxi service.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

In message , Apellation Controlee writes

Yes I wonder what the legal position would be if a civilian SAR crewman was forced to make the awful decision to abandon his winchman to save the aircraft. Sea Kings have a hydraulically operated axe next to the cable for this purpose. It's not something which happens very often but it is not unknown. Maybe civilian pilots would stay further away from such risky situations.

Reply to
bert

It is there to cut the cable if it gets snagged on some ground thing like a tree. Not for "abandoning the winchman".

Certain glider towing tugs have exactly the same arrangement as do winches for launching gliders.

Reply to
harry

run by a charity/charities

Mountain rescue teams, lifeboats etc are run by charities but this is for the military run SAR you know sea kings/nimrods etc, whose primary role was retrieval of downed military pilots, civilian SAR was a (very important) sideshoot to this role.

ASIDE:- Are the coastgaurd considered as governmental or are they a charity run thing?

Reply to
soup

It is currently part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which is part of the Department for Transport, although it has been handed around a number of different Ministries and Departments since the Board of Trade took it over from the Admiralty in 1923. Its origins were as part of HM Customs. They have had sub-contracted SAR helicopters at four bases for quite some time now.

The Coastguard Rescue Service, which does cliff, swift water and mud rescue and searches for missing people is a volunteer body within HM Coastguard.

Colin Bignell

Reply to
Nightjar

run by a charity/charities

in the appropriate area you contact the by ringing 999 (or 112). No they aren't a charity. In the USA they are one of the 4 Armed Services.

Reply to
charles

Thanks for that.

Reply to
soup

Same difference if he happens to be on the end of it

Reply to
bert

Not really. He will still be attached to something, even if it is the superstructure of a sinking ship, and can be rescued, probably by the Lifeboat if that has happened.

Colin Bignell

Reply to
Nightjar

He might be abandoned but he's not likely to die/be injured.

Reply to
harry

Like the poor woman who fell down a mine shaft in Lanarkshire and the fire brigade couldn't go down for her because of H & S Rules - after

6 hours they got the MR team or cavers to go for her but she died as they got to her.
Reply to
robgraham

I think the point is that currently there are RAF helicopter pilots and related teams who have developed particular skills in flying rescue work. These may well now trasfer in one way or another to Bristow. That will work for the short term but the future services' helicopter pilots will not be specialised in SAR. so there will be a training short fall. Rob

Reply to
robgraham

Bristow are well experienced at SAR, with over 15,000 missions flown in the UK alone. They are quite capable of training their own pilots.

Colin Bignell

Reply to
Nightjar

Usually in such cases, it is not H&S that prevent them helping, but somebody's misinterpretation of H&S. The HSE frequently emphasises the need for common sense and keeping a sense of proportion in applying H&S rules.

Colin Bignell

Reply to
Nightjar

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