Egress Training www.dunkyou.com

PRISCILLA’S STORY

Last fall as you may have heard there was a very bad accident on the BC Coast between Vancouver and Victoria while departing from the Gulf Islands.This event has effected people not only in aviation but all who fly as passengers and will eventually change many safety related areas of aviation.Here is a story sent to me which I feel you may benefit from reading.

Dear Bryan

I have been a frequent floatplane passenger. While living on Bainbridge Island west of Seattle, I worked on a project which required me to travel by floatplane from Seattle to the San Juan Islands weekly for about 5 years. I flew mostly on De Havilland Beavers and Otters.

I have always been hyperaware when I fly on any aircraft and I have always been concerned with the door operation on both Beavers and Otters. The small recessed rotating handles are not easy to operate in the best of conditions. In Beavers, the location of the handles on the back doors makes the doors particularly difficult to open.

I now live on Saturna Island BC. Last fall I flew from Seattle to Victoria by floatplane the same day a floatplane went down off of Saturna Island. I arrived on Saturna by boat at the same dock that a floatplane left from about half an hour before and went down shortly after take off. The plane ditched just south of our home and I helped neighbours search for survivors.

Needless to say this terrible accident has affected me deeply. I am desperate for something good to come from this tragedy.

After this accident I contacted a friend who is a commercial floatplane pilot and he suggested that I take the Aviation Egress class that you teach. I came to the class prepared with both a strong desire to learn how to survive a floatplane ditching and also a strong desire to help make floatplane aviation safer.

Your class was excellent and you answered all of my questions. In fact, your class was a real eye-opener. It covered all aspects of floatplane ditching and egress, both in the classroom and in the pool. This experience showed me how tough it is to get out of an inverted aircraft in the water in the best of conditions. You made the class enjoyable and your knowledge, expertise and passion for making flying safer are truly inspiring.

I would recommend your class to everyone who flies over water. In fact, your class caused me to look at how to get out of a submerged motor vehicle in a whole new way.

I continue to follow and applaud the efforts of those who strive to make floatplane travel safer. Better door and window designs and emergency egress operation need to be implemented industry-wide as soon as possible. Better access to life vests after ditching needs to be addressed now as well. Implementing better safety briefing by pilots and in the seat back pockets can help save lives too. Additional safety features could also be implemented over time.

I thank you for all that you do in helping to make the industry safer and I look forward to taking your class again.

Sincerely

Priscilla

Thanks Priscilla and I agree with your outlook on how changes need to be made, although it is sad that accidents and loss of life have to be the catalyst.The Beaver door mechanisms and location have long been know as inadequate, and I personally am working on having that improved. I have found the engineering teams who work on these projects are unfortunately not well versed in the understanding of how mechanisms need to be designed for underwater applications.Once testing is complete I believe this situation will be resolved, and in conjunction with the latest push out escape window now available for the De Havilland Beaver they will be an awesome combination.As for life vests there has been a huge controversy as to wear or not to wear them on float aircraft.

Given todays technology I would suggest we put our industry wide heads together and figure out a better way than involving marine application life vests in the first place, as above and beyond the standard T/C C13 you would find under the seat.

Bryan Webster has a history of over 30 years with float and light aircraft in general which started with a high speed impact in the water as a passenger in 1977.

In 1998 he opened Aviation Egress Systems offering a one day program all over Canada to assist all who fly and could possibly end up inverted unexpectedly.

For further information contact:

Bry The Dunker Guy

250-704-6401

www.dunkyou.com

info@dunkyou.com

Hypothermia and why we should understand its effects on aviators.

Chances of ever needing to know anything about hypothermia because we fly airplanes is slim at best, although for the unfortunate few cold soaked and away from help its essential.

As aircraft are designed and capable of transit to inaccessible places where no one else is available to us we must understand self preservation in the event of emergencies.

Here in Canada our environment is often harsh and could be life threatening for many cases in the event we do not reach the destination as planned, and have to deadstick half way.

As spring is approaching across the land we are reaching a point where the warmer days are longer, and in many locations give way to ice covered ponds thawing out but yet contain extremely cold properties.

Our coast lines differ from a point view that year round the very substance we utilize for landing on is very capable of killing us with in minutes should we inadvertently be submerged and soaking wet.

On the BC coast, all winter long aircraft on wheels and floats transit from cities to remote regions moving people and materials as they have for over 75 years successfully.

Occasionally large swells or wind gusts change the day’s routine from having to deliver the folks on time to survival while clutching a pair of inverted floats, and determining the distance for a swim to shore.

To our inland fliers it could be a similar situation where cold soaked people are climbing out of a half sunken aircraft which is being supported by broken ice, all at below 0 temperatures and in cold winds.

In either case if not dealt with properly the final outcomes are very similar, and how they are handled depict a positive or negative ending.

Both must stabilize the situation in order to survive, and may involve any number of frantic passengers when a host of important decisions are to be made under difficult conditions.

First you must understand that cold water temperatures extract heat and energy from the human body 27 times faster in water than on land at the same temperature once submerged up to your neck.

In the ski plane scenario first you must reach solid ice away from the aircraft, then in very short order find shelter from the wind and pray you remembered your trusty waterproof lighter, and then hope to have access to burning materials.

Downed floatplane individuals could be faced with numerous problems such as injuries

or inability to swim, large ocean swells could be present making that transit to land even more difficult.

In both cases advance training for these unexpected incidents would have provided a plan before the aircraft originally departed, ensuring life vests and lighters were present and with you once the emergency was underway.

Getting out of wet clothing at subzero temperatures, and warming by a fire are mandatory, often making the difference between living and slowly succumbing to hypothermia.

Knowing what to have with you and how to react in these predicaments is simply a matter of knowledge and training.

There are numerous wilderness survival courses offered in Canada where you actually spend nights out of doors in winter temperatures, so why not enrol and learn techniques which are basic but often lost by today’s advanced society.

www.deepwoodstraining.ca Greg Szocs located in Central Canada.

I also suggest you consider Egress training which has now become highly recommended for all who fly, plus I make it affordable by traveling all over Canada by bringing it to you.

Cessna 185 Ski Plane fell through spring ice

Cessna 206 gear down amphibious land on water.

Listed below are facts about Hypothermia

• Hypothermia – Loss of body heat.
• Body looses heat; body functions slow down and can quickly lead to death.
• Three critical areas where the body losses heat, the head & neck, sides of the chest and the groin area.
• If in the water protect critical body areas to slow down heat loss by placing something on you head anything that may be available, hat or anything that may be floating in the water, hold your body tight together if possible covering chest and groin with hands and arms.
• If two or more people are in the water, huddle together so that your bodies are in close proximity.
• Handle hypothermia victims gently.
• Place victim in a warm dry environment.
• Prevent further loss of heat by covering neck and head.
• Wrap victim in blankets.
• Do not rub the surface of the body.
• Apply heat (40 degrees Celsius) slowly and gently to increase the victims body temperature.
• Give warm drinks such as coffee, tea, or cocoa not alcohol – only if victim is conscious and alert.
• The condition is critical if the victim becomes stiff, unconscious, or shows signs of clouded consciousness, such as slurred speech – even if the victim isn’t shivering. Get medical assistance.

Bryan Webster is a highly experienced light aircraft specialist with over 25 years and 11.000 plus hours to his credit who still flies commercially on the BC Coast in a

De Havilland Beaver.

He also owns and operates Aviation Egress Systems teaching aircraft ditching procedures from Victoria BC.

For more information on Egress training contact

“Bry the Dunker Guy”

Bryan Webster

250-704-6401

www.dunkyou.com

                 BRY THE DUNKER GUY    

A few years back I spoke with a pilot who had lived through a horrific floatplane accident and wanted to help spread the word that when things go bad you had better be ready.

Here is his story -

I think it is best to share my experience as hopefully someone else could learn something and not possibly lose his or her life. I have many reservations about telling this, as the trauma  (mental) was quite high, but something inside me urges me to pass this on.

It was July 11^th 1997, my wife and I had decided to go to Nimpo Lake and pick up some friends before going to the Anahim Lake Stampede. We were in our Cessna 185 on Cap floats, what a gorgeous day it was. As we loaded the plane with our 2 bodies, a couple just married and spending their honeymoon in a cabin near ours ask if they could ride along with us as we had two empty seats. We were happy we could provide a “floatplane” experience to such a cute couple so off the 4 of us went. Upon arriving at the Stampede, we all agreed how boring the rodeo was, and that we could certainly put our time to better use by flying off to some remote lake were we could swim, lay out in the sun, and “veg out”. We flew into Turner Lake, walked around the unbelievable Hunlen Falls and then went back to the aircraft to head for the cabins where we were staying over the afternoon. The sun was soon to make its plunge into the Coast Range Mountains so we got prepared for the flight home. Prior to our departure from the dock my wife explained to the couple that in the event of an emergency landing, the first thing to do is remove your seatbelt. I don’t know why she told them that as it is not normally something that my wife thinks about, weird. We were going to take the route down the canyon to fly over Knott Lake and then up the Klinnilinni River to home, but after take off I thought it best to fly over Charlotte Lake as there is immense landing opportunities should an engine failure occur. This is something that I regularly think of while flying as I am always looking for a place to land, so over Charlotte Lake we went. We flew just off the water at 50’ to get a view of the abandoned Remarko Ranch. After the look see I started a steep climb and a banking turn to head home and to gain the much needed altitude. Suddenly, there was a deafening silence……. The engine quit. We were over the edge of the lake on the East end, right over the camping beach….which was full of campers as this was a holiday and such a beautiful day to. With only about 400’ of altitude our options were quite limited. Knowing the amount of fuel I had, and not wanting to put the plane into the trees for fear of fire I though it best to try to turn 180 degrees and get back into the wind for an attempt to land on the water. If I had opted to land straight ahead most likely we would have skidded up onto the beach killing who knows how many. The plane sank fast as we were losing both altitude and speed quickly, when I finally got the plane turned around we had lost about 390’ altitude and all of our flying speed.

 There was a faint hope that I could flare and make a safe landing, but with no speed and no altitude left the plane stalled hitting the hard surface of the water from about 10’. This made the front left side of the float dig into the water which immediately flipped the aircraft on it’s nose and then over on it’s back ripping off the wing on the one side.

 The force broke out a portion of the windscreen and immediately after coming to rest we started to fill up with water. I remember looking over at my wife who hade the male passenger on top of her, and was bleeding all over her white shirt. He had flown over the front seat and hit his head on the V-brace. He looked at her and said “Don’t Panic”. What happened next is just a horrible blur. I remember trying to get my belt off, but hanging upside down didn’t help matters. I tried opening up the door…jammed as the impact had twisted the cabin frame. I tried the seat belt again, this time while underwater to no avail.  I then lost total recall of what the others were doing at that point as being consumed with my own problems. By now I began to wonder if I could hold my breath any longer. Door? Seat Belt? Nothing was working and then I remember a most peaceful feeling that everything was okay. I sat back into my seat and quit struggling as it was all over for me. Then last thing I remember about being under water is that somehow in the struggling to get free my elbow I must have knocked my door window open. I still do not now how I got my seat belt off. I don’t remember doing it. But I do remember that when I squeezed out of that tiny side window opening and swam up to the surface how good it felt to take a breath of air. It seemed like a dream. Then I realized that I was the only one who made it out and that the others were still down there. I took a deep breath and swam back down to the submerged aircraft about 12 feet below to aid in their escape. I remember that my first attempt I couldn’t make it all the way because the pressure on my ears killed me. I surfaced and took another breath, this time clearing my ears on the way down only to find that I couldn’t open the main door to get them out. I surfaced again and took another breath, and this time went to the baggage door which fortunately was unlocked. When I opened that door I immediately saw our male passenger. Grabbing him’ I helped him out the door and we both went to the surface as he was still conscience. Again down I went for another attempt, this time for his wife and I went through the same struggle to get her through that same baggage door. The challenge was the door is tiny, only about 12” x 15” but all I had to work with. When we surfaced a boat approached to help in the rescue operated by a fisherman. Back on the surface helping the young girl into the boat took all my attention, and then I realized my wife was still in the plane so I went down quickly once again. I got inside the plane and pulled her out of her seatbelt and managed to get her through the door and up to the surface. She had swallowed a lot of water and was not coherent. The people in the boat pulled her in and I remember how she coughed up a “ton” of water when they pulled her across the side forcing the water out.

I know someone was watching out for me that day as there are many happenings that were too much coincidence. Lessons to learn? Yes. We were both, my wife and I wearing shoulder harnesses; this saved our lives as the force threw us forward into the tension of these belts.

 My wife had black and blue marks across her chest from her waist to her shoulders where she hit the belt. Had we not been wearing them both of us would have definitely hit our heads on the instrument panel, knocked us out and we would have drowned. Another miracle…I always keep the baggage door locked as my small children ride in the 3^rd seat in the back of the plane. Why was it unlocked that day I will never know. Still…had we chosen to go down over Knott lake instead, we would have had no witnesses to our accident including the man in the boat, who being there to pull us in saved our lives. I remember after pulling my wife over the side into the boat, how hard it was swimming just 10 feet in my clothes. Still another…how…did the window pop. And how did we all get out of our seatbelts? I do not remember.

Looking back, there are things that I would have done differently, and which I do now every time I take someone for a ride…I explain the urgency to get the seatbelts off. I would try to open the door prior to impact, and most assuredly I would make sure that those in the front seat water shoulder harnesses. The disorientation that set in once we were upside down and under water was indescribable. I couldn’t find my door handle for the longest time. I couldn’t even efficiently find the release latch for the seatbelt.

Practicing locating these two things could really save your life.

After we got the plane out of the water during recovery, we found there to be 26 gallons of fuel. Both of the doors inside handles had been turned so hard that the spines on the shaft had been twisted clear off the inside of the door handle, so opening the door was an impossibility now from the inside. I guess in our panic, we unknowingly had tried so hard that we just ripped the handles off their shafts.

I hope this has provided some helpful tips.

Aviation Egress Systems training covers this type of scenario and especially the disorientation and many other strategies such as never locking any doors while in flight.

There was obviously a guardian angle close buy watching over them that day, but Egress Training would have been a major asset for all involved.

Bryan Webster is a 10.000 hours plus pilot still actively fly a De Havilland Beaver on the BC coast today. In 1977 he himself was a passenger in a water crash while the pilot attempted to avoid power lines draped over the Fraser River east of Vancouver.

To day with over 25 years of flight experience and 35 aircraft types to his credit when he is not flying his beloved floatplanes, he owns and operates Aviation Egress Systems teaching ditch training at Victoria BC.

For questions or to enrol in the Aviation Egress system ditch training program contact-

Bry The Dunker Guy

 1-877-GO-DITCH

 1-250-704-6401

info@dunkyou.com

www.dunkyou.com