RE: helmet vs. headset--CAMTS

["Pieter de Weerdt" <pieterdw@medsupportsolutions.com>]

I think it's time we all recognise the fact that in spite of all ops manuals
and the good intentions that comes with them, things still are left lying
around the cabin/cockpit.

On the other hand, lets say that we live in tis perfect world and everything
on the equipment list in the a/c is tied down, as is your torso.... but we
have this flexible thingie between our torsos and heads that allows our
heads to flop around under unusual and more specifically, unexpected
g-forces, so even if the closest piece of equipment is stationary, the
possibility is good that your head would NOT be until it reaches that piece
of equipment, and frankly, as hard-headed as I might be, I prefer that my
trusty, hot, hairdo-disruptive bonedome take the impact.  There will always
be the arguments for and against helmets, as there were arguments against
and for the use of latex gloves many years ago, for and against the use of
seatbelts, for and against the use of airbags, and so we can carry on.

Statistically, helmets improve the outcome of survivable incidents, PERIOD.
If you're going to go into a solid piece of granite at full tilt, NO
helmet's going to be of any value, neither will nomex be, but if there's a
fraction of a percentage point increase in my chances because I'm in Nomex
with a helmet etc, I'll take it....

Keep the blue bit at the top..!!!

Pieter

-----Original Message-----
From: flightmed-admin@flightweb.com
[mailto:flightmed-admin@flightweb.com]On Behalf Of MSULDO@aol.com
Sent: 01 February 2002 07:52
To: flightmed@flightweb.com
Subject: Re: helmet vs. headset--CAMTS


<<So for those programs working on achieving
certification it may be more cost-effective to
purchase helmets for their staff rather than
reconfigure/modify the interior of their existing
aircraft.>>

So let's accept helo interiors that are unsafe and use helmets as a fix OR
insist on interiors that are safe?
Maybe we should expect more from the vendors / manufacturers and not rely on
helmets to overcome basic design flaws. Headstrike is also somewhat of a
misnomer - given the unpredictibilies in an actual crash, many parts of the
body are subject to injury/trauma from "unfriendly" cabin/equipment
configurations. The goal should be a safe cabin and safe equipment mountings
that would do little harm in a crash. Is everyhing in your cabin, that needs
to be, legally mounted with 337s or STCs or do you throw stuff in, over the
allowable weight for "carry on cargo", and hope that there are no sudden
stops? Is your isolette or baloon pump strapped to a stretcher or hard
mounted on an approved mount? Is there a cargo net over all your loose gear
or is it just laying on a spare stretcher? Just a thought.
Mike

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