INADVERTENT HELICOPTER AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT - EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS IN A FLIGHT SIMULATOR

Presently, the U.S. Army is conducting efforts to demonstrate the feasibility of using automotive-type air bag technology to protect occupants in helicopter crashes. One major effort in this feasibility demonstration is an assessment of the effects of inadvertent, in-flight deployment. To conduct this assessment, 12 "in-flight" deployments of a helicopter air bag system were conducted in the copilot/gunner module of an AH-64 Combat Mission Simulator (flight simulator) while Army aviators flew realistic, simulated missions with varying flight profiles. The air bag system employed pyrotechnic gas generators and specialized air bags tailored to the crewstation. The flight profiles examined ranged from high-altitude cruise to in-ground-effect hover. Over the series of 12 in-flight deployments, not once did a pilot lose control or even come close to losing control of the aircraft. The assessment demonstrated that a helicopter air bag system designed to have substantial crash-protective capabilities would not necessarily create a hazard for the crew in the unlikely event of an in-flight deployment.