Multi Person Helicopter Rescue is any helicopter Search And Rescue (SAR) operation that involves the
rescue, recovery or support of multiple casualties or trapped people, where larger numbers of persons can
be recovered or rescued in a single lift cycle.
Multi Person Helicopter Rescue makes use of the specifically designed Heli-Basket® Multi Person
Helicopter Rescue Platform that has the ability to carry 6, 15, 24 or 56 people to safety in a single lift cycle,
thereby providing the ability to rescue multiple persons at speed, from locations where landing a helicopter
is impossible or too dangerous to risk further lives, or in situations where doing so takes just too long.
Not too much! Winch based rescue operations work very well in situations where only a small number of
persons require assistance or rescue. One or two people on a small pleasure boat in distress, somebody
who’s fallen or is trapped on a cliff face, or someone who has been isolated by flooding, for example. A
well trained SAR crew can complete a rescue lift cycle in only a few minutes and in these scenarios, using
a winch as the basis of the rescue works well.
However, the winch has significant limitations in situations where large numbers of persons are in need of
rescue or assistance. Even if a well trained SAR crew were able to complete a winch based lift cycle, say
every 4 minutes, it would take 80 minutes to evacuate a vessel with just 20 people on board.
If the rescue location was at the outer edges of the helicopter’s fuel range, would it have the luxury of
being able to remain on station for 80 minutes and still be able to get home or to a medical facility? Even if
it could, where would it put the 20 evacuees? Few SAR helicopters have the capacity to take 20 additional
passengers inside the aircraft.
Winch based SAR operations are quick and effective for single person rescues or where a small number
of persons require evacuation or assistance. However, they are severely limited for Multi Person
Helicopter Rescue operations.
Any SAR Unit, Fire and Rescue department, Aid Agency or Military Unit that may be called upon to
support the safety, rescue or evacuation of large numbers of persons in distress, will increase their
operational capability by incorporating Multi Person Helicopter Rescue techniques and equipment into
their Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s).
Multi Person Helicopter Rescue techniques and equipment can be utilised in any scenario where higher
numbers of persons require rescue, assistance or evacuation.
A cruise ship or ferry is on fire or runs aground – or hits an iceberg! In these scenarios, there can be
thousands of people on board who require assistance or evacuation. It’s important to remember that
passengers who abandon ship by boarding life rafts and boats are still very much in an emergency
situation and still require rescue. In temperate and polar latitudes, the sea temperature is critical and can
lead to hypothermia and death in minutes. Unless evacuees are dressed in full body, thermal, water
proof suits, they are still very much in danger if they evacuate into life rafts or boats when the sea surface
temperature is less than 20º Celsius. With water temperatures of 10º-15º Celsius (typical UK/Western
European sea temperatures), humans with no protective clothing will lose dexterity in 15 minutes, will
suffer exhaustion or unconsciousness in less than 2 hours and are expected to perish in 1-6 hours.
Abandoning ship into cold water means that the threat to life remains and should be avoided whenever
possible. If rescue agencies had the means to lift high numbers of people from a vessel, without them
having to get into the water fist, increased loss of life can be avoided.
Modern high rise buildings are constructed to ever increasing safety standards and their design facilitates
rapid evacuation in the event of fires or other emergencies.
However, it is entirely possible that escape routes can become blocked, filled with smoke or simply
become overwhelmed. The attack on the World Trade Center is the most obvious example of how the
type and number of internal escape routes would not have made any difference to the people who were
trapped above the 93rd floor of the North Tower. On 11 September 2001, a roof top helicopter rescue
was the only way that those 700 people might have escaped. Sadly, no such rescue facility was available
to them. Had access to the roof of the North Tower been available (it was locked) and had there been
Heli-Basket® Multi Person Helicopter Rescue platforms pre-positioned on the roof for use in emergency
situations, one has to wonder how many of those 700 people might have been saved?
Tsunamis, tropical storms, sever flooding, earthquakes. All of these natural disaster emergencies have
one thing in common; they effect large geographical areas which in turn, often effects many thousands of
lives.
One of the results of natural disasters is that they often isolate whole communities or towns by destroying
or blocking land based lines of communication and infrastructure (roads, railways, ports or airports). This
makes access to the injured, trapped or vulnerable doubly difficult.
Helicopters can of course get around this problem, but they are still restricted in their abilities to assist
large numbers of people quickly. Unconscious, or injured persons are even more difficult to evacuate if a
helicopter winch is the only method available to lift those casualties.
Imagine if a whole family can be lifted to safety in minutes from the rooftop of their home that has been
engulfed by raging flood waters. Imagine if medical supplies and water can be brought to a community
stranded by an earthquake that destroyed the only bridge in and out of their village. And imagine that the
same platform can then immediately be used to lift unconscious or injured people, on stretchers, to a
place where medical attention is available. And then further imagine that those same casualties were
able to continue to receive medical attention, even throughout the actual lift process.
Changing environmental conditions around the world seem to be contributing to an increase in large
scale fire emergencies. Aerial water bombing operations are a widely used tool in helping to tackle these
emergencies, but invariably, fire fighters, emergency responders and even the general public will
inevitably become embroiled in the situation.
Multi Person Helicopter Rescue techniques and equipment can be used to deliver fire fighting and
medical supplies without the need for the helicopter to land (due to widespread smoke perhaps?). It can
be used to position fire fighters and their equipment in tactical positions that best facilitate them fighting
the fire when access might otherwise be denied. And it can of course be used to evacuate larger
numbers of trapped personnel (civilians or members of the rescue/firefighting team) that have found
themselves cut off by the fire and have no other means of escape. Again, this can be provided without
the need for the helicopter to land in difficult or unsafe conditions.
Security operations can often involve personnel and their equipment being inserted and/or extracted from
insecure locations, structures or vessels at speed or in covert conditions.
Whilst Helicopter Fast Roping and Abseiling onto the target location remains the most expeditious
technique for troops to arrive on target, these techniques limit the amount of equipment than can be
carried by the troops. Furthermore, Abseiling and Fast Roping is not a technique that can be used to
assist in extraction or evacuation operations.
The Heli-Basket® Multi Person Helicopter Rescue platform can be used in support of assaulting troops
by quickly delivering additional (heavy) equipment on target without the need for the helicopter to land
and further risk its own safety and security. The Heli-Basket® can then also be used to quickly extract
security personnel, casualties and equipment once the objective has been secured.
Multi Person Helicopter Rescue has the ability to affect all phases of security operations, from the
insertion of personnel and equipment, to their extraction, as well as in the subsequent medical support
and evacuation operation.
No! We are not suggesting that the Heli-Basket® Multi Person Helicopter Rescue Platform be used to
transport people over long distances. The capability is built around the concept of rescuing large
numbers of people and moving them out of immediate danger, to a place of relative safety. In the case of
maritime SAR, this might be to the closest ship or vessel, or in the case of a high rise building rescue, it
might simply be to the top of an adjacent building or to the ground where they can be given attention or
transport to hospital or reception centre.
The Heli-Basket® has been flight tested at speeds of up to 120kts airspeed and the platform is shown to
remain perfectly stable throughout the flight envelope. That is not to say that we would recommend flying
human passengers at 120kts airspeed either, but that the platform remains safe and stable in all realistic
flight conditions.
Yes. The rigid alluminium frame design means that that the Heli-Basket® is ideal for cargo operations.
The rigid frame removes the risk of damage to the load from ‘net compression’, as well as offering a level
of protection to the load from impact or FOD damage.
The design also means that whatever the make up of the cargo is, the size and shape of the overall load
remains constant. This not only assists the helicopter crew, but also ensures that the load remains stable
throughout the flight envelope (The Heli-Basket® has shown in flight tests that it remains stable,
irrespective of the load and weight distribution within the Heli-Basket®, through all stages of flight and
from 0 – 120 kts Indicated Air Speed.
The Multi Person Helicopter Rescue Platform (The Heli-Basket®) is not a new capability or product. It
was initially designed, manufactured and tested in the 1990’s and has been in operational use with a
number of departments and agencies since the early 2000’s. However, until recently it has been offered
as a specialist product to specialist agencies, carrying out specialist operations.
Whilst its ability to meet these rather unique demands remains, we have responded to requests from
several potential operators to make the equipment and capability available to all agencies and
departments that have the potential responsibility for Multi Person Helicopter Rescue or support.
Yes… sometimes!
If the Heli-Basket® Multi Person Helicopter Rescue platform is going to be used for human rescue, by
agencies whose aircraft are civil aviation registered, then civil certification will be required. For operators
of military or state registered aircraft, it will be for the Authorities in question to certify the equipment for
use.
Heli-Basket LLC are currently in the latter stages of gaining US FAA certification for the Heli-Basket®
Multi Person Helicopter Rescue platform to be used for the emergency rescue and support of personnel.
This certification clearance will not be aircraft type specific and will apply to all operators whose aircraft is
fitted with an external load hook, whose aircraft have the performance to lift and carry the load, and
whose FOC, Operations Manual (or equivalent) allows them to carry out helicopter external load
operations.
Due to existing Bilateral Agreements between most of the major first world civil aviation authorities, we
are advised that transfer of the FAA certification to EASA and other aviation authorities could be a
relatively quick process.
The Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) has certified the Tokyo Fire Department’s HB2000 (15
person) Heli-Basket® as air worthy and clear for use in emergency situations.
We are Heli-Basket’s exclusive world wide distribution and training partners. We take care of all sales,
support and advice to any clients around the world outside of the continent of North America.
We are also THE ONLY company that Heli-Basket endorses and supports to provide Precision, Multi
Person External Load Operations training to clients who decide to upgrade their Multi Person Helicopter
Rescue capability.
Heli-Basket direct all their global enquires to us and we subsequently provide advice, information and
support to potential and future clients.
We are in regular contact with Heli-Basket and often exchange ideas and suggestions on how the
equipment could be adapted or modified to meet specific user requirements. We are also intimately
involved in acting as liaison between clients and Heli-Basket through the process of gaining civil
certification (when required), by providing design and manufacturing data, fatigue analysis and flight
testing results and data.
Yes. Any department, agency or organisation who opt to purchase Multi Person Helicopter Rescue
equipment or training through us will also benefit from a full, through life support package. This offers the
client ongoing advice, information support (both technical and operational) and maintenance and
husbandry advice throughout the 10 year/10,000 cycle operational life span of the equipment.
We offer this support at no extra cost and with no obligation to purchase further equipment or services.
There are around 150 Heli-Basket® units in use around the world. Every US National Guard (each of the
50 US States) Air Units has two HB2000 (15 person) Heli-Baskets®. In addition, Heli-Baskets® have
been delivered to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Venezuela, Russia… to name just a
few.
Yes. We can provide clients with a bespoke training course, designed specifically to meet the needs of
the operator. We come to your location and train in your aircraft and in your operating environment. This
ensures that we can deliver training in an environment that closely matches the scenarios that the client
is likely to face operationally.
All our instructors are ex military and/or operational SAR instructors who have experience in delivering
training to crews and operators with varying degrees of external load operations experience. Our courses
focus heavily on flying precision, external load operations, with long line strops of up to 200’ (60m) in
length. We also concentrate on the special considerations that are required to operate and fly a
helicopter that’s carrying an external load that’s made up of a potentially large number of human beings!
Yes. We can provide a full range of Plasma Electric Long Line Strops, Remote Electric Hooks, Remote
Hook Hand Controllers, Cargo Nets and more. All Long Line Strops and Hooks are available with either
10,000lbs or 25,000lbs maximum load limits and are stress tested to a safety factor of 5:1.
Actually, no!
A 15 person HB2000 Heli-Basket, with supporting Plasma Electric Long Line Strop, Remote Electric
Hook and Hand Controller (one complete system) can be provided for a fraction of the a helicopter’s
annual operating cost.
A 10 day Multi Person Helicopter Rescue training course can be provided and delivered at the client’s
base location for a similar amount.
If you were to consider that the cost of the initial set up and ongoing running costs of maintaining a SAR
or support helicopter capability runs into the tens of millions of USD per year, and then consider that the
cost of increasing that capability by a factor of 6, 15 or more only runs to maybe 1% or 2% of that annual
figure, it would seem to be an easy and straight forward decision!
