5 Years after the disaster in Calabasas, what’s changed?
ICARUS Devices
Smart view limiting device for IIMC,IFR and weather decision making training.
On January 26th 2020, a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter slammed into a hill in Calabasas California, killing 9 people including several children and basketball superstar Kobe Bryant. The cause was spatial disorientation after inadvertently entering Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC), it was low fog that day. The news of the disaster reverberated around the world and eclipsed the news in the United States of the fifth confirmed case of a unknown respiratory virus from China.
?The news hit me like a bolt of lightning, a painful transmission of energy. Five years previously I had set out to change the way pilots train for Inadvertent IMC, I was 25 and barely had a clue. The Instrument Conditions Awareness Recognition and Understanding System, ICARUS, was designed to bring the control capabilities of the simulator into the cockpit to combine it with the true feeling of flight to close the gap between simulated and actual flight in IMC (clouds, fog, etc...). The pilot in the Calabasas accident had recently trained for IIMC but it was obviously insufficient. ?
Inadvertent IMC training with ICARUS has a crucial difference from the previous “Hoods” used to simulate IMC in flight. It can startle the pilot training. The device’s visor uses smart glass technology to electronically switch between opaque and transparent, allowing instructors to rob a pilot of their view outside unannounced. This transition leads to a visceral reaction and can easily disorient an unsuspecting pilot.
The central reason why a Smart View Limiting Device is so much more powerful than previous training methods is that it combines all the sensory inputs a pilot will receive. Previous training was done with hoods in the aircraft that couldn’t replicate the sudden loss of visibility or ground based simulators that can’t replicate the inner ear or vestibular sensations of flight. ?
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In early 2020 ICARUS was finally taking form after years of development and several redesigns. One big advantage to bootstrapping is you can’t waste money you don’t have. We started larger scale Beta testing in 2020 and shipped the first production devices in early 2021.
The first customers included big names like the Bell Training Academy and METRO Aviation as well as small operators who wanted to invest in safety. ?We’ve been refining the device based on user feedback from day 1 and recently rolled out a comprehensive update.
ICARUS Devices are flying on all seven continents. Private, law enforcement and medical pilots trained with ICARUS have encountered bad weather unexpectedly and landed safely. The device is used for initial instrument training at places like UND as well as recurrent training for Military and State Department Aviators.
In 2024 we saw only three fatal helicopter accidents that appeared to be weather related spatial disorientation. One involving a charter helicopter in Alaksa encountering fog over a lake, one had a criminal non-rated pilot, and finally a Superbowl chart in California. Together with other industry initiatives like the 56 Seconds to Live campaign by VAI we are seeing real progress and fervently hope that 2025 is the first year with no tragic spatial disorientation helicopter accidents.
Chief Flight Instructor @ Ejercito Nacional de Colombia | Military Aviation, Operational Planning | Standardization | Instructor Pilot | IFR Examiner & Instructor | SOF SME | Auditor |
4 天前A thorough review of lessons learned is essential for advancing and refining a comprehensive helicopter training program that effectively mitigates weather-related risks, particularly those associated with low visibility operations. By integrating cutting-edge tools such as smart view-limiting devices like ICARUS, we can enhance pilots’ ability to manage degraded visual environments in a controlled and progressive manner. This competency-driven approach ensures that pilots develop the necessary skills, decision-making capabilities, and adaptability to operate safely in challenging environmental conditions.
Regional Jet Pilot / Flight Safety Advocate / Endlessly Curious about Human Factors
1 个月Special VFR - Legal Entrapment?? "[A]nalysis of reported weather conditions during the majority of CFIT weather related crashes proves majority of the flights could have been categorized as special VFR, regardless of whether the pilot obtained a clearance or not. This is alarming [I]n 1995, The Journal of Air Law and Commerce, published an article titled “Death by Misinformation.." [T]he article raised questions about the dual roles of pilots and the FAA and who is ultimately responsible or culpable, determining the FAA must be held accountable for causation to some degree (Alimonti, 1995). Special VFR continues to provide pilots a legal means to fly in unsafe weather conditions and when it results in an accident the pilot is blamed for continuing flight in IMC conditions. [A]bolishing special VFR (will) not prevent VFR pilots from flying or require an increase in the number of instrument ratings. It will merely eliminate flights (undertaken) in marginal VFR conditions (and require) transition to instruments and (the securing of) a “pop-up IFR” clearance if weather does deteriorate, rather than continue to “scud run...” Special VFR - Legal Entrapment By Eric Smith HeliOPS Magazine https://shorturl.at/iT8YM