Accidents involving persons during flights with an external load and hoist operation

What this relates to:

A load that is attached to the helicopter on a transport line is referred to as an external load. An accident occurs and the external load injures someone.
If a patient needs to be rescued in difficult terrain and the helicopter cannot land nearby for the evacuation, the rescue hoist is used.

Example:

A helicopter is transporting cast iron pipes. The helicopter has already lifted the load by about one and a half metres, when all of a sudden, a pipe comes loose from the stack of pipes that are not being flown and hits a labourer on the head. Why? The labourer had previously been requested to secure the pipes on the stack, but he didn't do it.
A person is to be rescued using the rescue hoist. The helicopter crew and the rescue specialists discuss the risk of falling rocks and dry tree branches. The rescue specialists are flown to the patient. To reduce the effect of the downwash on the branches, a decision is made to extend the hoist cable. Despite the hoist cable extension, a finger-thick branch breaks off and injures one of the rescue specialists.

Remarks on the 2024 figures:

Ten people were reported injured during transport operations with sling loads or during hoist operations. This number is well above the five-year average of 6.2 per year. The hazard potential for people on the ground such as flight assistants, construction workers and medical crew members is relatively high. The risk is particularly high during assembly work and rescues in rough terrain – even if everyone is wearing personal protective equipment, anybody not directly involved in the work or rescue must be sent out of the hazard perimeter and all precautionary measures must be taken. Further training and awareness-raising are very important, for example at the annual meeting in late autumn where flight assistants discuss their experiences. Correct assessment and avoidance of hazard situations should receive special attention.

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