Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 4th September 2024
Good afternoon everyone, I make no apology that this feature is devoted solely to aerial firefighting. Without doubt this has been a very sad week with the death of a full team of (GNR-UEPS) Emergency Protection and Rescue Unit UEPS soldiers, in a helicopter accident in the Douro, whilst they were returning from a mission. The only survivor was the pilot, despite the helicopter crashing into the water at a speed of 185 km/h.
Only that morning we had pointed out a few hours before the accident that aerial firefighting is a highly specialized field of knowledge and skill requiring years of education and thousands of hours of flight time.
Many operators of aerial firefighting equipment say that aerial firefighters are “firefighters first and pilots” second. This means that the specialized knowledge of how fires spread and how to contain it using aircraft is critical to being an aerial firefighter.
Finding water to fight wildfires, dipping the specialized bucket slung below a helicopter into water source, low-level flying, precision navigation, and managing helicopter stability with varying water weights and releasing over fires. This requires considerable skills, and bravery and is without doubt one of the most dangerous means of firefighting.
This is not the first time a firefighting helicopter has crashed. A helicopter fighting a fire in Castro Daire, Viseu, crashed on Sunday 20th August 2017, killing the pilot, Américo Sousa, aged 51 years. The helicopter crashed into high-voltage cables, and burned, and the pilot was trapped in the helicopter. The helicopter had just dropped off a GNR GIPS team at a fire at Cabril, Castro Daire. A very lucky escape for them.
Two years later a light rural firefighting helicopter crashed on Wednesday 4th September 2019 as it was taking off from the Aircraft Centre in Pampilhosa da Serra. Inside the helicopter were five military personnel from the Protection and Relief Intervention Group (GIPS), one of whom suffered minor injuries. According to the Coimbra CDOS, the pilot belonged to an external company. According to a statement from the ANEPC, the aircraft “suffered significant material damage
And, in September in 2022 a helicopter that was fighting a fire in Amares was involved in an accident. The aircraft had hit a high voltage cable, in the Paranhos area, and ended up crashing. The pilot was “seriously injured, with several injuries and fractures, namely in the lower limbs and pelvic area”. There were no other crew members.
And it is not just helicopters, in July 2022 a FireBoss amphibious plane, from the Centro de Meios Aereos de Viseu, assigned to the Special Device for Fighting Rural Fires,” crashed killing the pilot André Serra aged 30.
Following his death we highlighted on Facebook the dangers of areal firefighters namely: This is incredibly difficult and dangerous work and they have shown their worth being the first to arrive at many fires, especially those where accessibility is difficult: Why is it dangerous? – Strong and frequently changing wind conditions – Dodging electricity pylons and wires – Collecting water from tight spaces – Flying in low visibility in hilly terrain with changing atmospheric conditions – The presence of ash – In high heat under considerable pressure in complicated fires
At the time of this accident Civil Protection indicated that in the last two decades, six Portuguese pilots who participated in firefighting operations had died in about a dozen accidents.
This latest accident is by far however the most sever and tragic in terms of the death toll – a complete UEPS fire- fighting team.
Just three days following the latest accident an INEM helicopter crashed resulting in minor injuries to the four crew members. The cause of the accident has yet to be established.
When you next thank firefighters for all the work they do in fighting fires please remember to give a special thank you to those pilots and crew that fight fires from the air. They are often to first to arrive at the outbreak of fires and operate without back-up until reinforcements arrive – without doubt they are true heroes!
Our team wishes you all the best for the week ahead
News
After all, the replacement helicopter for INEM is stopped for maintenance
The reserve helicopter provided for in the contract between INEM and Avincis is undergoing scheduled maintenance and, therefore, there was no replacement within 24 hours, an official source from the company said today.
The reserve aircraft of the same model, AW139, is undergoing scheduled maintenance. We are seeking to complete this work as quickly as possible, taking into account that safety is our main priority. However, another AW139 helicopter remains in operation, in addition to two AW109s”, an official source from the operator for the assistance helicopter service told Lusa.
The issue at hand is the replacement of the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) helicopter that suffered an accident in the municipality of Mondim de Basto.
The accident occurred at 12:55 on Monday, at the time when the AW139 aircraft – based at the Macedo de Cavaleiros base – was preparing to land in Mondim de Basto to assist a person injured in a work accident in a quarry.
There were four crew members on board – pilot, co-pilot, doctor and nurse – who, according to information provided after the accident by INEM, were transported to Vila Real Hospital as a precaution and have already been discharged from hospital.
INEM revealed today in a statement that the equipment had not yet been replaced, despite the fact that the contract for the lease, management and maintenance of aerial resources with Avincis provides for this replacement within a period of 24 hours.
“We are working with INEM on a plan to be able to resume service in Macedo de Cavaleiros as quickly as possible”, assured the same company source, adding that Avincis helicopters at the service of INEM were activated 474 times in the first half of 2024 and 1,146 times last year for emergency assistance.
Lusa also asked Avincis about INEM’s request to ensure the reinforcement of the pilot teams at the Viseu base, in order to allow the emergency helicopter based there to operate 24 hours a day and not just during the 12-hour day shift, but, to date, it has not been possible to obtain this clarification from the company.
The medical emergency device contracted between INEM and Avincis consists of two helicopters operating in 24-hour shifts – from the bases of Macedo de Cavaleiros and Loulé – and another two helicopters in 12-hour shifts, based at the bases of Viseu and Évora.
With this accident, rescue via INEM helicopters is reduced to three aircraft and only one on a permanent basis, only in the southern region of the country.