"Heli-Basket" Can Carry Up To 15 People

On March 1, an Air National Guard rescue unit successfully tested the world’s first multi-person rescue basket, a cage-like device that, once certified, can carry up to 15 people -- and with another strong hurricane season expected this year, that certification can't come soon enough for many who have experience with rescue operations.

"We really could have used this after hurricanes Katrina and Rita," said Lt. Col. Brad Sexton, a program manager in the Air National Guard-Air Force Reserve Command Test Center at Tucson, AZ.

Sexton was one of the first to fly in the Heli-Basket, a 4-and-a-half foot by 8-and-a-half foot metal cage that hangs on a 125-foot cable below an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter. After the three successful test flights, Colonel Sexton forwarded his findings to higher headquarters to start the certification process.

He doesn’t know when Air Force officials will deem the device safe enough for actual rescues. The Heli-Basket's inventor, John Tollenaere, said it was the first time a rescue device like his has been tested for human use. It was certified for use as a cargo lift system by Army UH-60 Blackhawks in June 2003, and the Air Force accepted that certification for its own Pave Hawk helicopters.

Mr. Tollenaere said he invented the basket to stabilize helicopter loads, like plywood, which catch the wind like an airplane wing and become unstable during transport. It was a natural progression, he says, to certify the Heli-Basket to carry people.

"I’ve got a picture of a lot of helicopters flying around the MGM Grand Hotel (in Las Vegas, NV) when it was on fire," said Robert Massey, support contractor for the test center. That 1980 fire was the worst in Las Vegas history. It killed 84 people and injured hundreds more.

"Rescuers had to pick those people up from the roof one at a time," Massey said. "I also remember the images of Katrina victims getting lifted out one at a time. Using the Heli-Basket, the Air Force will be able to pick up entire families from rooftops and not be forced to separate families, which is what happened during Katrina."

Because rescuers came from diverse organizations -- military and non-military -- and they were based at different locations, they inadvertently separated family members plucked one at a time from rooftops.

Using a litter or a harness, pararescuemen normally only rescue one person at a time. In extreme circumstances, they can rescue two people if all three’s combined weight is not more than 600 pounds. The Heli-Basket’s can carry up to 8,800 pounds, or 15 people, which exceeds the Pave Hawk helicopter’s maximum cargo weight of 8,000 pounds.

"It is going to make our jobs easier," said Staff Sgt. Bryan Walsh, a 101st Rescue Squadron pararescueman. "It’ll be another tool in our tool box that will allow us to evacuate more people at one time. It is very versatile. We’ll be able to rescue people from swamps, fields, water and rooftops -- everywhere except jungles.

"Any tool that will help us save more lives is a great asset to us," the sergeant said.

The Pave Hawk’s primary mission is to conduct day or night operations in hostile environments to recover downed aircrew during war. Because of its versatility, the military uses the helicopter in other-than-war operations. These tasks include civil search and rescue, emergency aero-medical evacuation, disaster relief, international aid, counter-drug activities and NASA space shuttle support.

(Aero-News salutes Master Sgt. Orville F. Desjarlais Jr., Air Force Print News)

FMI: www.ang.af.mil