{"id":1646,"date":"2013-08-28T19:28:20","date_gmt":"2013-08-28T19:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/?p=1646"},"modified":"2017-09-05T15:36:36","modified_gmt":"2017-09-05T15:36:36","slug":"aviators-stay-afloat-during-water-survival-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/2013\/08\/28\/aviators-stay-afloat-during-water-survival-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Aviators stay afloat during water survival training"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”1652″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css_animation=”fadeIn”][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1500493918122{margin: 0px !important;border-width: 0px !important;padding: 0px !important;}”]Sgt. Aimee Fujikawa 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1500493955182{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 1px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 1px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”]Pilots, flight engineers and crew chiefs took advantage of the final days of summer and went from the hangar to the pool for shallow water training. Maryland Army National Guard flight crews participated in Survival Egress Air training Aug. 28, 2013, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Edgewood Area, military base pool near Edgewood, Md.<\/p>\n

Each aviator practiced underwater techniques to simulate escaping from a submerged aircraft. Participants securely fasten their safety harness, then the crewmember signals the instructors a \u201cthumbs-up\u201d when ready.\u00a0 The chair starts to churn, then is flipped over on its side until it is capsized. Trainers hold the frame stable while the underwater egress is in progress.<\/p>\n

The exercise is similar to the Humvee Egress Assistance Trainer and intentionally causes passengers to become disoriented. The SEA also incorporates using a breathing apparatus.<\/p>\n

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Erik Clark, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 169th Aviation Regiment (Medical Evacuation) said, \u201cThe most difficult part of this exercise is keeping reference. Being under water upside down is always the tricky part.\u201d
\nWhile it is uncommon for aviators to conduct training in water, this exercise is critically important to each individual\u2019s survival and escape from an emergency water landing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t get to do this on a normal basis, so we try to do it annually,\u201d said SEA Instructor, Chief Warrant Officer 5 David Eppler, Headquarters and Headquarters Co. 29th Combat Aviation Brigade.<\/p>\n

\"\"Missions over water require additional gear, making the safe exit of a sinking aircraft more difficult.<\/p>\n

\"\"Once the crewmember is free, he or she ascends from the aircraft, and inflates water wings, which are flotation devices integrated with their gear. According to Eppler, the water wings will maintain positive buoyancy, even with the weight of their flight gear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis training is a confidence builder. All new aviators will have received this training one time before they leave [flight] school, but it\u2019s one of those things that by actually doing it, you\u2019ll feel secure that your gear will work when you go out there,\u201d said Eppler.<\/p>\n

Clarke, who had completed this exercise twice before, said, \u201cIt\u2019s something you want to do periodically to stay fresh on emergency procedures. It puts what might happen in your mind, and you\u2019re thinking about it prior to any mission over water.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSafety is a priority, and for this training, it is mandatory that we have a lifeguard on station and two instructors in the pool at all times,\u201d Eppler said.
\nInstructors submerge with the crewmember, maintaining a watchful eye and ensuring that each participant follows the proper procedures.
\nEppler added, \u201cOne hand must remain in contact with the airframe until they actually leave the aircraft, and the training harness is equipped with quick release pull that disengages the harness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day\u2019s training consisted of three sessions, with a maximum of 10 attendees per session. This training is mandatory for Weide facility personnel flying on over-water missions and there will be additional training for those who were unable to attend.[\/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html css=”.vc_custom_1500493969312{margin-top: 1px !important;border-top-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 1px !important;}”]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[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pilots, flight engineers and crew chiefs took advantage of the final days of summer and went from the hangar to the pool for shallow water training. Maryland Army National Guard flight crews participated in Survival Egress Air training Aug. 28, 2013, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Edgewood Area, military base pool near Edgewood, Md.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":1651,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[120,443,145,441],"class_list":["post-1646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maryland-line","category-news","tag-169th-aviation-regiment","tag-headquarters-and-headquarters-co-29th-combat-aviation-brigade","tag-maryland-army-national-guard","tag-survival-egress-air-training"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1646"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1658,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1646\/revisions\/1658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}