inflatables aren't infallible do you check yours?
fyi The passenger from the left rear seat stated that she did not know how to swim and was panicked. She stated that she donned her PFD vest but had trouble remembering the safety briefing and tried to inflate it while inside the helicopter but could not figure out how to do it. 21 She stated that she attempted to assist the passenger in the rear right center seat, who was having difficulty because he was tangled with his headset. After she exited the helicopter out the left side and reached the surface, she still could not figure out how to inflate her PFD. The passenger from the right rear seat assisted her by pulling at least one of the inflation handles to inflate her vest for her. The passenger from the right rear seat stated that he then dove back down to the helicopter to attempt to extricate the passenger from the rear right center seat. When he resurfaced with that passenger, who was having difficulties breathing, he put that passenger’s PFD vest over the passenger’s head and inflated it for him. 22 The pilot stated that he was already completely under water when he released his seatbelt. He stated that, as he made his way out the helicopter’s left side, he tried to see or feel for passengers as he exited, but he did not find anyone. He stated that he made his way to the surface then tried to dive back down to the helicopter, but he could not find its door. He then returned to the surface and found one passenger being supported by two others. He stated that he helped one of the passengers don and inflate a life vest and that he donned and inflated his own vest. Recovery personnel found the body of the passenger in the front center seat still secured in the seat by the lap belt and wearing an uninflated PFD vest. The body of the passenger from the front left seat was found floating facedown in the water and wearing a PFD vest. First responders recalled that the passenger’s PFD vest appeared inflated, but they did not know if only one or both chambers appeared inflated. At some point during recovery of the victim, the PFD was removed from the body and misplaced; therefore, it was not available for examination to determine its actual inflation configuration. TESTS AND RESEARCH Examination and Functional Testing of Recovered Personal Flotation Devices Four of the six PFDs from the accident were recovered for examination; 23 all of the recovered PFDs were Hoover Industries model FV-35E, manufactured in accordance with Technical Standard Order (TSO)-C13e. This model PFD features two separate inflation chambers that a user must inflate separately by pulling each chamber’s plastic handle. According to the PFD’s design, each chamber is equipped with a pressurized, 16-gram, carbon dioxide cylinder that punctures when the handle is pulled, releasing the pressurized gas into the chamber to inflate it fully within 2 seconds. Each chamber is also equipped with an oral inflation tube into which the user can blow to inflate the chamber. One of the recovered PFDs belonged to the passenger in the front center seat. Examination revealed that neither chamber was inflated and that the plastic inflation handles were not pulled. Testing revealed both chambers inflated when the handles were pulled. The three other recovered PFDs were, on the basis of passenger interviews, those that were used by the pilot and the two surviving passengers, though it was not known which PFD belonged to which occupant. Examination of these vests revealed one had both chambers inflated, and the other two vests each had only one chamber inflated. Examination and testing of one PFD that had only one chamber inflated revealed the other chamber inflated when the handle was pulled. Examination of the other PFD that had only one chamber inflated revealed that the inflation cylinder for the uninflated section was dimpled in the discharge area but was not punctured. Testing revealed that, after the dimpled cylinder was reinstalled in the PFD, pulling the inflation handle punctured the cylinder, and the chamber inflated. Water-Immersion Performance Demonstration of Personal Flotation Devices Heli-USA provided the investigative team with two PFDs: one was a Hoover Industries model FV-35E, and the other was an Eastern Aero Marine model KSE- 35HC2L8. 24 Heli-USA had recently retired both PFDs from service after about 12 months of use in accordance with the manufacturers’ recommended inspection interval. 25 These PFDs were used for water-immersion demonstrations to examine donning procedures and to compare vest performance with one and both chambers inflated. Two test subjects 26 entered the water before donning the PFD vests, and each described that the vests were “relatively easy” to put on but that two hands were required to place the vest over the head while in the water. The subjects found that, with only one vest chamber inflated, each PFD provided flotation for the wearer, and they were able to remain at the surface with their heads above the water. The subjects also found that, with only one chamber inflated, if they simulated unconsciousness and made no attempts to right themselves, it was possible for them to float facedown. With both vest chambers inflated, it was not possible for either subject to float facedown; the PFDs rolled them to a faceup position within seconds. According to TSO-C13e, which specifies that the PFD must right a wearer who is in a facedown position, the buoyant force needed to meet the TSO is determined with both chambers inflated. During the demonstration, when the subjects first attempted to pull the inflation handles one at a time, the investigator found that one chamber on the Eastern Aero Marine PFD failed to inflate when the handle was pulled. Examination revealed that the threaded cylinder for that chamber was not screwed securely into its housing. When the investigator properly seated the cylinder and then pulled the inflation handle, the chamber inflated. Following these demonstrations, another Hawaii air tour operator voluntarily examined 13 PFD vests that had been recently retired from service after about 1 year of use. 27 Each PFD had 2 inflation cylinders, and the operator reported that 18 of the 26 cylinders were loose in their housings.
