Police recruits learn how to escape helicopter crash

Pilots in Abu Dhabi taking on rigorous training to deal with worst-case scenarios

Police recruits in Abu Dhabi are learning how to escape from an aircraft that has crashed in water.

Crashing onboard a helicopter is a pilot’s worst nightmare, so police in Abu Dhabi are being pushed through a tough training programme to learn how to escape from a rapidly sinking aircraft.

Crash survival training is part of the rigorous process for recruits being put through their paces to become pilots for the Abu Dhabi Police Department.

Air Wing helicopters are designed to respond quickly to emergency calls and can reach remote areas and external roads in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra to provide help, care and transfer patients to hospital following road accidents.

Now pilots are being given vital support to know how to react if their own emergency situation arises.

Specialist training for cadets is taking place at the Emirates Centre for Technical Development and Safety in Abu Dhabi, with future pilots learning how to open doors and windows of a submerged helicopter and free themselves to safety before the aircraft sinks.

Trainers are providing guidance and advice to pre-flight students on check-in procedures, safety boarding requirements and the correct procedures onboard a helicopter – as well as how to survive an emergency landing.

Photos have been released by ADPD showing the recruits scrambling to safety in a swimming pool and performing water rescues in mock situations.

Abu Dhabi police Air Wing unit carried out 346 operations, including 22 rescue missions, in the first quarter of 2018.

The flights included 126 police missions, 106 training flights, 22 air ambulance missions, and 92 other tasks.

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