Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET)
Friday, April 25, 2014
If you fancy working at offshore oil rigs, chances of experiencing a challenging and financially rewarding job is there. It's definitely going to be a fun, tough, exciting job. I've experience it before and I know how it feels like. However, before you can work there, you need to have an offshore passport and one of the important requirement to obtain the offshore passport is to undergo Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET).
In United States, HUET is known as Helicopter Underwater Egress Training. In other parts of the world, it is famously known as Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET). HUET is training provided to offshore oil and gas industry staff who are regularly transported to and from facilities by helicopters over water. As the name implies, the purpose is to prepare them for emergency exit in the case of a crash landing over water.
The training involves simulated sinking in a pool while rotating the training module upside down and
focuses students on bracing for impact, identifying primary and
secondary exit points, avoiding smoke inhalation, surfacing for air, and head count.
The conventional simulators simulate an immersed cabin rotating around
single axis, usually lengthwise. Most trainees find that the repetition
of predictable submerging and controlled rotation does not offer any
additional improvement to their survival skills. While the traditional
simulators can only be turned left or right in the horizontal plane, the
new generation simulators can turn 360° in both the horizontal and
vertical planes.
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| Imagine this situation. The helicopter crash land on the sea and it submerge. The passenger are trained to escape from the helicopter and there are several techniques to escape from the heli (image source). |
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| Helicopter passengers escaping from the simulated helicopter underwater (image source) |
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| A guy escaping from an over-turned helicopter underwater during the HUET training (image source) |
I did my first HUET in Trengganu Safety Training Center (TSTC) in 2004. It was a 3 days course which include the activities described above as well as some theories and fire fighting practical. That time the cost was RM1400 if I am not mistaken. I am not aware of the present cost.
For better comprehension on what is going on during HUET, I have included a video below. Check it out.
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posted by Kipas Repair JB @ 9:01 PM,
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The Author
I’m Zaki. I used to be a project, process and chemical engineer. Few years ago I successfully became a Chartered Engineer (IChemE) and Professional Engineer (BEM). I'm now employed as a chemical engineering educator/researcher/consultant. Hope you like reading my blog. I welcome any feedback from you. My email: zaki.yz[alias]gmail.com. TQ!
