The effect of emergency breathing systems during helicopter underwater escape training for land force troops

A functional task analysis was carried out for 12 troops during helicopter underwater escape training (HUET) to identify performance difficulties while egressing from a submerged and capsized helicopter simulator. Troops and qualified HUET instructors rated performance during 22 trials of specific skill sets known to aid personnel in the event of a helicopter ditching into water. Results indicate that troops took considerably longer to egress through a forward exit and experienced fewer difficulties when using an emergency breathing system (EBS). Results further indicated that without an EBS, only 58% of the troops successfully escaped whereas 100% escaped unaided when using an EBS. To maximize survival rates in the event of a ditching, it can be concluded that all troops should be issued and trained to use an EBS.