Expert Advice for the Establishment of PinS Flight Procedures for Helicopter Air Rescue Services (HEMS)

In spring 2023, airsight has been commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and Health (MJG) of the Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein to provide an expert advice on the establishment of PinS flight procedures for helicopter air rescue services (HEMS) in Schleswig-Holstein (SH).

The objective is to serve potential approach and departure points for helicopter landing sites at hospitals and air rescue stations as well as for North Sea island operation sites with point-in-space flight procedures (PinS) and to link these with a route network optimized for helicopter rescue flights.

Point-in-space flight procedures are approach and departure procedures exclusively for helicopters that rely on satellite navigation. The actual approach and departure between a defined reference point ("point in space") and the landing site takes place visually and requires sufficient meteorological conditions to allow the pilot to see and avoid any obstacles. Together with an optimized route network for instrument flight, the envisaged procedures allow rescue flights to be conducted in weather conditions in which pure visual flight is no longer possible. They thus increase the usability, reliability and safety of flight operations for the air rescue service.

In this project, flight routes are to be designed within the application for approval to be submitted for PinS flight procedures. In particular, it is to be examined whether and to what extent flight operations would affect interests worthy of protection with regards to noise, safety and environment. If such concerns are affected, alternative flight paths must be developed to minimize the negative impacts.

In order to meet the diverse needs of users and affected parties alike, workshops are planned to discuss, for example, the weighing of concerns worthy of protection. The findings from these workshops will be directly incorporated into the conceptual design of the PinS flight procedures and route network, as well as into further support for the preparation of the application for approval.

If you also require support in the planning or approval of flight procedures, please feel free to contact us by e-mail or via our website.

_{Photo Credit: Photo: Reinhard Fraunholz (CC BY -SA 4.0)}