Do your area first responders understand the intricacies of general aviation aircraft? If not, plan a meeting (preferably at an airport) to enlighten all on the nuances of personal aircraft. This power point provides a starting to personalize the discussion to your area needs.

1. General Aviation Accidents
First Responder Safety

2. Disclaimer
This presentation is an overview of hazards first responders may
encounter when responding to a General Aviation (GA) accident.
Obviously, all aircraft types and situations cannot be addressed, but
this presentation will provide overview information most responders
may not have considered.
While this presentation can be viewed as a standalone item, I
strongly recommend you seek out a qualified instructor or
commercial pilot who can use this presentation, along with personal
observations, to provide a more thorough briefing. Also, Airplane
Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) 800/872-2672 can put you in
touch with a pilot, in your community.

3. Where does the typical GA accident occur?
• The majority happen near airports, because
that is where the concentration is greater
• Generally they happen in good weather,
because more people fly when the weather is
good
• Mid-air collisions are surprisingly rare – big sky
theory
• Pilot error (causal or contributory) constitutes
the bulk of accident findings

4. KJYO Leesburg VA
Visual Flight Rules (VFR) Traffic Pattern
Washington D.C. FSRA

5. KJYO Leesburg VA
Visual Flight Rules (VFR) Traffic Pattern
Traffic Landing Runway 17

6. KJYO Leesburg VA
Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) ILS/GPS

7. KJYO Leesburg VA
Summary of Approach/Missed Approach
Instrument Patterns

8. KJYO Leesburg VA
Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) Approaches

9. Hazards
• Fuel/Fire
– GA aircraft (average) between 50 & 100+ gallons of
fuel
– Carried internally and/or in the wings
– Pressurized Oxygen
• Electrical
– 12/28 volts (sometimes multiple batteries)
– Future electric engines (very high voltage batteries)
• Pyrotechnic/Explosives
– Ballistic Recovery Parachutes (BRS)
– Air Bags (primarily within the seat belts)

10. Fuel/Fire
• Secure fuel flow to engine compartment
– First: Pull throttle control (Black) & mixture control
(Red) levers to off position (all the way out/all the
way down)
Typical Single Engine Cessna

11. More Throttle & Mixture Controls
Single Engine Piper
Single Engine Diamond Aircraft

12. More Throttle & Mixture Controls
Single/Twin FADEC Aircraft have no
Mixture Levers (Red)
Twin Engine Piper Aircraft

13. Fuel Cut-Off
• Second: Secure the Fuel Valve
– Note some valves require pushing/lifting the lever
or retention pins, before it can be rotated
Cessna

14. Fuel Cut-Off
Piper Aircraft

15. Single Engine
Fuel Cut-Off
Diamond Aircraft
Twin Engine

16. Additional Fire Hazard
Pressurized Oxygen
• Pressurized oxygen bottles are not common on small GA aircraft, but it is a
possibility.
• The oxygen containers are normally accented with the industry standard
green and can be of the small portable bottles or internal system variety.
• Pressurized vessels & oxygen are obvious hazards to first responders.

17. Secure Electrical System
(reduces chance of fire)
• Aircraft electrical power is controlled through the
Master Switch (toggle), but it has no control over
ignition.
• The ignition switch (unlike that in automobiles)
does not control electrical power. Basically, it is a
grounding switch for the engine magneto. If the
engine is running it will (if undamaged) turn it off,
but if the previous steps, removing the fuel
supply, were applied, the engine should not be
running.

18. Secure Electrical System
Single Engine Cessna
Master Power Switch (Red)

19. Secure Electrical System
Single Engine Piper

20. Secure Electrical System
Twin Engine Piper

21. Secure Electrical System
Diamond Aircraft Twin/Single

22. Pyrotechnic/Explosives
Airbags
• Not all aircraft have
airbags
• Aircraft airbags are
within the seatbelts,
not physical structures
• Lap & Shoulder Straps

23. Pyrotechnic/Explosives
Parachutes
• Currently limited to some newer single-engine, aircraft and
Hang gliders.
• See FAA Presentation:
www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/.../accident_safety_scene_brs.ppt

24. Pyrotechnic/Explosives
Parachutes
• The 55+ pound parachute pack is deployed by a
rocket motor The rocket motor is ignited by
pulling an activation handle in the cockpit. They
then accelerate to over 100 mph in the first tenth
of a second after ignition. While the total firing
period is only one second, someone in the path
of an escaping rocket could be seriously injured
or killed. These are powerful rockets (about 1½-2
inches diameter and 8-10 inches long) that work
very efficiently.

25. Pyrotechnic/Explosives
Parachutes
• This is a close up of the
BRS 900 rocket motor,
common to both Cessna
and Cirrus installations. It
produces roughly 225
pounds of thrust over a
1.2 second burn time and
must be respected. It
burns solid propellant
derived from military
formulations and is very
resistant to accidental
initiation.

26. Pyrotechnic/Explosives
Accident Site

27. Pyrotechnic/Explosives
Activation Handle (Generic)

28. Pyrotechnic/Explosives
• Rescue personnel should first determine the
existence of a BRS-brand unit. If possible, locate
the parachute container, rocket, activation cable
(housing) assembly and activation handle. The
activation housing, again, joins the firing handle
on one end to the rocket motor on the other.
Pulling either end away from one another can
fire the unit. Normally the handle and the
parachute unit will be mounted securely, but as
stated above, in an accident, orientation may
change. Rescue workers, police officers, and fire
fighters should initially exercise extreme care
when working around these systems, especially
if the airplane is severely broken up or the
activation cable appears to be tightly stretched.
Examine the parachute container. Alongside the
parachute container should be a 2-3 inch
diameter black, silver or white tube about 10
inches in length. This is called the launch tube
and it contains the rocket motor.

29. Pyrotechnic/Explosives
HAS THE ROCKET FIRED?
• If the airframe has experienced significant breakup, there is a very
good chance that the rocket motor has been initiated. Telltale signs
of this would be the parachute canopy extracted from its container,
the rocket motor no longer in the launch tube, a burned
appearance on the lanyards joining the rocket motor to the
parachute or being unable to locate the rocket motor at all. A rocket
motor that has separated from the igniter poses no significant
hazard, unless it is exposed to fire. Experience has shown that a
rocket motor subjected to high temperatures (fire) will not ignite in
a normal manner and launch. Rather, they have been observed to
burst in a relatively non-threatening display. After a determination
is made that the rocket is live, under no circumstances should
rescue personnel place any part of their person in front of the
launch tube. Clear a 90 degree area in front of the rocket motor,
extending 100 feet out, if possible.

30. Pyrotechnic/Explosives
HAS THE ROCKET FIRED?
• THE ROCKET MOTOR IGNITER IS NOT AN ARMED, HAIR-TRIGGER DEVICE.
It requires a deliberate pull of about 30-40 pounds to cock and fire the
system. Both cocking and firing are accomplished by one pull of the
handle. Because of the design, the handle will come free of the handle
holder and travel roughly two inches unimpeded. Then, spring
compression begins. At that point, the system needs only about 7/16 inch
of additional movement to ignite. Under certain circumstances, crash
forces may physically separate the rocket from the igniter. This separation
alone greatly reduces risks. The igniter contains two shotgun primers and
a small amount of black powder/magnesium mix. The output is a loud
report and a flash of flame. This could cause minor injury, but it is not
particularly dangerous. Should one encounter this scenario, cutting the
activating cable is still desirable. NOTE: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CUT THE
ACTIVATION HOUSING WITH AN ORDINARLY BOLT CUTTER OR SIDE
CUTTER! They are NOT effective at cutting the cable housing.

31. Advance Planning
• Obtain (rapid contact) telephone numbers
for aviation agencies in your jurisdiction.
– Flight Service Station 800-992-7433 (they can help obtain numbers
for applicable agencies below)
– Control Tower/Approach Control
– ARTCC (Center)
– FAA District Office
– NTSB District Office
– C.A.P.

32. Advance Planning
• Unless Safety Would Be Compromised:
– Maintain site security (until FAA/NTSB releases)
• Record weather observations at site
• Other observables (fuel smell, bird activity etc.)
• Do not move/relocate any aircraft or cargo components
• Photograph aircraft pieces, wreckage patterns, impact
points and any gouge marks

33. To Be Considered
• Many pilots carry handheld GPS units. These units should remain in place
(unless fire is a threat and they can safely be retrieved). These units may
contain data that can assist the accident investigation team. The data is
subject to being overwritten, over time, so it advisable to power off any
operating GPS units.