Using helicopters to make a real difference
Jop Dingemans, HEMS Commander and Co-Founder of Pilots Who Ask Why, tells AirMed&Rescue why he was drawn to helicopters, how far the industry has progressed on safety culture, and what it’s still got to learn
Please could you share a bit of background to your professional career – how did you first get involved in the aviation sector, and how have you progressed to your current role?
I got into aviation through my dad, who was an airline pilot. I joined him in the cockpit for a few trips when I was a kid, which had a massive impact on me. I was drawn to helicopters more than planes, though; the way they fly, and how they can be used to make a real difference.
After my engineering degree, I moved to the UK to start my flight training. Shortly after, I became a Flight Instructor, which I absolutely loved. My goal, however, was to fly in a multi-pilot setting, so I aimed for either the helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS), offshore, or search and rescue (SAR) industry.
I’ve been flying HEMS for about six years now, five as a First Officer, and the last year as a Commander. I feel very fortunate for the opportunities that have come my way over the years. Learning from pilots who have done the job for longer than I have been alive has been a huge privilege.
What aircraft are you flying at the moment? What do you like most about it, and what are the unique characteristics that make it the right model for the missions you fly?
I currently fly the AW169, which I’m really enjoying. I did my instrument rating in an AS355, so making the jump from that to the AW169 was really interesting. It’s a clever aircraft that helps you out in a lot of ways. I remember the first time I did a ‘manual’ instrument landing system (ILS) in and it almost felt like cheating, as it makes things a lot easier compared to the aircraft I trained on.
The AW169 has a lot of additional safety features that help us with overall situational awareness, and it’s very nice to fly in a multi-pilot setting. It’s fast, and has great endurance for the type of missions we fly.
What do you think is the most valuable piece of avionics that you currently rely on? What difference has it made to the way you fly?
Probably the integrated map overlays, which display information from various systems and combine it into one overview. Systems like helicopter terrain awareness and warning systems (HTAWS), traffic collision avoidance systems (TCAS), and the navigation database can all be understood with one glance, rather than having to look at different screens.
Pilot wellbeing is not something that’s talked about often enough – whether it is physical illness or mental health. What do you think needs to happen for pilots to be better supported if they have health concerns?
What the aviation industry has done with a ‘just’ or safety culture for reporting errors and safety hazards should be extrapolated into how we treat physical and mental health.
If pilots don’t feel that they can talk about health issues, instances of them being hidden will never go away
If pilots don’t feel that they can talk about health issues, instances of them being hidden will never go away.
Pilots need to be able to trust that the system will take care of them, rather than punish them for coming forward about issues. That requires an industry that looks at these cases with understanding and support, even if it means pilots might be temporarily grounded.
Safety levels and accident rates in HEMS vary widely between countries; what do you think the key differences are that explain these discrepancies, and can accident rates be brought down?
HEMS and other mission-based operations often operate under additional exemptions and risk matrices that simply would not be allowed in other sectors within aviation. It’s a delicate balance between making it economically viable and at the same time prioritizing safety to mitigate the extra risks it brings.
This process can be harder, depending on how the operation is run. We are fortunate in the UK, for instance, as most SAR and HEMS operations are run in a multi-pilot setting, with helicopters that have a lot of safety features.
The amount of available resources, whether it’s money, time, or people, seems to be a pretty good indicator for overall safety levels. The other influence is the culture itself. The helicopter industry still has a long way to go to catch up with the amazing progress the airline industry has made over the last few decades. Flat cockpit gradients, just cultures, and an evidence-based approach to training can completely transform safety statistics.
There is a well-known skills shortage in the aviation industry; do you think this can be reversed, and if so, how?
The entire system needs to become more accessible. The financial position you need to put yourself in to become a helicopter pilot, followed by the lack of a ‘progression pipeline’ you see in the airlines, puts many people off (understandably so).
The transition to multi-pilot for many operations makes the helicopter industry in the UK slightly more accessible, as jobs that require a lot of experience for Captains now have an entry point for less experienced pilots (as First Officers). I have hugely benefited from this fact myself!
With the supply of military pilots reducing as time goes on, certainly within the UK and Europe, it is even more important to provide resources to train the next generation. Whether that’s through scholarships, flight school partnerships with operators, or government-subsidized training routes.
How is technology transforming the ways in which pilots can learn their craft, hone their skills, and minimize the risks of accidents? From your personal experience, what’s the best way to instruct new pilots and maintain currency?
As aircraft and overall flying environments become more complex, so does the mix of skills we need to operate safely. Evidence-based training (EBT) is slowly being used more and more across the industry, which I think is a huge win.
If you have the skills and expertise to deal with emergency A, it’s highly likely you can deal with emergency B as well
Rather than going over a huge list of tick boxes during a test or training exercise, EBT focuses on core competencies. If you have the skills and expertise to deal with emergency A, it’s highly likely you can deal with emergency B as well. This has proven a much more effective way to train, and EBT will probably be implemented more and more as time goes on.
On top of this, operators that are on top of their game are starting to focus more and more on non-technical skills such as emotional intelligence, leadership qualities, and how well we work together with others. It’s much easier to teach someone how to fly a proper approach than to teach that same person not to suck the life out the entire team around them!
You and your partner (Janine Lythe) run a well-known website, Pilots Who Ask Why. What made you start the site, and what are the key attributes of it that you think make it valuable to pilots from all over the world and in all spheres of operation?
While she flies offshore and I fly HEMS, we both noticed that, in general, complicated theory, regulations, and reports put pilots off. Our goal with Pilots Who Ask Why is to inspire curiosity and make complicated, dry, and sometimes boring topics easy and fun to read and understand.
It’s easy to become complacent as we become more comfortable in our roles, so we try to challenge ourselves and others by raising questions and issues that can benefit everyone, whether it’s industry changes, human factors, or technical knowledge.
What do you enjoy most about your current role, and what is the biggest challenge you face?
In my opinion, HEMS is the perfect combination of flying helicopters and contributing to something worthwhile. Showing up for work with no clue what the day is going to bring will never get old.
HEMS is the perfect combination of flying helicopters and contributing to something worthwhile
Working as a team to help people is really fulfilling. I love seeing the doctors and paramedics completely change the outcome of a patient.
My biggest challenge in the job is finding the right balance between being planned / always having a plan B, while at the same time being flexible and thinking on your feet. It requires a mix of both and I still learn better ways to go about things every day!