Posted on June 30th, 2010 in Dust Control by Bob Vitale
and we here at home can do something about it!
This is not about selling product or making profits. I am a proud American, and with our troops still committed to the war overseas, everyone, including the people here at our company, should be doing everything possible to assure their safety.
Reading about the April 8 crash of a CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft that killed four; two Air Force Special Operations Command airmen, a US soldier and a civilian, when there are theater solutions that could prevent it, bothers me to the core. The report identified “brownout conditions” caused the crash. (A brownout happens when the dust caused by the rotor wash from a helicopter raises dust which is so extreme that it impedes pilot vision and safety.)
Why am I so bothered? Because there’s no reason for a brownout condition. There are chemical solutions that can be applied to helipads in these remote and tactical locations that will eliminate dust and assure pilot visibility. My company, Midwest Industrial Supply, manufactures such products, as do other companies. And whether I believe we have the best product is not the point; it’s that there are solutions. There’s also new avionic technology in the field to help pilot visibility in brownout conditions but it will take time to fully deploy this technology. In the meantime, our chemical solutions working hand-in-hand with technology would enhance pilot safety.
The Army Corp of Engineers has worked exhaustedly to find effective tools and already tested Midwest solutions and today all branches of the Service use our products. We need to step up, and find ways to quickly treat these helicopter landing pads in theater conditions so we never again read a story like this. I know this is unacceptable to our military leaders, and it’s their goal as well.
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