Helicopter Underwater Escape Training

File:HUET Lynx 2.jpg

HUET simulator for Westland Lynx helicopter

Helicopter Underwater Egress Training in the United States, and Helicopter Underwater Escape Training in most other countries, (often abbreviated HUET, pronounced hue-wet, hue-way or you-way) is training provided to offshore oil and gas industry staff and military personnel who are regularly transported to and from facilities by helicopters over water. As the name implies, the purpose is to prepare them for emergency exit in the case of a crash landing over water.

Overview

The training involves simulated sinking in a pool while rotating the training module upside down and focuses students on bracing for impact, identifying primary and secondary exit points, avoiding smoke inhalation, surfacing for air, and head count. The conventional simulators simulate an immersed cabin rotating around single axis, usually lengthwise. Most trainees find that the repetition of predictable submerging and controlled rotation does not offer any additional improvement to their survival skills. While the traditional simulators can only be turned left or right in the horizontal plane, the new generation simulators can turn 360º in both the horizontal and vertical planes and can increase post-accident underwater survival by up to 250%.