Since EASA certified the first night-vision image system on a civil helicopter (see AIN, September 2007), several European operators have expressed interest in or have started to adopt night-vision goggles (NVGs). Eurocopter reports it has begun testing for a German operator. No doubt, newcomers will draw from the experiences of two major European rescue operators–Sécurité Civile and Rega. They did not have to wait for EASA approval because they had to convince only their national aviation authorities.
For the Sécurité Civile, France’s rescue arm, NVGs are a response to automation at destinations, said Guy Roger, an EC 145 pilot. Previously, pilots would talk to a person when they called their destination and receive a firsthand assessment of weather conditions. Now pilots reach a recording. In some cases this absence of a fuller interpretive weather briefing has resulted in night missions being canceled,
reducing the credibility and effectiveness of the Sécurité Civile.
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