Transport committee  Yes, we have. We have data based on what we call missions. There is the HEMS mission, which is the emergency medical system. There are logging missions and all types of missions, including training. Training is one of the vulnerable areas for accidents. All of that has been done

Transport committee  Even in these high-risk missions, for example, such as training, logging, or carrying goods on hooks, the common thread is situational awareness; we assembled all the problem statements and they all line up. When a pilot is carrying a hook, he can't see what's trailing behind him

Transport committee  We did not address the airport security issues. We suffer as much as passengers, and as you do, but from the operational side what I addressed was how things operate for those in an aircraft or a helicopter. The man in the cockpit is a critical decision-maker. That's the safety

Transport committee  It is improving, but not at a rate--as I tried to emphasize, but perhaps not appropriately--that matches the rest of the industry. The rest of the aviation industry has seen a drastic reduction. I showed you a graph of that reduction.

Transport committee  Yes, the big operators like CAC, Bristol, the worldwide big ones--

Transport committee  They have very structured systems in their organizations. They spend the money, the effort, and the time to do recurrent training, which is very critical, whereas the small operators owning five helicopters and less--and they constitute 85% of the North American fleet--are mom-an

Transport committee  They're flying smaller helicopters. They're doing odd missions and trying to get business. They're trying to make ends meet, and they're having difficulty.

Transport committee  I will share my answer with Mr. Séguin. I think the mission explains a lot. Given the geography of Canada and the type of role we play here, especially if we are talking about mining or forestry development. This is not a typical use. There is another developed country where it

Transport committee  You need to ask the Transport Canada people.

Transport committee  Yes, but it does not show up in the accident database. It is a factor, but it is a 20% factor. It is not as critical as the human factor, which is part of judgment and situational awareness, which is mitigated through training.

Transport committee  To some kind of situational decision-making--that's correct.

Transport committee  That's precisely what we found out. It's all data based; there are no human emotions involved here. The data shows that simulator-based training is the foremost factor that will impact pilot judgment and decision-making.

Transport committee  No.

Transport committee  Nowhere: they don't exist for the light helicopters. For the big ones, they have simulators, and they go through simulator training, and the military does. But as soon as you change down to the lighter helicopters, all you can have is perhaps fixed-base pilot training with a si

Transport committee  Just to add to that, the simulator design is expensive, so if you do the cost-effective thing, that's where the industry has to bring things down to a lower cost, which hasn't happened yet. It is happening: we're talking.