Characterization of Search and Rescue Aircraft

Abstract

Several different aircraft have been used in aviation
search and rescue mission. The use of the aircraft in such mission
has been mostly for common purpose of scouring the sea or land
to identify and locate the victims. In addition, they are also utilized
for rescue mission with some specialized equipment onboard. This
study aims to identify the myriad of aircraft that have been used in
the aviation search and rescue mission, and perform the simplistic
analysis on their common and uncommon denominators. Based
on the results, it has been established that these aircraft often have
a small capacity and perimeter coverage, with low flight pace and
rate of climb performance capabilities.
Keywords: Search and rescue, performance characterization,
simplistic analysis, aircraft design.
DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.B7346.129219

Full text

International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering (IJITEE)
ISSN: 2278-3075, Volume-9 Issue-2, December 2019
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Published By:
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
& Sciences Publication
Retrieval Number: B7346129219/2019©BEIESP
DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.B7346.129219
 Abstract: Several different aircraft have been used in aviation
search and rescue mission. The use of the aircraft in such mission
has been mostly for common purpose of scouring the sea or land
to identify and locate the victims. In addition, they are also utilized
for rescue mission with some specialized equipment onboard. This
study aims to identify the myriad of aircraft that have been used in
the aviation search and rescue mission, and perform the simplistic
analysis on their common and uncommon denominators. Based
on the results, it has been established that these aircraft often have
a small capacity and perimeter coverage, with low flight pace and
rate of climb performance capabilities.
Keywords: Search and rescue, performance characterization,
simplistic analysis, aircraft design.
I. INTRODUCTION
There are many types of aircraft, either from commercial
or military sector, that have been used in the search and rescue
missions. In order to perform such specialized missions, these
aircraft have to be in compliance with the regulations set forth
by the relevant authorities, or in another word, authorized. For
instance, the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency rules that any of
the aircraft within their jurisdiction that are involved in search
and rescue mission to be regulated in accordance to its safety
regulations [1]. Moreover, the authority in Australia has also
regulated all aircraft that are involved in the search and rescue
missions, where periodic audits are conducted upon operators
of the aircraft to ensure their compliance and also continuous
improvement [1].
There have been some precedents and current scenarios in
the use of several aircraft types in search and rescue missions.
The Aerospatiale SA342 Gazelle is a rotary wing aircraft that
is manufactured by the Aerospatiale of France and Westland
Aircraft of United Kingdom. Its primary usage is for military
purposes (i.e. fitted with missiles such that it could be used as
an anti-tank gunship) [2]. Nevertheless, due to its lightweight
features, it is suitable to be used for scout and reconnaissance
operation, which is vital in search and rescue missions [3]. In
the meantime, the MD 900 / 902 Explorer is mainly used for
emergency medical services and search and rescue operation,
where one of its missions is for the London’s Air Ambulance
[4]. The MD 900 / 902 stands apart due to its maneuverability
in various wind conditions, which is a big advantage for use in
Revised Manuscript Received on December 05, 2019.
* Correspondence Author
Mohd Harridon Mohamed Suffian*, Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology, Dengkil, Selangor, Malaysia.
Email: mdharridon@unikl.edu.my
Mohd Khir Harun, Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of
Aviation Technology, Dengkil, Selangor, Malaysia.
Muhd Siv Azhar Merican Abdullah, St John Ambulance Wilayah
Persekutuan, Malaysia.
Muhd Faiz Maula Kamaruddin, St John Ambulance Putrajaya,
Malaysia.
the search and rescue mission especially in severe conditions.
Furthermore, Airbus has developed EADS C-295 aircraft that
is able to perform maritime patrol and reconnaissance, which
are also part of search and rescue mission. The C-295 aircraft
is fitted with two turboprop engines and it is designed with the
ability to perform mission in all weather conditions, making it
the versatile, robust and also reliable aircraft [5]. In addition,
the Diamond Aircraft Industries in Austria has built the DA42
aircraft, which has proven to be a successful design for cross
country operations. This is highly suitable for the operation in
Austria that is clad with mountains and is a landlocked nation.
The DA42 is regarded as an aircraft that is easy to handle and
has optimum stability and control, which is important for any
long duration aerial observation [6]. Additionally, China has
also been a prominent member of the search and rescue efforts
worldwide with its inception of Avicopter AC313, which is a
rotary wing aircraft with a huge fuselage that can offer bigger
onboard space advantage for holding more medical or other
search and rescue equipment [7]. The aircraft can fit up to 27
passengers at one time or accommodate simultaneous transfer
of 15 injured people for medical evacuation, and this provides
suitable capability for a comprehensive or big scale extraction
of injured personnel.
Apart from rotary wing, there are also hybrid between fixed
wing aircraft and helicopter in the market that are being used
for the search and rescue missions. One of the aircraft is V-22
Osprey that is manufactured by the Boeing Company. For the
vertical take-off, its tilt rotors are positioned vertically while
during flight, the rotors are positioned horizontally and hence
enables it to fly like a fixed wing aircraft. The Osprey aircraft
is operated by the United States military in combat search and
rescue missions due to its agility to take off and land at remote
confined spaces [8]. Furthermore, the Osprey aircraft has the
capacity to hold up to 24 troops onboard, which makes it very
suitable for a big scale extraction of injured personnel during
combat. Meanwhile, the HC-144 aircraft is being deployed by
the United States Coast Guard in performing surveillance and
reconnaissance operations of the ocean. The HC-144 aircraft
that they use is well-equipped with few specialized equipment
including sensors for search and rescue missions. Since it can
fly for up to maximum of 10 hours, the HC-144 aircraft is very
suitable for search and rescue missions that typically require
long duration of airborne time [9].
With many types of aircraft and their differences in terms of
design and flying performance, it is good to analyze and also
identify their commonalities. Such knowledge will definitely
serve as reference guideline in the design of future aircraft or
in selection of suitable available aircraft in the market for use
in the search and rescue
missions. Based on this notion,
simplistic analysis is conducted
using the historical data of
Characterization of Search and Rescue Aircraft
Mohd Harridon Mohamed Suffian, Mohd Khir Harun, Muhd Siv Azhar Merican Abdullah,
Muhd Faiz Maula Kamaruddin

Characterization of Search and Rescue Aircraft
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Published By:
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& Sciences Publication
Retrieval Number: B7346129219/2019©BEIESP
DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.B7346.129219
aircraft that have been used in such missions to characterize
the common critical parameters to be considered.
II. METHODOLOGY
In order to identify and categorize common denominators
of the aircraft operated in the search and rescue missions, Fig.
1 shows the methodological framework that is followed in this
study. Based on the findings in the literatures, it is imperative
for an aircraft that is used in search and rescue missions to be
capable to carry payloads that can be excessive in nature such
as medical and reconnaissance equipment, injured personnel,
and others. Furthermore, the aircraft should also be able to fly
with optimum distances and altitudes, especially to avoid any
unwanted firings from the ground in war zone areas during the
missions. Moreover, the aircraft must also be able to be swift
and agile in accommodating several different types of terrains
during the operation like mountainous and others. With these
information, five main aircraft parameters have been derived
in this study to properly reflect these requirements: maximum
takeoff gross weight, range, ceiling, maximum speed and also
rate of climb.
To conduct a simplistic analysis based upon the established
five parameters, the data of 40 different aircraft that have been
used in search and rescue missions are collected and studied.
Based on [10], with five heuristics in the analysis, data of 40
aircraft is appropriate to derive a fairly accurate conclusion.
The tabulation method is applied in the comparison process of
the identified 40 aircraft with respect to the five parameters.
In general, tabulation is a systematic process of arranging data
that offers advantage of ease of analysis and comparison [11].
Once the analysis is completed, the common and uncommon
denominators are presented in graphical forms.
Fig. 1. Methodology framework of conducted study
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Fig. 2 presents the plot of maximum takeoff gross weight of
the typical aircraft used for search and rescue missions. It can
be noted that the majority of the aircraft has maximum takeoff
weight in the lower region of the plot. The highest value has
been recorded as 86,000 kg while the lowest value is 930 kg,
with the mean value of 16,144.65 kg as indicated by the mean
line in the plot. In line with the previous observation that most
of the data points are located within the plot’s lower region,
72.5% of the 40 aircraft has a maximum takeoff gross weight
that is below the average value and only 27.5% is above that.
From this finding, a simplistic deduction is made that most of
the operators are more keen to employ a lighter aircraft. This
can also entail that in most of the conducted search and rescue
missions, the number of people intended to be rescued is often
small and/or the aircraft is expected to hold only a little or few
amount of equipment onboard.
Fig. 2. Maximum takeoff gross weight of the search and
rescue aircraft
Meanwhile, Fig. 3 depicts the data spread for the range of
the considered aircraft that have been used in the search and
rescue missions. It can be observed that the longest range that
can be achieved by one of the aircraft is 6,435 km whereas the
shortest range distance is only 350 km. On average, the range
of the aircraft as being indicated by the average line in the plot
is 1,712 km. Of the 40 aircraft considered in the analysis, 70%
of them actually have a range capability that is lower than the
average. This implies that only 30% of them can reach a flying
range farther than the average. Based on this observation, it is
simplistically deduced that the search and rescue missions are
mostly conducted by the operators with aircraft that can only
transverse a short distance or cover a small mission perimeter.
This situation can also be contributed to the available capacity
of the aircraft’s fuel tank that ultimately limits their search and
rescue operation.
The data spread for the ceiling of the aircraft often operated
for the search and rescue missions are depicted in Fig. 4. From
the plot, the highest service flight ceiling that can be achieved
by the aircraft is roughly 12.8 km (or 41,995 ft) and the lowest
is about 0.5 km (or 1.532 ft). The mean value of flight ceiling
for the 40 analyzed aircraft is 6.5 km (or 21,251.9 ft) and this
is indicated by the average line in the plot. There appears to be
almost the same numbers of aircraft that have a flight ceiling
performance above and below
the average value. Specifically,
55% of the aircraft have a flight
ceiling that is below the

International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering (IJITEE)
ISSN: 2278-3075, Volume-9 Issue-2, December 2019
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Published By:
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
& Sciences Publication
Retrieval Number: B7346129219/2019©BEIESP
DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.B7346.129219
average line while that of the other 45% is above the average
line. This finding leads to a simplistic deduction that a mixture
of aircraft has been operated for the search and rescue
missions as the operations may involve both high and low
altitude search. As indicated in [12], the mixture of high and
low altitudes’ operation could facilitate in optimizing the
search and rescue missions.
Furthermore, Fig. 5 illustrates the maximum speed that can
be achieved by the commonly used aircraft for the search and
rescue missions. As indicated by the plotted data, the fastest
aircraft among the 40 considered aircraft in this study has the
maximum speed of 860 km per hour. On contrary, the slowest
of the aircraft has the maximum speed of 175 km per hour. As
indicated by the average line in the plot, the mean maximum
speed among the 40 aircraft is around 372 km per hour and the
majority of them (i.e. 70% of them) have the maximum speed
below this value. Only 30% of the 40 aircraft have maximum
speed that is higher than the average. Based on this, it can be
simplistically deduced that most aircraft that are operated in a
search and rescue mission do not need to have a high speed. In
fact, a slow pace aircraft is more preferred and considered as a
better option because by moving too fast, some vital details of
the search and rescue operation may be overlooked and also
missed. As stated in [13], a slow pace operation will help to
ensure that observations during search are done thoroughly.
Last but not least. Fig. 6 presents the rate of climb data for
the 40 aircraft that have been commonly utilized in the search
and rescue missions. Of them all, the highest rate of climb that
can be achieved is about 2,073 m/min (or 6800 ft/min) and the
lowest rate of climb has been found to be about 229 m/min (or
750 ft/min). The majority of these aircraft, or about 72.5% of
them, has rate of climb performance that is below the average
as illustrated by being below the average line in the plot. The
average rate of climb for the 40 aircraft is roughly about 635
m/min (or 2,083.98 ft/min). With only 27.5% of the aircraft
are capable of climbing with a higher than the average rate of
climb, a simplistic deduction can be made that it is imperative
for the aircraft used in search and rescue missions to be able to
climb as fast as possible. This is perfectly in line with the fact
that such missions are often conducted in a slow pace in order
to optimize the search for survivors or wrecks. A closer look
on the aircraft that have a high rate of climb, they are mainly
military type of aircraft such as LTV XC-142, Beriev Be-42
Albatros and Kazan Ansat, which are used in battlefield. For
such search and rescue missions within the combat areas, it is
desirable for the aircraft to be capable of climbing fast after a
rescue sortie in order to avoid enemy fire on the ground.
All in all, the findings from comparative analysis between
the 40 considered aircraft are tabulated in Table I.
Table-I: Comparison findings for search and rescue
aircraft
Parameters
Minimum
Maximum
Average
Maximum Takeoff
Gross Weight (kg)
930.00
86,000.00
16,144.65
Range (km)
350.00
6,435.00
1,712.00
Ceiling (km)
0.50
12.80
6.50
Maximum Speed
(km/hr)
175.00
860.00
372.00
Rate of Climb
(m/min)
229.00
2,073.00
635.00
Fig. 3. Range of the search and rescue aircraft
Fig. 4. Flight ceiling of the search and rescue aircraft
Fig. 5. Maximum speed of the search and rescue aircraft
Fig. 6. Rate of climb of the search and rescue aircraft

Characterization of Search and Rescue Aircraft
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DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.B7346.129219
IV. CONCLUSION
Overall, 40 aircraft that have been operated for search and
rescue missions are identified and also analyzed in simplistic
manner. From the analysis findings, several characteristics of
the common search and rescue aircraft have been established
based on the five critical parameters: maximum takeoff gross
weight, range, flight ceiling, maximum speed and climb rate.
It can be concluded that majority of search and rescue aircraft
have a small capacity in terms of payloads to carry equipment
weight or injured personnel. Furthermore, the aircraft in such
missions are only expected to cover a small perimeter during
the search and rescue operation, which is reflected by the low
range capability. Since the efficiency of the search and rescue
operations can be improved by having the search at both high
and low altitudes, there are balanced flight ceiling capability
among the aircraft used. Finally, based on the effectiveness of
the operation to be conducted at an adequate slower pace, the
typical maximum speed and rate of climb of the aircraft have
been found to be mostly on the lower end. All in all, with these
findings, they provide some insights into the design and also
mission requirements for an aircraft that is suitable to be used
in search and rescue missions. More detailed analysis should
be done to gain further understanding of these aircraft.
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AUTHORS PROFILE
Mohd Harridon Mohamed Suffian is involved in a
number of search and rescue missions and holds several
certifications in Search and Rescue, and Physical Fitness.
He is affiliated with several organizations including the
National Association for Search and Rescue of USA,
Flight Test Society of Australia, Universiti Kuala Lumpur
MIAT, European Paratroopers, and others. He is also the
President of St John Ambulance Putrajaya.
Mohd Khir Harun is a Professor at Universiti Kuala
Lumpur MIAT and has involved in aviation industry for
more than 25 years in various countries. He is currently
involved in planning and development of Smart Aviation
Hangar at UniKL MIAT and was a former Dean of UniKL
MIAT. Furthermore, he is a Licensed Aircraft Engineer
with several type ratings and has written several academic
papers pertaining to aviation.
Muhd Siv Azhar Merican Abdullah is a medical doctor
and is currently the Deputy Director at Putrajaya
Hospital. He got his education in the United Kingdom
and Malaysia, and is also the Regional Commander for St
John Ambulance Federal Territories of Malaysia. He has
vast experiences in Emergency Medicine and Hospital
Management, and has written several academic papers in
relation to community outreach, hospital care, and others.
Muhd Faiz Maula Kamaruddin is a certified paramedic
with vast experiences in emergency situations. He is a
Superintendent at St John Ambulance Putrajaya and also
the Chairman of Community Relief Society of Malaysia.
He is passionate in serving the community and has
recently aided the community in Kuala Selangor that was
engulfed in flood waters. Apart from that, he offers
medical health screening for those in need.