Workshop Helps Pilots Avoid Wire Strikes

About 140 pilots and crew members attended SCE's second ever Wire Avoidance Seminar to learn how to safely fly near power lines.

In the 1990's, before becoming Southern California Edison's Chief Pilot, Torbjorn Corell, was flying a helicopter for the World Health Organization, helping eradicate onchocerciasis - or river blindness - raging in West Africa.

His mission: fly along riverbanks releasing chemicals to kill lurking parasites that had been infecting and blinding the locals.

After three months of successfully navigating the terrain, Corell had a close call that sparked his advocacy for safety awareness around low-level flying and wire strikes.

"During a routine flight, I got the feeling, 'something's not right'," he said. "Then, I looked up and just a few feet in front of me is this power line. I realized I've got absolutely nowhere to go."

Torbjorn Corell, or "T.C.", is SCE's chief pilot and spearheaded the safety workshop.

With dense jungle on each side of him, Correll instinctively pulled up and performed aerial acrobatics known as a hammerhead maneuver, bracing for an impact that, luckily, never came.

Nearly 30 years later, he still uses that story as a lesson to pilots on the importance of situational awareness when flying near power lines.

The knowledge is especially important for SCE Aircraft Operations' helicopter pilots who do much of their work at low altitudes around power lines as they perform wildfire mitigation work, equipment inspection and installation, or even surveying snowpack levels in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. But the safety insight applies to neighboring agencies, too, and Corell takes pride in sharing the knowledge.

That's why he spearheaded SCE's second ever Wire Avoidance Seminar where pilots from a range of industries, including local police, fire and other emergency services, fly into SCE's Aircraft Operations headquarters in Chino to learn how to detect and avoid power lines.

"Low level flying is dangerous," said Corell. "We own the wires, so we want to mitigate the risk, share the knowledge and teach these guys how to fly safely below 300 feet."

To do that, Corell stressed not to wait until you see the lines - by then it's too late.

About 140 pilots and crewmembers attended SCE's Wire Avoidance Seminar.

"You have to look for the hardware, such as transmission towers, and connect the dots," he said.

"When you're flying, the wire is basically invisible the majority of the time," said Brad Bohlman, one of SCE's pilots who attended the workshop. "If you do strike a wire, there is very little chance of surviving. We have to do everything in our power to avoid and detect."

Annual data shows 250 wire strikes occur each year in the U.S. And Corell warns even on blue sky days, a wire strike can happen if pilots let their guard down.

To help reduce the risk to the aviation community, SCE has increasingly installed power line markers - orange, yellow and white balls that make the wires more noticeable to pilots, especially in conditions where visibility is limited, such as during a wildfire.

Pilots from a range of industries, including local police, fire and other emergency services joined SCE's second Wire Avoidance Seminar.

Even with those safety additions, Corell stresses not to rely on spotting the marker. Depending on the flight direction and sun angle, optical illusions can make it difficult to detect those balls.

He always recommends first conducting a higher-level patrol of the area pilots will be flying to familiarize themselves with the terrain and potential hazards.

"There is no course taught, even today, in flight school on wire avoidance," said Bohlman. "Getting the aviation community together and sharing this knowledge is probably the most valuable thing we can do."

For more information about other ways SCE helps to keep customers, communities and employees safe, visit sce.com/safety.