Fire Agency Strengthens Safety Management of Nationwide 119 Aviation Units

Inspection of Korea Aerospace University Operational Performance, Safety Management Status, and Flight Volume from July to September

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The National Fire Agency announced on the 30th that it will conduct aviation safety inspections of 21 fire aviation units nationwide from July to September to identify and improve risk factors in aviation safety management in advance.

There are 21 119 aviation units operating nationwide. Four aviation units belong to the Central 119 Rescue Headquarters, and 17 aviation units are installed under city and provincial jurisdictions.

This inspection aims to check the overall operation status of the nationwide 119 aviation units and is a measure to prevent fire helicopter safety accidents in advance. In particular, recent accident cases, such as the accident that occurred during the water rescue training of the Daejeon Fire Headquarters 119 Aviation Unit on the 21st, will be shared, and mutual discussions between aviation unit members and inspectors will be held to prevent similar cases from occurring.

The inspection will be conducted by inspectors composed of two teams and eight members, who will check and evaluate the operation status of the aviation units, aviation safety management status, flight proficiency, and aviation practices. The evaluation is scored out of 100 points across four areas, and especially, a flight proficiency evaluation will be conducted assuming a virtual fire helicopter dispatch to check compliance with flight procedures and approach procedures for life rescue, confirming the ability to respond to emergencies.

Any deficiencies or improvements identified through the safety inspection will require corrective actions for prompt improvement. Matters requiring long-term improvement will be reflected in the 2022 aviation major task promotion plan.

Meanwhile, aviation units that receive excellent evaluations in this inspection will be awarded commendations from the Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Commissioner of the National Fire Agency.

Oh Seung-hoon, Director of the Aviation Communication Division, said, "Since helicopters can lead to major accidents even with small lapses, we will strive to block risk factors in advance through thorough aviation safety inspections."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.