If you have a health and safety plan for your farm that identifies, manages and communicates risks like wire strike, then injuries and fatalities can be prevented.
Download:
Key points
Farmers
-
Remove aerial wires where possible
-
Mark all wires that can't be removed on a hazard map for the pilot.
Pilots
-
Wires are thin and often nearly impossible to see until it’s too late.
-
Your workload, vision limitations, and a small lapse in concentration can lead to a fatal mistake.
-
Ask farmers if there are any wires or poles above fence level or across gullies.
Overhead wires, aerials or cables are a significant threat to any aircraft flying at low level (under 500 ft). Helicopters are especially susceptible because of the work they do.
Types of wire hazards
-
Suspended overhead electric fence feeder wires that span across open spaces and valleys-from poles on the tops of ridge lines, or across the bottom of valleys.
-
Telephone lines, power lines or television/ radio aerials and wires.
-
High tension power lines and wires.
How to prevent wire strike
-
Eliminate the overhead electric fence feeder wires risk by lowering them to fence level.
-
Eliminate unused telephone lines, power lines or television/radio aerials and wires.
-
Ensure you have a meeting with the pilot, either in person or by phone, prior to any work on the farm.
-
Work with the pilot to identify hazards and risks.
-
Note wires and other hazards on property maps.
-
Identify the location of wires and other hazards by taking a reconnaissance flight with the pilot.
For further information about wire strikes visit CAA's page on wire safety(external link).
Last updated