Helicopters and other aircraft often attract onlookers who may inadvertently put themselves and/or the aircraft in danger. It is essential that the incident commander or aerial sector commander considers how members of the public and other personnel will be controlled and prevented from entering the landing area. Cones and tape are not appropriate for creating a cordon, so the safest and most effective means of control may be deploying personnel to prevent unauthorised people accessing the landing area.
If military aircraft are being deployed, the task of identifying an appropriate landing area will be the responsibility of the military liaison officer. The incident commander and/or aerial sector commander should ensure there is close co-operation and information sharing between the fire and rescue service and the military liaison officer.
Ideally take-off and landing areas should:
- Be large enough to accommodate all aircraft that may need to use it
- Be on level ground that is dry and firm
- Have a compact surface – sandy and gritty soil types should be avoided
- Wherever possible, have an approach that is free of flight hazards such as high vegetation, transmission towers (pylons), overhead power lines, and other structures
- Consider that helicopter pilots prefer to land into the wind
- Be located near to a road or track as this will assist in the provision of fuel and other supplies
- Be close to a water supply that can be used to replenish the aircraft’s firefighting systems
- Have their location provided in the form of a grid reference to pilots and other personnel