An EMS helicopter pilot reported that some hospitals use green helipad perimeter lights which are no...

Attributes
ACN	931477
Time
Date	201102
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Helicopter
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 135
Flight Phase	Landing
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 60 Flight Crew Total 8960 Flight Crew Type 250
Events
Anomaly	No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types

Narrative:

About a year ago I began flying helicopter EMS flights for a company that uses night vision goggles (nvgs) during night flights. I had flown with nvgs in the military. During this year I have noticed that at civilian hospital helipads the green helipad perimeter lights are invisible when looking at the helipad through the nvgs. Many helicopter EMS companies are using nvgs. My company which has many EMS helicopters plans to have all their night helicopter flights flown using nvgs very soon. I suggest the FAA change the standard of helipad perimeter lights from green to a color of light that is compatible to nvg operations.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An EMS helicopter pilot reported that some hospitals use green helipad perimeter lights which are not visible to pilots wearing night vision goggles. The FAA Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) does not address avoiding the green 490-550 nanometer visible light range.

Narrative: About a year ago I began flying helicopter EMS flights for a company that uses Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) during night flights. I had flown with NVGs in the military. During this year I have noticed that at civilian hospital helipads the green helipad perimeter lights are invisible when looking at the helipad through the NVGs. Many helicopter EMS companies are using NVGs. My company which has many EMS helicopters plans to have all their night helicopter flights flown using NVGs very soon. I suggest the FAA change the standard of helipad perimeter lights from green to a color of light that is compatible to NVG operations.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

An EMS helicopter pilot reported that some hospitals use green helipad perimeter lights which are not visible to pilots wearing night vision goggles. The FAA safety alert for operators (safo) does not address avoiding the green 490-550 nanometer visible light range.