Standard Operating Procedure

Evacuation Of People From Conflict Areas

By Means Of Air Transport

Introduction:
The frequent demand of partner organizations or other NGO’s and Mission groups to evacuate
their personal from areas that experience destabilization and the threat of a violent escalation of
conflicts necessitates the development and implementation of standard operating procedures that
safeguard such an operation.
It has to be acknowledged that each situation that mandates an Evacuation can significantly differ
from each other in terms of the potential danger and challenges to people on the ground, the
aircrew and the execution of the mission itself. In the light of that fact it has to be made clear that
this SOP in no means addresses all potential scenarios and that it is imperative for the parties
involved to carefully asses each situation at it’s own merit. The SOP serves as a framework to
successfully carry out evacuations but has to be tailored around a specific situation. It’s aim is not
to absolve the parties involved from the process of properly evaluating each situation and from
establishing ways in how to best respond to a certain emergency but to give guidance in such
situations and thus freeing the parties involved to focus on gathering information, finding
solutions instead of wasting an undue amount of time on establishing procedural practices that
apply to the actual evacuation.

This SOP is not a Crisis Contingency Plan but simply outlines procedural practices that can be
employed when carrying out the actual Evacuation.
Of course it is imperative that organization working in a crisis prone environment have a Crisis
Contingency Plan that guides them in managing a crisis and assures proper response,
communication and coordination with the party carrying out the evacuation. If such a plan does
not exist evacuations tend to be carried out with less than satisfactory results, even though the fact
that the evacuation in itself was successful often masks this reality. However, the success often
depended more on good fortune then proper preparation and execution of the evacuation.
Guidelines:

1) Involve Airline Management as early as possible, even if there is

only a remote possibility of an evacuation.
Please include the following information:
• Describe the situation that might necessitate the evacuation
• Size of the team that needs to be evacuated
• Are other teams in the same location asking for evacuation?
• Condition of the airstrip.
• Is there an alternate airfield available?

The benefit of an early involvement is that airline management can make early preparations
for an eventual evacuation and can inform you of any limitations to what we can do or if we are
in a position to assist with the evacuation at all. There is a lot that can be done in the fore field of
a possible evacuation that do not imply any costs and will greatly reduce the workload and stress
in case the evacuation will be necessary. Airline management needs that information for:

• Crew assignment (What pilot to send and whether it will be single or two crew
operation).
• Aircraft assignment.
• Making preparations to reschedule existing flights and informing partner agencies of
that possibility.
• Preparation of Flight (Navigation Log, fuel requirements, performance calculations
for departure from the airfield of evacuation). All this is very important and can
greatly influence the evacuation. Teams might have to be shuttled to another safe
location first before being flown to Lokichoggio or Nairobi depending on the size of
the team, daylight available and so on.
• The aircraft might require in field refueling depending again on the size of the team
and the conditions of the airstrip, availability of daylight, remoteness of the location
etc.
• Permissions have to be obtained from the Authorities governing a certain area. etc.

2) Don’t wait until the situation develops into a serious crisis.

• For any evacuation by aircraft to be successful it is imperative that it is conducted in

a timely manner. The longer you wait the less likely it becomes that a team can be
evacuated by the use of aircraft since it is quite easy to take control of a small airfield
or to create a situation that makes the airfield unusable.
• There are also environmental factors, like availability of daylight and the chance that
an airfield turns unusable due to heavy rain, that have to be taken into account.
• It is not good practice to wait until a situation develops into a serious crisis
(especially if it is a locale situation), by that time an evacuation (other then one
executed with military involvement) will in most cases not be possible anymore.
 3) Prepare your team.
• Designate a team leader who coordinates the team’s effort and who communicates
with airline management personnel (pilot, radio operator etc.) that are involved in the
evacuation.
• As a general rule the team has to be prepared to travel very light, that means that
every team member shall pack the important personal items that he absolutely needs
(Medication, passport, computer etc.) in one evacuation bag. The bag should weigh
no more then 15 kg.
• Additional personal and / or team equipment can be packed in separate bags, but the
team should be ready to leave those additional bags behind if the pilot deems that to
be necessary.
• Don’t create confusion by mixing your evacuation bags with the additional
equipment. Prepare to board the aircraft with only the evacuation bag. Order the
additional equipment by priority and the team leader shall communicate with the
pilot about the possibility of carrying extra equipment and how much.
• Prepare a list of the passengers, their weight and the weight of the equipment you
want to carry.
• The size of the team to be evacuated plus their weight and the weight of the
evacuation bags and other equipment has to be relayed to airline management as soon
as possible since the aircraft performance and airstrip conditions might not allow a
departure with a certain weight and airline management has to make plans to
facilitate the evacuation by either scheduling a refueling stop, shuttling people to a
safe airstrip or utilizing two aircraft.

4) Maintain Radio contact and radio discipline

• A constant listening watch must be maintained on either a airline management

frequency or on the frequency of the team that needs to be evacuated.
• What frequency to use will be determined based on reception and needs to be agreed
upon before aircraft dispatch
• Use only one frequency for flight following and communication with the team. That
means for example that if the teams HF frequency is to be used airline management
will also use that frequency for coordinating the flight and relying of position reports.
That way the pilot will not be forced to switch back and forth between frequencies.
• Unnecessary communication shall not take place on the frequency and if possible it
should be reserved for the evacuation effort.
• If reception is not possible the secondary frequency should be utilized.
• Use every means possible (cell phone, sat phone etc.) to establish contact with the
base that coordinates the evacuation in case of lost communication.

5) Position yourself at the airstrip and remain there.

• If your base of operation is not in the immediate vicinity of the airstrip and you are
uncertain about the aircrafts expected time of arrival, position the entire team at the
airstrip and wait for the arrival of the aircraft. It is absolutely necessary that you do
not move away from the airstrip and therefore make sure to carry enough water and
food to last you through the day.
 • If you are in contact with the aircraft or base of operation and have an ETA make
sure you arrive at the airfield well before the arrival of the aircraft. I any case you
need enough time to sort yourself out and ascertain that the airstrip is clear.
• Shortly before the aircraft arrives you should make yourself visible to the crew, so do
not hide in the shade of a tree or some hut. The pilot will be looking out for you and
he if he does not see anybody at the airfield he must suspect that something has gone
wrong. At the time of arrival the pilot has a high workload and controlling the aircraft
at low altitudes takes a lot of his focus so do not assume he will easily spot you. You
have to make yourself bee seen, and /or communicate with him using the radio.
• A prearranged signal that the situation is Ok for landing can be communicated in
advance.
Example for such signals can be that the packs are arranged in certain pattern (cross-
shape for example) or one team member sitting on the bonnet of a truck.
• In any case if you do not establish contact with the pilot one way or another you
make his life very difficult since he might have very limited information about the
situation and has to rely on your help.
If you completely fail to make contact the pilot might decide not to land, so do not sit
around with hands in your lap waiting for a lift, be prepared and actively involved in
the evacuation.

Boarding of aircraft:
There are basically three different scenarios that can take place in an evacuation:

A) Boarding with the aircraft engines being shut down / Pilot or crew member assists
the boarding (Single pilot or two crew operation)

B) Boarding with the aircraft engine running / Second crew member assists boarding
(Two crew operation)

C) Hot extraction procedure with single crew, aircraft engine running and no crew
assistance in boarding the aircraft (Caravan only).

1) General Guidelines:
o Never approach an aircraft with it’s engines running unless you are guided by a crew
member (with exception of hot extraction procedure)
o Never approach the aircraft from the front. And never from the right side where the pilot
cannot see you (other then boarding through the passenger air stair door assisted by a
crew member).
o Approach the aircraft from a 45-degree angel from the rear left side if you must approach
the aircraft. Along the leading edge of the left wing in then PC-12.
o Carefully follow the pilot’s instructions.

2) Order of Action to be followed:

o Pilot will park the aircraft at an appropriate location. Ideally that will be at the teams
locations, however if that is not possible and the team sees the aircraft parked at a
 different location the team shall proceed to that location immediately. In general place
your team at the location of the airstrip were aircraft usually park.
o One team-member should be instructed to keep onlookers away from the people that need
to be evacuated.
o The pilot or a crewmember will leave the aircraft and make contact with the team.
o The team-leader should identify himself and pass the following minimum information to
the pilot if that info has not already been communicated with the pilot using the radio.
 Number of passengers
 Total weight of passengers
 Total weight of evacuation bags
 Total weight of additional luggage
 Any other info that is vital pertaining the situation that could affect the
evacuation.
o The pilot/ crew member will brief the team leader on the procedure to be
followed in boarding the aircraft and the team leader will be facilitating the pilot/ crew
member by guiding the team according to the pilots instructions such as:
 Seating arrangement.
 Stowing of the evacuation bags and additional cargo. In general
evacuation bags can be carried into the cabin and should be stored under
the seat. Additional luggage must be placed in the Cargo pod (C-208) or
the cargo area of the aircraft in use. If placed in the cabin this cargo has
to be secured.
o Team members must follow the instructions of the pilot/ crewmember and team
leader.
o Once in the aircraft the team members have to assume their assigned positions,
fasten seat belts and assist other members that have difficulties.
o The team leader will be the last member of the team to board the aircraft and has
to keep in touch with both the pilot/ crewmember and the members of the team.

A) Boarding with the aircraft engines being shut down / Pilot or crew
member assists the boarding (Single pilot or two crew operation)
Under ideal circumstances the pilot will park the aircraft, shut down the engines and coordinate
the loading and boarding of the aircraft.
.
Boarding in the Caravan will be carried out through the passenger air stair door on the right rear
side of the fuselage.
Boarding in the PC-12 will be carried out through the passenger air stair door on the front left
side of the fuselage (just behind the cockpit).

B) Boarding with the aircraft engine running / Second crew member

assists boarding (Two crew operation)
Sometimes situations can get quite serious and the pilot might opt not to shut down the engine
since it takes a while to start up the engine and get the aircraft ready for departure.
If possible the pilot will inform the team about the fact that he will not shut down the engine over
the radio before landing.
Boarding an aircraft with the engines running and the propeller spinning does bear significant
dangers if the proper procedures are not strictly complied with. Running into a spinning propeller
is deadly!

• Do NOT approach the aircraft, but wait for the second crewmember to make contact with
the team leader. The crewmember will be in charge of the boarding of the aircraft and
will be assisted by the team leader.
• Closely follow the instructions of the crewmember.
• Crewmember might need assistance by the team-leader or another team-member to load
additional cargo.

C) Hot extraction procedure with single crew, aircraft engine running

and no crew assistance in boarding the aircraft (Caravan only).

This procedure is potentially dangerous if the procedures are not meticulously followed.
It is only to be carried out with the Cessna Caravan’s and then only in an extreme
emergency. No aircraft is allowed to be dispatched for such a procedure using single
crew if a situation is known to exist that will call for an evacuation that necessitates such
a procedure.
However if a pilot is en-route to perform an evacuation and the situation does
unexpectedly deteriorate in such a way as to necessitate a hot extraction procedure he is
at liberty to do so.

The following procedure is to be strictly adhered to:

 The team leader has to communicate the exact number of passengers and their
total weight, plus the total weight of the evacuation bag (not more then 15 kg per
person) to the pilot using the radio well in advance of the aircraft’s ETA if that
info has not already been passed on.
 Only the team-members to be evacuated plus their evacuation bags will be carried
on board the aircraft. The bags have to be stored under the seat.
 The pilot will open the cockpit door and lower the air stair.
 The pilot will slide his seat forward to allow the team members to access the
cabin by passing behind his seat after climbing the air stair.
 On the pilots hand signal the team leader will lead the team under the outward
half of the left wing
 The pilot will open door so that the door will angel at 90 * from the fuselage. No
team member is allowed to step forward of the 90* line formed by the door and
the aircraft fuselage (To safeguard against running into the spinning propeller).
 The team leader will coordinate the boarding of the aircraft. No team-member
will leave its position under the left outer part of the wing unless advised to do so
by the team leader.
 The team-leader will be the last person to board the aircraft.
 Only one team member at a time is allowed to approach the cockpit. Only if the
team-member that is in the process of entering the aircraft is positioned behind the
 pilots seat (air stair is clear) can the Team-leader motion the next team-member to
approach the cockpit.
The person that has just boarded the aircraft will turn around and assist the next
team-member boarding the aircraft by holding one hand.
 Seating arrangement will be such that the aircraft will be occupied starting from
the front seats. However, the seat just behind the pilots seat shall be left
unoccupied until the last person (team-leader) has entered the aircraft.
 Once seated, every team-member has to fasten the seat belt immediately.