Helipad safety net, Bengaluru

A helipad on a building in Bengaluru needed a safety net along its edge. Edge nets are a standard part of helipad safety: they catch anyone who slips, or is pushed off balance by rotor downwash, near the edge. The pad is circular, so the net runs in a continuous ring around it. Acier supplied and installed the net in 2018.

A helipad net works in hard conditions. It must take the impact of a falling person, stand up to downwash and weather, and stay open enough that pilots and ground crew can see through it. Wind should pass through the net rather than load it like a sail. The fixing to the structure matters as much as the net itself, because the load has to reach the frame evenly. On a circular pad, the net also has to follow a curve without folds.

The net is Jakob Webnet in Ø3 mm stainless rope with a 100 mm mesh width, the same specification as the helipad net at AIIMS New Delhi. A stainless rope mesh suits this job: it is strong for its weight, flexible enough to absorb impact, and open enough to see through. Because Webnet is flexible, it follows the curve of the pad as one continuous net.

Stainless steel also needs no painting, which matters at a helipad edge where maintenance access is limited and inspections should be quick. The fine rope keeps the edge of the pad visually clear for pilots on approach.

The helipad now has a safety net along its edge that is strong, open and low-maintenance. Together with the net at AIIMS New Delhi, it shows Acier's experience with helipad fall protection in different cities and building types.