Accident & Incident Reports

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Bell 407
N407N
24 August 2102

On August 24, 2012, about 2230 eastern daylight time, a Bell 407 helicopter, N407N, collided into South Holston Lake during a night departure from a river bank in Abingdon, Virginia. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was substantially damaged when it impacted the water.

The helicopter was registered to and operated by K-VA-T&W-L Aviation LLC under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual night meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was originating from a private field at the time of the accident.


N407N being recovered from the crash site

NTSB Report

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Air Methods
EC130B4
N334AM
2 January 2013

The National Transportation Safety Board blames maintenance personnel for the crash of a medical helicopter near Cromwell on January 2, 2013. The Eurocopter EC130 B4 had just taken off from the Seminole Regional Airport at 12:42 p.m. when it lost engine power.

It was heading to Okemah to pick up a patient at the hospital there.

The pilot told investigators that as the helicopter was climbing through about 1,000 feet of altitude he heard a sound as though something had struck the helicopter and the engine stopped producing power.


N334AM at the crash site. 4 persons were seriously injured in the accident

He performed an autorotation - a maneuver in which a helicopter uses the airflow around it to spin its rotor blades and produce lift - and landed in a field, narrowly missing power lines and a barbed wire fence.

He and his three crew members were seriously hurt; the helicopter sustained major damage.

According to the NTSB's Probable Cause Report on the crash, the helicopter lost engine power because the engine ingested ice. Investigators found damage to four of the blades on the axial compressor.

"For 3 days before the accident flight, the helicopter was parked outside without its engine cover installed and was exposed to light drizzle, rain, mist, and fog. The engine inlet cover was installed the day before the accident at an unknown time. The helicopter remained outside and exposed to freezing temperatures throughout the night until 2 hours before the flight," the NTSB concluded.

The NTSB says maintenance personnel kept the helicopter ready to go and performed daily preflight/airworthiness checks, but never checked the inlet to the first-stage of the axial compressor to make sure it was free of ice.

According to the NTSB, the company that operated the helicopter, Air Methods Corporation, as well as the engine builder and the FAA have all issued recommendations about operating helicopters in icing and/or snowy conditions based on this incident.

http://www.newson6.com/story/2559850...licopter-crash

NTSB Report

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Royal Canadian Mounted Police
AS350B3
C-FMPG
17 January 2012

Investigators with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada say soft ice ingested by the engine led to a complete loss of power, causing an RCMP helicopter to crash near Cultus Lake over two years ago.

A pilot was killed in the crash that took place on Jan. 17, 2012.

The pilot, a civilian member of the RCMP, had just completed a training exercise and was preparing to return to base when the helicopter crashed.

He was the only one on board, and had been with the RCMP for several years.


RCMP AS350B3 C-FMPG in which the pilot was killed

Investigators found that soon after takeoff, there was a muffled bang, and the sounds of the engine and rotor diminishing rapidly were heard.

The aircraft descended almost vertically, colliding with terrain in a nose-down, right-side down attitude.

The board says there was heavy snowfall on the day of the crash.

The investigation found the protective engine covers had not been installed when the helicopter was parked during the heavy snowfall, and that the air intake system was not cleaned and dried prior to engine start.

After the helicopter was started and running at low power, soft ice had built up inside the air intake.

During take-off at high power, the ice broke free and was ingested into the engine compressor which led to a complete engine power loss.

The resulting impact was not survivable, according the board.

Since the accident, the RCMP and Transport Canada (TC) have reminded pilots of the need to ensure the engine air intake system is clean prior to takeoff.

Transport Canada has also undertaken to review the engine inlet design of these helicopters.

The investigation found the helicopters are susceptible to ice formation in cold weather operations, and the board is concerned that in certain conditions, these helicopters may be at increased risk of engine flame-out shortly after takeoff.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1359567/ts...ted-by-engine/

http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/enquetes-in...8/A12P0008.asp

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Robinson R22
VH-YPC
25th August 2014

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released its findings on a helicopter crash in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

On August 25th, two Robinson-22 aircraft were making their way from Yeeda to Springvale Stations, when one failed to arrive after dark.

The ATSB's report indicates that the missing helicopter crashed at high speed, about 46 kilometres west of Springvale.

34-year-old pilot and father, Justin McDonald, was killed as a result.

ATSB Manager of Aviation Safety Investigations, Ian Sangston, says flying after last light was a contributing factor in the accident.


Robinson R44 in Australia

"The key finding was that the pilot, who did not hold a visual flight rules (VFR) rating, or an instrument rating, continued towards his destination after last light, and then into dark night conditions, without any local ground lighting," he said.

"Unfortunately the pilot inadvertently allowed the helicopter to descend into terrain.

"It's very important in such conditions, for people to take safe options and to make sure they're appropriately qualified and their helicopters are appropriately equipped."

Mr Sangston said he was unsure just how many pastoral chopper pilots may be operating without night qualifications.

"It's a hard question, I'd probably say the majority of pilots would hold a night VFR rating, but as to the pastoral industry in the north and west of Australia, I don't know if that proportion would be as high."

Due to the risk of disorientation, regulations require pilots with day VFR ratings to arrive at least 10 minutes before last light.

If pilots believe they cannot complete a journey within that timeframe, the ATSB encourages having a realistic 'plan B' in place.

"If the pilot feels they can't meet this requirement, they really need to be thinking about do they need to be making the flight," Mr Sangston said.

"In this example, the pilots landed to refuel and they were concerned about the headwind they were flying into and the time it was taking to get there, but they still took off.

"So what we're trying to say is if you're able to stay at an intermediary position, why not take the safe option and do that.

"Know your limitations and avoid flying in conditions with reduced visual cues."

Mr Sangston said the Bureau continues to see a consistent number of accidents, in which flying in dark night conditions remains the chief cause.

"Between 1993 and 2012 there were 26 accidents in Australia in night conditions," he said.

"There were another 10 accidents where there was inadvertent flight into cloud and these 36 accidents resulted in 58 deaths, nearly all of them occurred in night flight.

"So yes, it's very much a focus of ours."

No safety recommendations were made as a result of the ATSB's investigation and the report states that its findings 'should not be read as apportioning blame or liability to any particular organisation or individual.'

NT helicopter crash report made public

In another report released by the ATSB this week, it says a pilot wasn't equipped to deal with a problem, that caused his helicopter to crash in a remote part of the Northern Territory in March.

The Robinson-22 helicopter had just departed Mullapunyah station, near Borroloola, when the aircraft's v-belt failed.

The helicopter descended steeply and landed in bushland. The pilot suffered serious head injuries, but survived.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has found pilots are not trained to detect displaced v-belts before take-off.

The bureau has recommended putting these warnings in safety manuals.

It says pilots should know that if the helicopters' rotors don't turn within five seconds after using the clutch, the aircraft should be turned off and checked.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-1...report/5973452