Editor’s Note: Although an accident is painful for all involved, a cursory review of what accidents have occurred are both reflective and instructive. Accident reports give us unique insights into specific flights and situations that may make each of us reflect on our own operations or current flying environment. I encourage pilots, mechanics, crewmembers, and decision makers to make it a habit to study the industry’s recent accident history. If they trigger a higher awareness that saves even one life or one airframe, it will have been worth the read.
rotor had separated from the tail boom and was located about 80 feet east-north- east of the main wreckage. The landing skids had separated from the fuselage. The left skid was located at the initial impact point; the right skid was located about 35 feet west of the main wreckage. The pilot held an airline transport pilot
certificate with helicopter and single- engine airplane ratings. His airplane rat- ing was limited to private pilot privileges. He was issued a second class airman medical certificate on April 17, 2012, with a limitation for corrective lenses. His most recent regulatory checkride was complet- ed on September 29, 2012, about the time of his initial employment with the operator. At that time, he reported having accumu- lated a total flight time of 2,808 hours, with 2,720 hours in helicopters. Weather conditions recorded at the
Mason City Municipal Airport, located about 7 miles east of the accident site, at 2053, were: wind from 300 degrees at 8 knots; 8 miles visibility; broken clouds at 1,700 feet agl, overcast clouds at 3,300 feet agl, temperature -3 degrees Celsius, dew point -5 degrees Celsius, altimeter 30.05 inches of mercury. At 2117, the recorded conditions included broken clouds at 1,300 feet agl and overcast clouds at 1,800 feet agl.
ERA13LA104 - PRELIMINARY INJURIES: 2 UNINJURED
On January 2, 2013, about 1800 east-
ern standard time, a Robinson R22 Beta, N345VH, was substantially damaged fol- lowing a practice autorotation on runway 22 at Peter O Knight Airport (TPF), Tampa, Florida. The flight instructor and a student pilot were not injured. The helicopter was operated by a helicopter flight school under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instruc- tional flight. Visual meteorological condi- tions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The local flight originated at Clearwater, Florida (PIE) about 1745.
48 March 2013 The flight instructor reported that she
landed at PIE to pick up her student and proceeded to TPF for approaches and practice autorotations. The first autorota- tion was uneventful. During the second attempt, she flared at 40 feet to bleed off airspeed, then added throttle, but the rpm continued to decay. The helicopter impact- ed the ground, bounced, and rolled onto its right side before coming to a stop.
a field southeast of DLO. The National Transportation Safety
Board investigator-in-charge (IIC) inter- viewed a pilot of a second helicopter, that was following the accident helicopter on a return flight to DLO. The pilot stated that they were returning to DLO due to accu- mulating fog over the field where they were working. The pilot stated that during that return flight, he saw the accident heli- copter ahead of his position make a right turn and he asked the pilot if she was lost. The accident pilot responded that she thought she was, and the second pilot gave her directions to turn left in the direc- tion of DLO. The pilot diverted his attention to reestablish visual contact with distant lights to his left and subsequently observed an orange glow within the fog layer ahead of his position. Examination of the accident site by
Both main rotor blades were bent in
several places. The engine firewall was buckled. The tail boom was crushed at the fuselage attachment point and the hori- zontal stabilizer was bent about 90 degrees. The flight instructor reported to the inspector that there was excessive “play” in the left throttle and she had reported the condition to the operator’s maintenance personnel previously.
WPR13FA080 - PRELIMINARY INJURIES: 1 FATAL
On January 2, 2013, about 0615
Pacific standard time, a Bell 206 helicop- ter, N828AC, was destroyed when it impacted terrain while maneuvering southeast of the Delano Municipal Airport (DLO), Delano, California. The helicopter was operated by a commercial helicopter operator under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant of the helicopter was fatally injured. Dark night conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The local flight originated from DLO about 0420 to perform frost protection on
the NTSB IIC revealed that the helicopter impacted terrain about 4 miles southeast of DLO. The wreckage debris path was about 90-feet in length and oriented on a heading of about 040 degrees magnetic. A post-impact fire consumed a majority of the fuselage. All major structural compo- nents of the helicopter were located throughout the wreckage debris path. The wreckage was relocated to a secure facili- ty for further
WPR13CA084 – FACTUAL ACCIDENT OCCURRED THURSDAY, JANUARY 03, 2013 IN FIVE POINTS, CA AIRCRAFT: BELL 47G, REGISTRATION: N14841 INJURIES: 1 MINOR
The pilot reported that after take off
he made a standard turn to line up with the field to be sprayed and began the descent under two sets of powerlines. He then observed a telephone pole to the right and thought he had plenty of clearance to avoid it, but then he heard and felt the impact of a main rotor blade strike the
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