ISTOCK/SANKAI
ACCIDENT RECOVERY
By David Jack Kenny
Training for the Emergency Inadequate training, technical ignorance lead to tragedy.
S
OME EMERGENCY SITUATIONS CAN’T BE both realistically and safely simulated in flight. That fact, of course, was a major impetus
behind the development of high-fidelity flight simulators, but simulators aren’t available for every make and model of helicopter, and those that do exist aren’t equally accessible to every operator. This poses a quandary as to how to train in the corresponding procedures. Reviewing checklists or manuals on the ground is of limited utility in preparing for situations that are rare but consequential: A 2007 NASA study of airline crews found that 85% of “textbook” emergencies that matched their training scenarios were handled well, compared with just 7% of unfamiliar situations. And in helicopters, the ground’s usually a lot closer.
The Flight At 8:17 am on Jun. 14, 2018, ZK-ILD, an MD Helicopters MD 600N, lifted off with five on board to conduct an aerial survey of Ngamatea Station, a large sheep and cat- tle farm on New Zealand’s North Island. About 24 min- utes into the flight, while descending through 300 ft.,
the pilot advised the passengers of an unspecified “problem” with the helicopter. Though they were less than two minutes from their point of departure, he con- tinued straight for around 1,300 m (4,300 ft.) before turn- ing left and attempting to land. The helicopter touched down hard and bounced,
rotating 90 degrees, and the main rotor severed the tail boom. The engine surged as the helicopter hit the ground again, setting up a violent vibration that destroyed the airframe and continued until a cata- strophic overspeed caused the uncontained failure of the power turbine. The pilot, front-seat passenger, and rear-seat passen-
ger all suffered severe head injuries. The two middle-seat passengers evacuated the cabin with only minor injuries and used the onboard fire extinguisher to douse flames escaping from the engine’s combustion section. The emergency locator transmitter was activated and its signal relayed to the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCCNZ) at 8:46. The first rescuers reached the site six minutes later. Four helicopters eventually transported the injured to hospitals. The front-seat passenger,
DECEMBER 2021 ROTOR 61
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