Preliminary
EMS Helicopter Crash Kills Pilot
Airbus AS350, near Frisco, Colo., July 3, 2015–The helicopter, being operated under Part 135 by Air Methods, crashed into a parking lot near a Frisco, Colo. medical center 40 miles west of Denver, killing the 64-year-old pilot on impact and seriously injuring the flight paramedic and flight nurse. Based at Denver Centennial Airport, the helicopter was being flown by a decorated and experienced Vietnam-era pilot on a positioning flight for a public-relations event. An NTSB spokesman reported the helicopter was seen rotating shortly before impact, which ignited a fire that destroyed the aircraft. The weather was VMC.
Challenger Damaged in Ground Collision
Bombardier Challenger 600-2B16, West Palm Beach, Fla., July 22, 2015–The business jet collided with an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) while taxiing for departure at 2:10 p.m. Operated under Part 91 by USAC Airways 691, the aircraft was positioning to nearby Opa-Locka Airport at the time of the incident.
As the Challenger taxied for departure, two ground service personnel noticed its baggage door was open. The handlers boarded an ATV and drove out to the airplane, parking about 10 feet in front of the left wing. One of the ground handlers dismounted and stood near the front of the airplane trying to communicate to the right-seat pilot that the baggage door was open. The right-seat pilot stood up and proceeded into the cabin, after which the airplane began moving forward. The ground handler attempted unsuccessfully to gain the attention of the pilot in the left seat, and the left wing was substantially damaged when it struck the ATV. Subsequent inspection by maintenance personnel found no anomalies in either the hydraulic or braking system that would have prevented the aircraft from stopping.
Helicopter Substantially Damaged in Emergency Landing
MD 369, Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, July 24, 2015–Neither the pilot nor the two passengers were injured when the helicopter entered shallow water at approximately 9:45 a.m. Visual weather conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed before the Part 91 flight departed San Juan Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU) for Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Operated by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the helicopter was assisting with construction of an electrical power distribution system at the time of the accident. About 20 minutes after departure from SJU and while cruising along the northern Puerto Rican coastline at 300 feet agl, the pilot heard a loud bang from the engine, followed by another about three seconds later. Engine power failed completely as the pilot initiated an autorotation before entering shallow water near a beach. During the accident, the main rotor struck and separated the tailboom from the fuselage.
Examination of the engine showed that the power section was not free to rotate, and a borescope inspection revealed thermal damage to the first-stage turbine blades.
Dauphin Missing for Two Days
Airbus AS365N, Tirap district, India, Aug. 4, 2015–All four occupants of the helicopter were found dead when the wreckage was discovered in an area of dense jungle two days after it went missing. The aircraft, operated by Pawan Hans Helicopter, was en route to Khonsa Arunchal in the Pradesh region. Weather reports indicated fog was expected along the route of flight.
Three Seriously Injured in King Air Accident
Beechcraft King Air C90, Georgetown, Ky., Aug. 1, 2015–The aircraft, owned and operated by Absher, crashed on the airport during an emergency landing at Georgetown Scott County Regional Airport. Three of the four occupants were seriously injured and the aircraft was substantially damaged. The aircraft’s intended destination was Lake Cumberland Airport, some 90 miles farther south.
Italian AStar Accident Claims Three
Airbus AS350B3, near Alpe Zocca, Sondrio, Italy, July 31, 2015–The helicopter was flying between Chiareggio and Val Codera with three people aboard when it went missing. It was discovered two days later by search-and-rescue parties. No one survived the accident and the helicopter was destroyed.
Wire Strike Downs AStar
Airbus AS350BA, Rigolet, Labrador, Canada, July 30, 2015–One passenger perished in the crash after a main rotor blade struck a communications tower guy wire during takeoff. The pilot was seriously injured, while the third person aboard received only minor injuries. The helicopter was substantially damaged.
Factual
Pilot Shut Down Wrong Engine
ATR 72, near Songshan Airport, Taipei, Taiwan, July 2, 2015–The captain of the ATR 72 mistakenly shut down the working left engine of the aircraft after the auto-feather system had halted the number-two propeller, according to the report released by Taiwan’s Aviation Safety Council. The aircraft had departed Taipei Songshan Airport at 10:51 a.m., with another experienced captain sitting in the right seat. The crash killed 43 of the 58 people on board and injured two others on the ground.
The report said that, climbing through 1,200 feet agl on takeoff, the crew received an Eng-2 Flameout at Takeoff warning message. Five seconds after the initial warning, the captain flying announced he was pulling throttle number one back to idle, despite a warning to cross check first from the other captain in the right seat. Fifteen seconds later the right-seat pilot asked for confirmation that the right engine had failed, but the pilot flying did not restore power on the number-one engine as the airspeed slowed to 101 knots. Four seconds later, the first stall warning and stick-shaker activation were recorded. For the next 20 seconds, the two pilots sounded confused about which engine had failed as the number-two power lever was first advanced and then quickly pulled back to idle. The flight recorder confirmed that the number-one condition lever was pulled back into cutoff. Approximately 40 seconds later, the pilot flying recognized the error and called for the number-one engine to be restarted. The left engine’s N1 speed, however, had reached only 30 percent by the time of impact.
Final
Pilot Blamed in JetRanger LTE Accident
Bell OH-58A, near Fort Pierce, Fla., May 29, 2011–The probable cause of the accident was the pilot’s failure to recognize and avoid a loss of tail-rotor effectiveness (LTE) that resulted in an overall loss of control and a hard landing, according to the NTSB. The sole-occupant pilot, the only person aboard, received minor injuries and the helicopter incurred substantial damage to its underside, skids and tailboom, which separated before the helicopter came to a complete stop.
Owned and operated by the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Department, the helicopter was called to assist in the search for a passenger possibly ejected from a vehicle involved in a rollover accident. The aircraft took off in visual conditions at 12:32 p.m. The pilot recalled heading west with a tailwind before he started a right turn to the north. He said he did not recognize the possibility for LTE. As the helicopter reached a northerly heading, the nose dipped and began an uncommanded yaw to the right. The pilot responded by applying left pedal and forward cyclic as he also lowered the collective to arrest the rotation. The rotation did not stop, however.
As the helicopter got close to the ground, the pilot rolled off the throttle in another attempt to arrest the rotation and pulled up on the collective. The aircraft continued to rotate and its skids hit the ground hard in the grass median between a highway and on ramp. The investigation uncovered no pre-impact mechanical irregularities.
AStar Crashed during Training Exercise
Airbus AS350B2, Fort Worth, Texas, May 29, 2011–The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed and altitude during a simulated hydraulic flight control failure caused the loss of control that precipitated this accident, according to the NTSB. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision and delayed remedial response. Minor injuries were reported to the three people on board, and the helicopter was substantially damaged in a post-impact fire. Weather at the time of the accident was clear, with southerly wind at 20 knots, gusting to 27.
The pilot had recently purchased the helicopter and was receiving Part 91 flight training from a certified instructor at the time of the accident. During traffic pattern work, the helicopter’s hydraulics were turned off to simulate failure of the powered flight control system. As the airspeed slowed during one approach, the helicopter began an uncommanded left yaw. The instructor attempted to regain control by adding right pedal and trying to accelerate, while also reducing power. The helicopter did not respond and hit the ground, rolling onto its right side. The impact ignited a fire that destroyed much of the cabin. Subsequent examination of the aircraft revealed no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations.
A review of the helicopter’s flight manual did point out a relevant note: “Caution: Do not attempt to carry out hover flight or any low-speed maneuver without hydraulic pressure assistance. The intensity and direction of the control feedback forces will change rapidly. This will result in excessive pilot workload, poor aircraft control and possible loss of control.”
Jet PIC Offered Student Pilot the Right Seat Before Overrun
Cessna 525 Citation, Nashville, Tenn., June 15, 2011–The probable cause of the accident was the PIC’s failure to execute a go-around once the approach became unstable. The pilot-in-command, who was not a flight instructor, offered a passenger who held a student pilot’s license the opportunity to fly the aircraft from the right seat. During the descent into John Tune Airport (JWN), the student kept the aircraft high and fast. The PIC resumed control of the aircraft but touched down long on the wet runway before running off the end of the hard surface, substantially damaging the aircraft.
Owned and operated by Deer Horn Aviation under Part 91, the Citation was on an IFR flight plan but in visual meteorological conditions. ATC vectored the airplane to the final approach course, and the PIC identified the field visually before canceling the IFR clearance. He told the student pilot the airplane was “high and hot” and that he needed to “get down and slow down.” The student pilot told the PIC that the “landing is yours” and the PIC took the controls. He configured the airplane for landing and “started a steep approach.” He later said he considered a go-around but elected to continue the approach.
At the 500-foot callout, the GPWS announced “sink rate, sink rate.” From this point until touchdown, the GPWS repeated “pull up” eight times as the PIC said “Don’t worry about it.” During the landing roll, the student pilot and the PIC began making animated expressions of concern that continued until the end of the recording.
The jet touched down about 1,500 feet down the 5,500-foot long runway.
The PIC applied the brakes fully, but the airplane continued down the runway. He told investigators he could feel the antiskid braking system working but had neglected to consider that the runway was wet. The airplane overran the runway and struck the ILS antennas. The PIC applied full left rudder to avoid going down an embankment and the aircraft came to rest after turning about 180 degrees. After the accident, in which none of the five people on board was injured, the operator modified its operational procedures to exclude unqualified people from the cockpit.