The July 9, 2022, fatal crash of a Bell 206L-1 Long Ranger in New South Wales was caused by the pilot’s precipitous control inputs after a bird strike, according to the Australian Transportation Safety Board (ATSB) final investigation report.
“The pilot was likely startled by sighting the bird or the helicopter striking the bird, reacting via abrupt control inputs,” said the ATSB. “These inputs led to the main rotor striking and severing the tail boom, and the helicopter breaking up in flight.” The sole-occupant pilot was killed.
Sun glare and a required radio frequency change meant it was unlikely that the pilot saw or had time to avoid a wedge-tail eagle before the helicopter struck the bird just below the front left windscreen at about 500 feet agl.
“An assessment of the time of day (about 11:45 a.m.) and sun position relative to the aircraft’s altitude and track indicated that the helicopter was flying directly into the sun,” according to the report. “Further, due to the size and shape of the windscreen, the sun was almost directly at the top center of the pilot’s field of view.”
The pilot held commercial airplane and helicopter certificates and was approved to fly the LongRanger. Electronic logbook software indicated the pilot logged 4,800 hours in helicopters up to Oct. 19, 2020, when he stopped using the software. The ATSB was unable to determine the pilot’s total flight time in Bell 206s.
Between 2018 and 2022, the ATSB reported 212 bird strikes involving helicopters. However, only one of those—this accident flight—resulted in the loss of the aircraft.