Helicopter - Close call in Australia - Curt Lewis

Air safety bureau praises Esso Australia crew for averting disaster

A Sikorsky helicopter similar to the one which narrowly avoided crashing into the ocean.

The safety and transport bureau has applauded the crew of a Sikorsky helicopter owned and operated by Esso Australia, the Australian affiliate of oil giant ExxonMobil, after they narrowly avoided a major catastrophe when one of the chopper's engines failed shortly after takeoff in 2013.

The Australian Transport and Safety Bureau yesterday released the findings of its investigation into the incident that occurred during a routine passenger ferry flight to a number of the company's offshore platforms throughout the Bass Strait oil and gas fields.

The investigation found the twin-engine helicopter, which was carrying 10 passengers and two flight crew, came within 9m of crashing into the ocean after one of its engines failed when a high-pressure turbine blade fractured.

The crew recalled that immediately after setting the nose-down attitude, there was a loud bang accompanied by significant airframe vibration. That resulted in the helicopter yawing to the right before rapidly descending, the ATSB report says. "The manufacturer concluded that the failure was due to a combination of metal fatigue, blade creep and oxidation deposits," the report adds.

It found that despite the engine failure and rapid descent, the crew was able to recover the main rotor speed, regain control of helicopter and fly direct to the coastline. "Effective crew interaction, thorough pre-briefing and anticipation of what can go wrong has been shown to increase the likelihood of a successful outcome," the report says.

The engine manufacturer is continuing its investigation into the cause of the blade fracture.

Esso has said it would be replacing its fleet of six Sikorsky helicopters with four, larger capacity Finmeccanica AW139 helicopters.