Helikopterhavarier Down Under og USA - Australian Aviation /AIN

 

The student pilot of a helicopter that crashed into the roof of a house didn’t immediately realise his engine had lost power – leaving him unable to reach a safe landing area.

However, an ATSB report on the November 2022 accident near Victoria’s Moorabbin Airport, involving Hughes 269C three-seat light helicopter, was unable to find the cause of the defect.

“As the helicopter climbed to about 650 ft above ground level, the engine lost power,” the ATSB’s director of transport safety, Stuart Macleod, said.

“While the pilot identified a reduction in performance at this time, they did not immediately recognise the engine had lost power.”

The report notes that while the pilot – who survived with serious injuries – was troubleshooting the reduction in engine performance, the helicopter passed two suitable sites for a forced landing.

“When the pilot recognised a forced landing was required, they then did not identify a nearby football oval as the closest suitable area, possibly due to it being obscured by the airframe or instrument panel,” Macleod said.

“Instead, they identified a school ground and attempted a landing there, but collided with rooftops short of this intended location as the helicopter had insufficient height.”

The ATSB said the accident highlights the challenges pilots face when confronted with a loss of engine power at low level and with few suitable landing areas available.

Alabama Air Medical Crash Kills Two Crew

A LifeSaver program helicopter crashed last night near Birmingham, Alabama, killing two of three crew aboard. The surviving crewmember, a flight medic, was in critical, but stable condition at a local hospital. The Airbus EC130T2, registered as N231SH, was attempting a scene pickup of a hiker in distress when it crashed while attempting to land.

The Air Methods-operated aircraft was dispatched from the Sylacauga airport (KSCD) at approximately 5:54 p.m. local time and crashed 27 minutes later. Tracking from FlightAware shows the helicopter, “LifeSaver 4,” flew orbits over the scene for approximately 16 minutes prior to the accident and had slowed to a forward speed of 16 knots just before impact. The aircraft went down near Highway 280 and Bear Creek Road in Shelby County.

Wreckage photos show the helicopter resting on its left side across pavement and grass next to a fence and a wooded area. The cabin is largely intact, but the cabin windows are discolored. There is evidence of a post-crash fire aft and forward of the engine compartment, the tail boom cracked where it attaches to the aft bulkhead, and the main rotor blades snapped off.

Date:	02-APR-2023
Time:	c. 17:21 LT
Type:	Airbus Helicopters H130 (EC 130T2)
Owner/operator:	Air Methods Corporation (AMC)
Registration:	N231SH
MSN:	7993
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Category:	Accident
Location:	near Chelsea, Shelby County, AL -    United States of America
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Ambulance
Departure airport:	Sylacauga Municipal Airport, AL (KSCD)
Destination airport:	near Chelsea, Shelby County, AL
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
An AMC H130 (EC 130T2), Lifesaver 4, was responding to a call-out for a hiker in distress when it crashed while preparing to land North of Chelsea, Shelby County, Alabama.
The helicopter was reportedly on fire when first responders attended the accident site. The pilot and one flight nurse died. A female medic was hospitalised in a critical but stable condition. The helicopter is written off.