Helicopter

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    Sikorsky Helicopter Crashes in Louisiana, 3 fatalities


    On March 15, 2013, an Era Helicopters LLC Sikorsky S-76A with three board crashed just before noon in Cameron Parish Louisiana in a remote area of swampy/muddy pastureland with only four-wheeler access.

    The helicopter had taken off from Lake Charles Regional Airport. Emergency services responded to the scene, but access was limited to 4 wheel vehicles.

    The helicopter was on a maintenance test flight with the pilot and two mechanics aboard. The fatalities were listed as the pilot, William R. Croucher, 69, of California; and two mechanics: Michael Lee Tyree, 55, of Iowa, La., and Timothy Lloyd Goehring, 41, of Sulphur, La.

    Era helicopters normally provides transport to oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, but this flight was reported as a maintenance flight.

    THe FAA and the NTSB are investigating.

    Era Helicopter’s statement:
    “We deeply regret this unfortunate accident and we will use all of our resources to support the families of those involved. Our review will continue in concert with the investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, which has jurisdiction over this matter”

    KLTV.com-Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville, Texas | ETX News

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    Russian Chopper Crew Lost in Peacekeeping Mission

    UN Russian Mi-8 helicopter crashed at an altitude of 2,700 meters in the Democratic Republic of Congo killing four.

    The UTair helicopter was returning to Bukavu when it crashed 35 miles from its destination.

    The four crew members were Russian. The crew was en route between Shabunda and Bukavu when it hit bad weather.

    The crash occurred in mountainous terrain that is inaccessible, but it has been located. Forty rescuers are en route on foot. The helicopter was part of peacemaking mission MONUSCO.

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    Helicopter Crashes in Slovakia’s Vah River


    On March 3, 2013, at 17:13 Eurocopter EC-120 Colibri crashed in Horný ?epe?, Sere? district in Slovakia after hitting a cable that was stretched between trees.

    The helicopter landed in the Váh river.

    Three wounded individuals were transported to University Hospital in Trnava where they were treated for hypothermia, head injuries, lacerations and abrasions.

    The thirteen year old son of the pilot was trapped in the helicopter and died at the scene.

    The injured parties include a twenty-one year old woman and a 42 year old man. They are in stable condition. The pilot is 40 years old. He is being investigated. Alcohol may have been a factor.

    Part of the helicopter was retrieved by firemen initially, and the rest recovered later and loaded on to an armed forces flatbed, with the assistance of divers and military technology.

    All of those aboard were Slovakian.

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    Eaglemed Crash in Oklahoma City

    On Feb 22, 2013 at 5:45 a.m., an EagleMed LLC Eurocopter AS 350B2 Ecureuil while en route from Baptist hospital to home base when the chopper crashed between St. Ann’s Nursing Home and St. Ann’s Retirement Center in Watonga. On impact, there was an explosion, and then a second explosion. Pilot Mark Montgomery and nurse Chris Denning were killed. Medic Billy Wynne was injured. Montgomery, Denning and Wynne were aboard. Passing nurses pulled the medic from the helicopter.

    One injured person was taken to OU Medical Center.

    The NTSB is investigating.
    Video Below

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    Emergency landing Lake Rotorua New Zealand

    On Feb 24, 2013, a Volcanic Air Safaris Ltd Robinson R44 Raven II made an emergency upright landing on skids near the end of Bennetts Rd, Koutu, not long after lifting off from Lake Rotorua New Zealand.

    The female pilot and three passengers escaped the helicopter 60 metres from the shore in knee deep water. A boat went to the helicopter’s aide about 10.10.

    The passengers were a man and his two children. There were no injuries.

    The chopper had suffered mechanical problems.

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    Helicopter Crashes in Victoria

    In Trida, Victoria near Leongatha, on Feb 17, 2013, a helicopter went down, and caused a blackout.

    The pilot managed to land and survive the landing, in spite of the contact with power lines. There were no passengers aboard.

    Residents reported a loud bang to the police, who responded and found a crop dusting helicopter had clipped power lines and crashed around 5 pm Sunday between Allmans and Mottons roads.

    The pilot was uninjured although an air ambulance did respond to the scene of the crash.

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    Zhersu Avia Emergency Landing, Kazakhstan

    On Feb 15, 2013, a Zhersu Avia LLP Bell 206L3 made an emergency landing near the village of Bakanas in Kazakhstan. The helicopter spun and landed on its side but no injuries were reported.

    The two Ukrainians aboard were not hurt.

    The the Ministry of Transport and Communications in Kazakhstan will be investigating.

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    Final Report on Sikorsky Incident

    When a Bristow S-76 Helicopter with eight passengers and two crew fishtailed as it was flying from from Humberside Airport to a gas platform in the North Sea, the helicopter made a precautionary landing. The crew smelled smoke in the cockpit at the time.

    The investigation concluded that an electrical short had occurred in a wiring loom.

    The incident occurred on Sept 26, 2012.

    The report is below:

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    No Fatalities in Bangladesh Helicopter Crash


    On Feb 12, 2013, at 4:15 p.m. a Meghna Group McDonnell Douglas Md600N en route from Nimertek village in Rupganj upazila, Bangladesh hit a tree while en route.

    One account says the helicopter struck the tree in Narayanganj after suffering technical glitches.

    Two were hospitalized at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. There were two crew and four or five passengers. (Accounts vary.)

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    Helicopter Crash Kills Paraguayan Candidate, General and Hero

    On Feb 2, 2013, a Robinson R44 with four aboard was en route on the campaign trail from Concepcion to Asuncion when it crashed in bad weather, south of Concepcion Paraguay near Puerto Antequera, in the Chaco region.

    The pilot’s last message was at 9 p.m. local time, when he said that they were changing course due to a storm. The control tower then lost contact.

    The pilot, two body guards and Lino Oviedo, a presidential candidate was killed in the crash.

    A search arm of the national police rescue team found the burnt corpses of those aboard the plane on February 3rd, a day after they were reported missing and disappeared from radar. Troops of the Search and Rescue Service, composed of staff of the Air Force and the Volunteer Fire Department assisted in the search.

    Witnesses who saw the crash site said that the helicopter “disintegrated.”

    Oviedo was a retired general who assisted in overthrowing Alfredo Stroessner in 1989; he died on the anniversary of the coup.

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    Borrowed Heli Hit by Wind


    On Jan 30, 2013, a Pennsylvania State Police Bell B206 was returning from searching for a missing snowmobiler at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe when strong 60 mph winds blew it over.

    The helicopter had landed and had been tied down for fueling when the wind blew it over.

    The chopper was borrowed from Altuna and is currently out of service.

    No one was injured except the helicopter.

    See Video

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    IMPROPER MAINTENANCE LED TO Vegas AIR TOUR HELICOPTER CRASH

    What is it that I’ve always said? Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance.

    Looks like the NTSB Findings agree with me! See their report below about a helicopter crash in December 7, 2011, that occurred in my home away from home, Las Vegas Nevada.

    PRELIMINARY REPORT
    On December 7 at 4:30 Pacific Standard Time, a Eurocopter AS350-B2, operated by Sundance Helicopters as flight Landmark 57, crashed in mountainous terrain approximately 14 miles east of Las Vegas. The flight, a sightseeing tour, departed Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) en-route to the Hoover Dam area was operating under visual flight rules. The helicopter impacted in a narrow ravine in mountainous terrain between the cities of Henderson and Lake Mead. The pilot and four passengers were fatally injured.

    The National Transportation Safety Board determined today (Jan. 29, 2013) that the probable cause of the Dec. 7, 2011, air tour helicopter crash near Las Vegas, Nev., was inadequate maintenance, including degraded material, improper installation, and inadequate inspections.

    “This investigation is a potent reminder that what happens in the maintenance hangar is just as important for safety as what happens in the air,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman.

    At about 4:30 p.m. Pacific standard time, a Sundance Helicopters Eurocopter AS350, operating as a “Twilight City Tour” sightseeing trip, crashed in mountainous terrain about 14 miles east of Las Vegas, Nev. The helicopter originated from Las Vegas McCarran International Airport at about 4:21 p.m. with a planned route to the Hoover Dam area and then return to the airport. The accident occurred after a critical flight control unit separated from another, rendering the helicopter uncontrollable. After the part separated, the helicopter climbed about 600 feet, turned about 90 degrees to the left, descended about 800 feet, began a left turn, and then descended at a rate of at least 2,500 feet per minute to impact. The pilot and four passengers were killed and the helicopter was destroyed.

    The NTSB found that the crash was the result of Sundance Helicopters’ improper reuse of a degraded self-locking nut in the servo control input rod and the improper or non-use of a split pin to secure the degraded nut, in addition to an inadequate post-maintenance inspection.

    Contributing to the improper (or lack of) split pin installation was the mechanic’s fatigue and lack of clearly delineated steps to follow on a “work card” or “checklist” The inspector’s fatigue and lack of a work card or checklist clearly laying out the inspection steps to follow contributed to an inadequate post-maintenance inspection. As a result of this investigation the NTSB made, reiterated and reclassified recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration.
    “One of the critical lines of defense to help prevent tragedies like this crash is improved maintenance documentation through clear work cards, or checklists,” Hersman said. “Checklists are not rocket science, but they can have astronomical benefits.”

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    Hog Hunters Flipped in Chopper Bang-Up


    At 9 a m Jan 26,2013, a Hiller UH-12B helicopter crashed east of the St. Lucie-Okeechobee County line in a swamp between Okeechobee Road and Orange Avenue, west of the Adams Ranch The three men aboard,Pilot William Harward, and passengers Jonathan Strayer, 46, and Massad Ayoob, 64 were hospitalized at Raulerson Memorial Hospital.

    The helicopter had been chartered to “shoot feral hogs from a helicopter with .44 Magnum revolvers” a pastime that has been called pest eradication. A blog has released that the main rotor hit treetops, and the helicopter ended up upside down.

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    London Investigates Agusta Westland Helicopter Crash

    London’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch is working the first helicopter accident in London since 1976. A review of helicopter flight regulation over the UK capital is already underway.

    In low broken clouds with visibility of 2,300 feet, the AgustaWestland struck a crane on January 16 on top of the Tower at St George Wharf and fell to the street around 8 a.m.. The pilot had diverted to Battersea heliport due to bad weather.

    Warning lights were on the building but not on the crane. (Crane lights had an allowed shut off around daylight.

    see more
    Tower at St George Wharf Helicopter Crash

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    Municipal Parks Crew injured, Pilot killed in São Paulo Crash


    On Jan 21, 2013 at 12:45, a Helimarte Bell 206B JetRanger III en route in light rain from West Zone of São Paulo to Campo de Marte Airport with four people aboard flying over a residential area in the neighborhood of Garden Corner, crash landed on two houses in Paul Street Arentino in Jaragua in the north of São Paulo near Highway Taipas.

    A resident saw the plane approaching and saw that the rear propeller stopped. Witnesses in the house say there were electrical lines entangled in the helicopter.

    Civil Defense roped off four properties as unsafe.

    One person aboard did not survive the crash and three others aboard, all crew, were injured but conscious when they were found. One person on the ground was also injured. Some reports say two on the ground were injured. There were four people in one house that was crashed into.

    The sole fatality was the pilot, Stella Melo Marcelo Araujo, who was 29, was single and had no children. The helicopter was an air taxi but the objective was a two hour flyover inspecting, monitoring and surveying regional park areas.

    Ramiro Levy (Depave-1), Bishop Fabian Barbosa (Depave-5) and Idevanir Souza (Communication), all employees of the Municipal Green and Environment were injured. Two crew members were taken to Hospital and Clinics and one to the Hospital São Camilo Emergency Room.

    Five teams were sent to the crash to deal with the injured, the wreckage and the leak in the helicopter. The helicopter’s certificate valid until December 8, 2016 and had passed it’s recent maintenance inspection.

    Helimarte, who operates the helicopter that crashed on Monday in ??Jaragua, north of Sao Paulo, said in a statement that the accident was the first in the fourteen year history of 35 000 flights. Everyone aboard was employed by the City of São Paulo.

    View Video Portuguese

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    Heli Rolls in Connecticut, No Injuries


    On Jan 17, 2012, a Northeast Helicopters Flight Services LLC Robinson R22 landed in Ellington, Connecticut and rolled on its side. The student pilot and the teacher aboard were uninjured.

    It was described as a hard landing at 360 Somers Road adjacent to the airport in Ellington at 12:45 pm. There was a minor fuel leak which was contained.

    IDENTIFICATION
    Regis#: 26NE Make/Model: R22 Description: R-22
    Date: 01/17/2013 Time: 1248

    Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing: N
    Damage: Substantial

    LOCATION
    City: ELLINGTON State: CT Country: US

    DESCRIPTION
    AIRCRAFT SUFFERED A HARD LANDING. ELLINGTON, CT

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    Cropdusting Chopper Crash in S. Africa


    On Jan 18, 2013, a private crop dusting Bell 47 helicopter near Dunstan Farrell TB hospital in Hibberdene S. Africa developed an engine problem.

    A witness says the pilot struck a tree while spraying a field of ground nuts.

    The ambulance company received the call at 9:00 a.m.

    The pilot managed to land in a sugar cane field before the helicopter caught fire. The pilot escaped by pushing out the glass, and suffered minor injuries but the helicopter was a total loss. He was hospitalized. There wasn’t much more than the tail left remaining of the cropduster.

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    London Helicopter Crash Continued


    The Wednesday January 16, 2013 crash of the helicopter that struck a crane on top of London’s St George Wharf Tower did result in two casualties. Two office buildings, 5 cars & 2 motorbikes were damaged. The AgustaWest AW109E #G-CRST was flown by Rotormotion, and leased from Castle Air.

    Weather people are saying that the top of the crane was not in fog but in a low cloud. (This is apparently different from fog, and might be something I should ask my pilots about. And this London. London=Fog, no?)

    Four people were injured and taken to St. Thomas’ Hospital. Five injured were taken to Kings College Hospital. Seven people were treated at the scene. One of the injured was rescued from a burning car. The helicopter fell to Wandsworth Road, hit some vehicles, burst into flames; and falling burning debris started flames in some buildings. Although there were people in the area who thought the accident was a bomb and didn’t realize the helicopter had struck the crane, some witnesses saw the helicopter clip the crane and in seconds, spin out of control. Part of the crane also fell.

    I think it’s nothing short of a miracle that there were only two killed and nine injured. London has 8.2 million people.

    The pilot, Peter Barnes, was en route from Redhill to Elstree, but had diverted to Battersea because of the visibility. Barnes had over 12,000 flying hours, was employed by charter firm Rotormotion and had flown in the movies Die Another Day, Tomb Raider II and Saving Private Ryan.

    Night officially ended thirty minutes before the crash, at which time lights on tall structures were allowed to be turned off. The lights are not visible during fog and bad weather.

    The accident resulted in some subway/tube/station closures.

    The wreckage will be taken to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch at Farnborough, Hampshire, and a report will take several months. The AAIB site announces The AAIB has sent a team to investigate a helicopter accident in Vauxhall, London – 16 January 2013.

    Video

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    London Helicopter Hits Crane, 2 fatalities, 9 Injured


    On Wednesday January 16, 2013, a helicopter crashed into a crane and fell to a London street just south of the River Thames near the Underground and mainline train station at Vauxhall, killing two and injuring nine. London Ambulance said only one of the people they took to the hospital had critical injuries.

    The crane was on top of the 50-story St. George Wharf Tower. The top of the crane was not visible from the street because of fog.

    An investigation is underway, among other things questioning if the crane was equipped with lights, if the pilot committed an error, if the helicopter was fit for use, and if weather was a factor.

    Video Below

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    German Helicopter Crash Kills Pilot on the Autobahn


    On Jan 10, 2013, a Robinson R44 Astro en route from Augsburg to Bretzfeld got caught up in a 380 kilovolts high voltage power transmission line and crashed on the Autobahn 6 in Southwestern Germany.

    The helicopter was flying below radar.

    Pieces of the helicopter hit a truck, but the driver was not seriously hurt. The accident occurred during rush hour between the junction Schwäbisch Hall and just before the Kochertalbrücke.

    The pilot, 42 year old Sven Berger was killed in the crash and will have to be identified thru his dna. The remains of the helicopter are melted, burned, broken and bent, and smell like burned plastic. First responders could not get through the flames to the helicopter.

    Berger was a firefighter, member of the Commerce and Industry association and owned the Schwab Bacher Kithcen Studios. The tentative cause for the accident is poor visibility. There were spots of freezing temperatures, rain and fog in Brachbach.

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    Hughes Helicopter Ditches in Finland


    On January 10, 2013, a Heliwest Oy Hughes 369 D was engaged to work on Tampere power plant’s power lines when it developed engine failure. The pilot made an emergency landing in Paavolantie, Kämmenniemi, near Tampere Finland.

    The helicopter was damaged and the pilot was injured.

    THe helicopter made a forced landing.

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    Rescue Pilot Rescued by Rescuees

    After a boat rescue failed, on January 9, 2013, a Bell 206 Jet Ranger with only the pilot aboard was rescuing two Nunavut seal hunters, Joe Karetak, who is in his 50s, and his 20-year-old son, who were stranded off the west shore of Hudson Bay. The brutal wind chill was -50 C.

    The helicopter was from Customs Helicopter in Gillam Manitoba.

    The hunters had left on snow mobiles but hadn’t returned home, initiating the search.

    The helicopter landed safely but broke through the ice—it was partially on ice, partially in the water 100 meters from the hunters.

    The pilot was rescued by the hunters.

    A second helicopter assisting in the original rescue took the hunters and the pilot to Arviat. The rescue was coordinated by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.

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    Helicopter Tragedy in the Amazon


    Photographer Miguel Cano Alva

    On January 7, 2013, Chinook helicopter (registration N241CH) Pucallpa-Tarapoto was en route near the Laguna Yarinacocha in Pucallpa Peru when it came down in the Amazon.

    The helicopter took off at took off at 2:57 pm, taking a load to Tarapoto.

    According to reports, although the crew tossed the load while airborne, the plane broke up in mid air and caught fire. There were seven people aboard.

    There were 2 Peruvians aboard: Joel Castillo and Luis Ramos.

    Five Americans: Dan Immel , Ed Córdova, Jaime Pickett, Lee Bradford and Darrel Birkes.

    Those aboard were employed by Petrominerales Ltd, a Canadian-based oil exploration firm.

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    Video of Frozen Landscape of Iowa Medical Evacuation Crash


    What: Medical Bell 407 en route from Mason City to Emmetsburg Iowa
    Where: Ventura Iowa
    When: Jan 2 2013
    Who: 3 Fatalities
    Why: A Mercy Air Med medical helicopter crash was en route Mason City to Emmetsburg to pick up a patient when it crashed on Wednesday at 9 p.m killing Pilot Gene Grell, paramedic Russell Piehl, and Nurse Shelly Lair-Langenbau.

    Read More

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    Medical Evac Flight Crew Lost In Iowa Chopper Crash


    What: Medical Bell 407 en route from Mason City to Emmetsburg Iowa
    Where: Ventura Iowa
    When: Jan 2 2013
    Who: 3 Fatalities
    Why: A Mercy Air Med medical helicopter crash was en route to pick up a patient when it crashed on Wednesday at 9 p.m killing Pilot Gene Grell, paramedic Russell Piehl, and Nurse Shelly Lair-Langenbau. The pilot had 2,800 hours flight time.

    The weather at the time was a light freezing drizzle, fog and mist at 8 p.m. at the Mason City airport, 27 degrees, and overcast conditions at 9 p.m.

    The patient was taken by ambulance to Mercy-North Iowa Hospital.

    The helicopter service of Mercy Medical Center-North that employed the pilot is Med-Trans. The nurse and paramedic worked for the hospital.

    The crash occurred fifteen miles from where it took off. The helicopter did not have a black box but it did have a tracking satellite system. The Bell 407 was new in April 2011 and had night-vision goggles, a terrain warning system and a satellite tracking system.

    The NTSB and FAA are investigating. Weather is being investigated as a possible cause. There was no SOS or emergency communication from the helicopter. The wreckage will probably be relocated on Jan 4 2013. Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department is keeping the site secure.