Helicopter

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    Helicopter Crashed Near the Cerfontaine Airfield in Belgium; 1 Killed, 1 Injured

    helicopterA helicopter crashed near the Cerfontaine airfield, in the province of Namur in southwestern Belgium, at around 5:00 p.m. on June 13.

    One of the two people aboard died and the other one suffered multiple serious injuries.

    According to the local rescue center, firefighters and paramedics from close by town arrived on the location.

    It is believed that the accident happened during an annual test being carried out under the supervision of an experienced pilot.

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    Mesa Police Department Helicopter Crash Lands in Gilbert

    helicopterA Mesa Police Department helicopter had to make a hard landing in a field near Stapley Drive & Baseline Road in Gilbert, Arizona.

    The incident happened at about 1 a.m. on June 8, when the chopper carrying two police pilots lost engine power and crashed.

    According to Mesa Police Department Sgt. Tony Landato, “They had 10 to 15 seconds from engine failure to impact…. The preliminary information I have is that the pilot did a remarkable job avoiding homes by putting the helicopter down in a field… I’ve been told, luckily, there are no serious injuries.”

    During the impact, the tail of helicopter broke off.

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    Ex-Brazilian Footballer Fernandão Dies in Helicopter Crash

    Fernandao

    Ex-Brazilian football hero, Fernando Lucio da Costa, 36, who led Internacional to Copa Libertadores and World Club Cup victories in 2006, died in a helicopter crash in central Brazil on June 7.

    The helicopter had five people on board at the time of crash and none of them survived.

    Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said on Twitter, “I am saddened by the death of Fernandão, a hero to all Internacional fans and all lovers of football….On the field he was world champion, off the field he was an example of a man of character.”

    Fernandao played for the Porto Alegre club 190 times and scored 77 goals.

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    ORNGE Chopper’s Door Blows Open Midair in Haliburton, Canada

    ORNGEA door of an ORNGE helicopter, an air ambulance, blew open midair near Haliburton, Canada, at 8:15 p.m. on May 31.

    The main cargo door flew open just 300 metres over Balsam Lake and cargo of the chopper fell into the lake.

    The incident happened when the chopper was going from Toronto to Haliburton to pick up a patient from a local hospital. All aboard remained safe.

    Transport Canada has been informed of the incident and ORNGE is investigating it. “(ORNGE) will take whatever steps necessary to minimize the chance of this happening again,” ORNGE spokesman James MacDonald said on June 3 while talking to media.

    MacDonald further said the pilots did a visual inspection after landing the chopper, “concluding that there had been no damage.” The chopper resumed its flight to pick up the patient from Haliburton, who was later flown to St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

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    Russian Helicopter Crashed in Murmansk: 16 out of 18 Dead

    helicopter
    A Mi-8 helicopter crashed on June 1 into a lake in Murmansk region of northern Russia.

    According to the authorities, the helicopter was carrying 18 people, including 13 passengers and 5 crew members. The passengers of the ill-fated helicopter included top officials of renowned fertilizer manufacturer, Apatite.

    Sixteen people were killed in the accident while two were rescued in an injured state. Those who survived were taken to the hospital.

    Apatit’s parent company, PhosAgro, has issued a list containing names of passengers and crew members aboard the helicopter.

    The cause of the crash is being investigated.

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    3 Killed, 1 Missing after Oil Rig Helicopter Crashed in Ghana

    helicopter crashA service helicopter carrying 8 workers to the Jack Ryag oil rig near the giant Jubilee field, off the coast of Ghana, crashed into deep waters on May 8.

    The accident occurred after the helicopter, belonging to Ghanian subsidiary of the Russian oil company Lukoil, took off from Takoradi’s western port, with 5 Ghanians, 1 French, 1 British and 1 Nigerian on board.

    Three people were killed in the incident. According to Kwame Mamphey, the director general of Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), 4 people were rescued after the helicopter crash while another one is missing and presumed dead.

    The survivors were taken to hospitals where one of them is believed to be in serious condition.

    The cause of accident is being investigated.

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    UP Chief Minister’s Chopper Landed in Emergency

    Akhilesh YadavA chopper carrying the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav had to make an emergency landing at Amausi airport, Lucknow, India.

    According to the authorities, the decision for emergency landing was made after an eagle struck the front window pane of the chopper, at a height of 3000 feet. The pilots then made an uneventful emergency landing at Lucknow airport, which was about 12 km away at the time of incident.

    The chief minister, along with his wife, was returning back after attending the last rituals of his uncle Ratan Singh Yadav in Saifai, Etawah District of UP. His private chopper was originally scheduled to land in La Martiniere college, near his residence.

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    2 Injured in a Private Helicopter Crash in Central Ohio

    helicopterA private helicopter crashed into a Delaware County field, central Ohio at about 12:45pm on Thursday, April 24.

    According to Lt. Craig Cvetan, spokesperson of the State Highway Patrol, the helicopter was carrying two passengers; Henry Brecher, 81 and Todd Cramer, 50. Both of them were injured in the incident.

    The injured were flown to the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center through a medical helicopter. Their injuries are believed to be non-life threatening.

    The 2006 Rotorway International, EXEC 162F helicopter also set fire to the 10 acre field where it crashed.

    The authorities are investigating the cause of crash.

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    UN Chopper Down in Monrovia with Injuries

    monrovia

    Impromptu landing in Thinkers Village in Monrovia.
    An RA 22426 United Nations helicopter carrying 5 health workers and 4 crew from Spriggs Payne Airport to River Gee, Fishtown made a forced landing when the pilot detected engine problems. Only the pilot and possibly a crew member sustained injuries; apparently they had deep cuts in their heads. The pilot was taken by ambulance to be hospitalized.

    The Mil Mi-8AMT was operated by UTAir.

    None of the health workers reported injury.

    The pilot warmed the engine from around 11: 30 to 11:50, then took off with passengers and landed twice with mechanical issues.

    broken-mil-wheel
    During the forced landing/crash, the helicopter impacted a building under construction and another structure. Both were destroyed. The chopper’s right tire broke and the chopper’s front end sustained damaged. Liberia National Police and UNMIL Security responded to the scene and an investigation is underway.

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    Police Service Eurocopter Missing in Botswana

    Botswana Police ServiceA Botswana Police Service Eurocopter AS350 was en route on a routine patrol between Gumare and Maun Botswana, and went missing in the Okavango. The flight left at 19:10 and was expected at 20:10.

    The captain, copilot and an Airborne Law Enforcement Officer were aboard at the time it disappeared. A search is underway, but it has not yet been located. The families of those who are missing have been notified.

    The police enlisted the public and local pilots in the search as well as the Botswana Defence Force, (BDF) and Directorate of Intelligence Services (DIS). Search and rescue teams have been deployed, and there is also a meeting at Maun Airport concerning the disappearance.

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    Business Jet India and SpanAir’s Planes Grounded for Violating Safety Norms

    The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India, grounded two business jets belonging to Business Jet India Private Limited and Span Air for violating safety norms during its safety audit of non-scheduled operators (NSOPs).

    During the inspection of the Cessna aircraft belonging to Business Jets India, the aviation regulator found that the crew on-board were not properly trained in safety and emergency procedures. The log books and the operation manuals were outdated and the lavatory had unnecessary goods which is strictly prohibited. The Business Jets India Private Limited operates three Hawker 850 XP aircrafts in addition to the Cessna Citation CJ2 aircraft in and out of India. The company is a subsidiary of Singapore-based BJETS Private Limited. Tata group also has a stake in it.

    Moreover, the aviation regulator also found some significant deficiencies in the Hawker 900XP aircraft registered VT-BKL with SpanAir. It was observed that the crew were not properly trained in safety and emergency procedures, the life vest had passed its expiry date and the operations manual and the route guides were outdated. SpanAir has four more aircrafts –a seven-seater Beech Super King Air B-200; a six-seater Premier 1A, Bell 407GX and Bell 420 helicopters.

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    Helicopter Crash Takes Away Four Lives in Namibia

    Helicopter crashA military helicopter carrying ten persons crashed on the runway of an airbase in Nimibia’s Grootfontein this Friday.

    Xinhua, the spokesperson of the Namibian Ministry of Defense confirmed that the accident occurred just after the helicopter took off. Four people were killed while six others were injured. The injured were rushed to Windhoek for medical care.

    The cause of the accident is not known at the moment.

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    Medical Helicopter Crashes on Hospital Roof Helipad

    bellThe new PHI Air Medical Eurocopter AS350B3 Ecureuil (#N395P) on its first flight had just delivered a patient from Rio Rancho to University of New Mexico hospital. Taking off from the hospital roof, the helicopter crashed, injuring the pilot and two medics aboard. No patients were aboard at the time.

    The helicopter lifted off for 30 feet, spun, then fell back to the roof; the tail impacted the building and the helicopter rolled on to its side. It caught fire, but the fire was put out by sprinklers. The top two floors of the hospital were evacuated as a precaution. The accident occurred at a quarter to six pm on April 9, and NTSB investigators arrived Thursday morning.

    PHI (Petroleum Helicopters International) flies patients to hospitals, medical equipment, gas, oil, and technology.

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    Bell #HelicopterCrash in China

    A helicopter crash occurred in Miyun county in Mujiayu township, China, a suburb of Beijing.

    The report was received from 11:40 at Beijing emergency center which sent a medical evacuation helicopter to the wreckage to transport the survivors.

    Jinhaihu Landscape Man Park Aviation Club was owner/operator of the Bell 407 helicopter in which flight training was underway when it crashed.

    Both injured pilots were hospitalized, one with hand injuries and the other with brain trauma. One of them died in the hospital.

    No cause for the crash has been indicated. The accident is under investigation.

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    Helicopter Crash Landed in Coryell County

    HelicopterA helicopter carrying two hog hunters crash landed in Coryell County, Texas, on March 30.

    According to the department of Public Safety, the helicopter crash landed at about 11:45 am in a field west of Moody in Coryell County. The passengers exited safely.

    The cause of crash landing is still unknown.

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    Helicopter Crash Near Gisborne Kills One

    A helicopter owned by Gisborne Helicopters crashed in Hawkes Bay at around 10:00 a.m. at a logging skid site on Paritu Road, Wharerata, in Gisborne, New Zealand.

    A 53-year-old Gisborne passenger was killed. The pilot had leg injuries, but is in stable condition. The helicopter was delivering supplies.

    Civil Aviation Authority is investigating. Various eye witnesses saw the event. Fire fighters, ambulance and police immediately reached at the scene.

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    Seattle Chopper Crash Kills 2, Injures 3

    SeattleA chopper crash near a tourist spot in downtown Seattle killed all two passengers while setting several cars on fire.

    The chopper belonging to KOMO news channel was crashed in a busy street after it attempted to take off from the news station’s helipad located nearby.

    Emergency responders found two dead bodies in the helicopter wreckage. Three other people were injured as the crash set their cars on fire. According to the spokesman of Seattle Fire Department, one of the injured was in serious condition. 


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    Lord Ballyedmond Among The Four Deceased in Norfolk Helicopter Crash

    A civilian helicopter crash, near Beccles, Norfolk,UK claimed four lives. The deceased include Lord Ballyedmond, who was a Northern Ireland peer and industrialist.3

    The accident happened at around 19:30 GMT, when the area was covered in thick fog. All four passengers died at the spot.

    Some witnesses have reported that the helicopter crashed soon after it took off.

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    Kansas State University’s Training Helicopter Makes Emergency Landing

    A Kansas State University helicopter made an emergency landing near Saline-McPherson County line, on Thursday.

    According to the Kansas State Troopers, the pilot made emergency landing due to a mechanical fault in the helicopter. The two-seater training helicopter was landed safely, in a wheat field and the pilot remained uninjured.

    The helicopter is being repaired on-site, after which it will be flown to the KSU’s aviation facility in Salina.

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    Guatemala: Chopper Crash

    Ex army officer Ramón Rodríguez Toledo, and his passengers Luis Paiz and Andrés Berger were aboard a Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter that crashed in a coffee plantation in Guatemala between Villa Canales and Fraijanes.

    Andrés Berger was the copilot.

    The flight took off at 17:48 on Monday but lost communication with ATC shortly afterward. Residents near the impact zone heard an explosion at 18:00 hours.

    A friend of the pilot said he had 15,000 hours in the cockpit.

    The accident is under investigation.

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    Helicopter Crashes in Baltic, One Survivor

    A Deutsche Rettungsflugwacht-operated MBB BK 117C-1 helicopter training out of Güttin airfield on Rügen island fell from the sky.

    The German Martime Search and Rescue Service was on a training mission in Christoph Offshore 2 chopper when the helicopter lost altitude and fell into the Baltic. Two pilots and two passengers, a doctor and a rescue assistant, were aboard.

    Both of the pilots were rescued, but one died shortly afterwards. The second pilot is suffering from hypothermia. Overnight, divers flew aboard a helicopter to the crash site and retrieved the doctor and rescue assistant’s bodies from inside the helicopter.

    Several vessels were involved in the rescue, as well as air support.

    The helicopter was stationed on Rügen for energy companies with wind turbines in the Baltic Sea.

    The MBB BK 112 is a joint development between Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) of Germany and Kawasaki of Japan.

    The following video is of Christoph 43.

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    President Rafael Correa’s Helicopter Crashes


    A HAL Dhruv helicopter flown by the Ecuadorian Air Force, the president’s helicopter, crashed at Chimborazo in Equador while en route from Guayaquil to Quito.

    Three people (Lieutenant Jorge Luis, Sargent H. Cristian and Captain C. Hector) aboard the plane died. The pilot Captain P. Fabian survived.

    Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa was not aboard.

    The director of communications of the Ecuadorian Air Force confirmed the bodies of the Chimborazo helicopter crash victims will be transferred to Quito.

    The crash is under investigation.

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    Safety First: Aviation Lessons Learned

    We at Air Flight Disaster are always trying to learn from our mistakes, and your mistakes and everyone’s mistakes. Which is why we would applaud the following Helicopter Expo event “Lessons Learned from Helicopter Accident Investigations” even if Air Safety wasn’t our business.

    Pilots and interested parties wanting to learn lessons from recent helicopter accidents should pay attention to the following event:

    2014 HAI Rotor Safety Challenge

    Event: Lessons Learned from Helicopter Accident Investigations

    Date/Time: Monday, February 24, 8:00 am to 12:00 p.m. (PST)

    Location: Anaheim Convention Center (Ballroom C, Level 3), 800 W Katella Ave, Anaheim, CA 92802

    Participants: Vice Chairman Christopher Hart and NTSB senior air safety investigators

    Senior investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will hold a training session about the lessons that have been learned from several recent helicopter accident investigations at the 2014 Helicopter Association International’s Heli-Expo in Anaheim, Calif., next week.
    Investigators will present case studies that emphasize NTSB safety recommendations related to helicopter maintenance, flight simulators, and flight recorders. The case studies will be followed by industry-led panel discussions on best practices in the industry. NTSB Vice Chairman Christopher Hart will provide opening remarks for the session.

    The preliminary schedule is posted below:

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    Robinson Retrofit

    Owners of Robinson R44 choppers are recommended to replace their fuel tanks after crash investigations realized fatal accidents could have been avoided. Survivable accidents were made unsurvivable after a post-crash fires resulted from “an impact-related breach in the fuel tanks.”

    Robinson issued a service bulletin in December 2010 calling for the retrofit of the all-aluminum fuel tanks with crash-resistant tanks. According to Robinson, retrofit kits are supplied at below-cost and can be performed by any qualified mechanic, service center or at the factory.