Helicopter and Plane Crash Lawyer
Helicopter Crashes
Helicopter Crashes During Fundraiser
Category: Helicopter Crashes
FAA investigators are on the 8th hole of the Mountain Valley Golf Course in eastern Pennsylvania. However, they are not there to enjoy the sunshine and a great golfing outing - they are there to investigate the Friday helicopter crash which occurred during a charity fundraiser for Access Services, a group that helps people who have disabilities. The helicopter was supposed to be dropping golf balls for the fundraiser, but instead it dropped out of the sky!
The pilot, who donated his time and equipment for this event, is listed in fair condition at a nearby hospital. The copilot is listed in critical condition.
Witnesses stated the first time the chopper flew over, it just "didn't sound right" - it was making a rapping noise. It was flying about 400-500 feet in the air when he came down, went up about 100 feet and then went down. One
onlooker stated it looked as though a wind shear or gust of wind caught the helicopter because it started spinning like a top. According to township officials, the area is being treated as a crime scene until the cause of the helicopter crash is determined.
NATO Peacekeeping Helicopter Crashes
Category: Helicopter Crashes
NATO ruled out hostile action in the crash of a civilian Mi-8 supply helicopter contracted by the alliance's International Security Assistance Forces that crashed Sunday in Afghanistan shortly after taking off from a military base, killing one and wounding three others. The Taliban, however, is claiming the group shot down the chopper - at this point, there is no way to confirm either account. The Taliban have shot down several aircraft since 2001 after the Taliban's government was overthrown by U.S. led troops, but there have also been many crashes due to technical failure.
The chopper had been forced to make an earlier emergency landing shortly after takeoff from an ISAF base, but the NATO statement did not say what caused the problem.
In a separate helicopter crash, August 16, at least 17 Spanish troops with the NATO-led peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan were killed just south of Spain's base at Herat. The cause is not yet known.
In June of this year, Spain lost two servicemen on another peacekeeping mission in Bosnia when their helicopter crashed killing two Germans also. The EURFOR peacekeeping helicopter belonged to Spain and was a German built Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm BO-105. The investigation into this helicopter crash is still ongoing, but it is known it crashed half an hour into a routine flight from Sarajevo after sending a distress call and another helicopter reported seeing smoke from the ill-fated chopper.
Suspected Cause of B.C. Helicopter Crash Revealed
Category: Helicopter Crashes
Wednesday morning four people - including the pilot - perished in a helicopter crash shortly after takeoff in British Columbia. The chopper, a Prism Helicopters Hughes 500, crashed upside down in a river as it was heading to a mineral drill site.
The Transportation Safety Board investigators think they know what caused this disaster. They have found the helicopter hit trees beside the river at a very steep angle which shows the aircraft out of control just before impact.
"We know there was a mechanical problem because of the loss of control but it was not a problem that's associated with ongoing maintenance or design," said Yearwood. "The aircraft was damaged by equipment that's not normally on the aircraft when it's in flight."
Quick removal of the craft was necessary to prevent parts from being dragged away by the fast flowing river and once removed, the craft has been turned over to Prism and its insurance underwriter. The board's final determination of the cause of the accident will not be known for several months.
A couple of years ago another fatal crashed happened close to this same location when a reconditioned transmission mount on a Quantum Helicopters Bell 206 broke in flight, sending the chopper out of control, and killing all three people on board.
Probable Cause of Hawaiian Helicopter Crash Released
Category: Helicopter Crashes
The cause of the March 11, 2007 tour helicopter crash on Ha'ena has been determined by the NTSB as a manufacturing defect in a tail rotor fitting. What was to be a beautiful ride to see the islands ended in death for a 60 year old man from California and serious injuries for three other passengers.
Probable cause of the Inter-Island Helicopters McDonnell Douglass 369FF helicopter crash is the defect resulted in the tail rotor coming off - the loss of tail rotor control. According to the report, one of the fittings that connected the tail rotor to the helicopter was too tight resulting in fatigue which eventually cracked the metal. Aluminum Precision Products, Inc. is the manufacturer of the defective fitting.
According to the owner of Inter-Island Helicopters, there was nothing his mechanics could have done to avoid this tragedy since the default started from the inside out and wasn't visible when the craft was inspected. According to the pilot, they were about halfway through a 55 minute sightseeing tour when he heard two loud "bangs", the nose pitched down, and the craft yawed to the right. He tried to put it down in a open field on YMCA property, but the chopper hit some trees as it spiraled down for a crash landing.
After the inspection of the parts of the Inter-Island craft last year, McDonnell Helicopters put out a mandatory bulletin to remove the tail rotor and check the tail rotor hub for any fittings that are not smooth, the report added. The defect was also found in two other helicopters in New Zealand.
The Ha'ena crash came only 3 days after a Heli-USA tour chopper - an Aerospatiale AS350BA - crashed killing the pilot and three passengers. There is no report from the NTSB on this helicopter crash.
Did High Temperature Contibute to Helicopter Crash?
Category: Helicopter Crashes
A fellow pilot of a New Zealand man who was killed along with his son and a friend in a helicopter crash last week say the extreme heat in Utah that day may have been a factor in the deadly crash. The temperature at lift off was over 100 degrees. That, coupled with the thin air at the altitude of the airport, which was over 5,000 feet, created difficulty for the chopper to lift off with the load it was carrying. Although a passenger had been dropped off at the airport, the chopper refueled before leaving and the added weight of the fuel could have been the critical factor. Mechanics from Pathfinder Wildlife Helicopter Management said the helicopter was a "fine machine" and had no worries about the aircraft.
The pilot, James Innes, and his son were well known in Utah for their pioneering work in the live capture of wild animals using helicopters. They were very closely associated with Pathfinder, a world leading helicopter wildlife management company which works closely with agencies to provide safe, humane, and efficient wildlife capture and management. By using a net gun capture and handling from the air, the welfare of the animal is not compromised as in the case of long stressful chases on the ground. Animals are captured to gather samples for research, disease testing, placement of monitoring/tracking devices, and for relocation to establish new populations, to protect overpopulation in an area, and to protect endangered species.
Knowing the exact cause of the crash is still weeks away, friends and family consider this to be a tragedy more than a mystery at this time - they are still in shock over their loss.
Helicopter Crash in Utah Claims 3 Lives
Category: Helicopter Crashes
A weekend trip meant for fun, family, and fishing ended tragically when the pilot, his son, and a friend died when the Hughes Helicopter they were in crashed northeast of Price, Idaho about 3:30 on Saturday. The fiery crash left only a tail rotor and part of the main rotor blades. The experienced pilot was an icon in wildlife relocation in New Zealand and in the United States - both he and his son were originally from New Zealand.
Another helicopter pilot who had been fishing with the three men stated his chopper lifted off without any problems and that he said he saw his friend lift off also, but he turned away and when he turned back, there was no sign of the other chopper. There is speculation the helicopter was carrying too much weight. The area in which they were flying puts a strain on helicopters due to the thin air caused by high temperatures and altitude. The temperature the day of the crash was 96 deg and the nearby airport is at about 5,700 feet above sea level.
Although the cause of the crash is not known, the county sheriff has ruled out wind gusts as a factor. A preliminary report is due within 10 days, but the final report which will give the cause of the crash will take much longer.
Cause of Crop-Duster Helicopter Crash Determined
Category: Helicopter Crashes
Since we were children we've heard about conflict between opposites such as good vs. evil. This is a story about - quite simply - big and little. We all know the Biblical story of little David who brought down big Goliath with a little pebble hailed from a sling-shot and of course who can forget the Little Golden Book story, The Lion's Paw by Jane Werner Watson where the big lion was incapacitated due to a little thorn in his paw? We all know how big humans battle very annoying little mosquitoes, little ants, little gnats. . .the list goes on and on.
From Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, comes yet another "big vs. little" story. A pilot who has flown helicopters for 30 years was spraying a cranberry marsh this past Friday when the tail rotor of his crop-duster "smashed" into the ground as he was working at an altitude of only four feet. The pilot was unhurt but the Deputy at the scene said the chopper was "pretty banged up".
This is one helicopter crash the NTSB has no need to investigate - we know what caused this big chopper to fall. . . it was an "Apis mellifera". . .commonly known as the (little) honey bee. It seems the bee flew into the cockpit, stung the pilot, diverting his attention just long enough for him to crash.
Investigation complete.
Yet Another Medical Helicopter Crash
Category: Helicopter Crashes
On June 30, 2008, two Bell 407 medical helicopters crashed after a mid- air collision near Flagstaff (Arizona) Medical Center, killing six passengers ( including both patients) and critically injuring a nurse - the largest death toll in the recent wave of med-ivac crashes. According to witnesses, the weather was clear and neither chopper appeared to be having mechanical problems - apparently both aircraft were trying to land at the same time. "Two helicopters trying to land at the same time is extremely rare" stated Matt Stein, a pilot with Classic Lifeguard Aeromedical Services in Page, Arizona a subsidiary of Classic Helicopters. Flagstaff Medical Center does not have flight controllers so it's up to the pilots to watch each other as they approach. Stein pointed out these deaths are the first ones in the 20 year history of the company. The Classic helicopter was carrying a patient with a medical emergency from the Grand Canyon. The second helicopter was operated by Air Methods from Englewood, Colorado. In addition to this tragedy, debris from the mid-air sparked a brush fire which burned 10 acres before it was contained.
Medical aircraft accidents are increasing at an alarming rate.
"We're very concerned about that," National Transportation Safety Board chairman Mark Rosenker told reporters. "We're going to work very, very hard to make sure we understand exactly what happened here ... and make recommendations to prevent it from happening again."
Hopefully these recommendations won't join the ranks of the NTSB's recommendations to the FAA for runway improvement to decrease collisions/incursions, improvements in cockpit audio & data recorders, improvements to reduce human fatigue in flight crews and air traffic controllers, improvements in flight crew training, and improvements to reduce icing of aircraft. All these have been on the NTSB's Most Wanted Transportation Safety Improvements and all have received the standing of "unacceptable response" by the NTSB.
Black Hawk Helicopter Crash Still Not Known
Category: Helicopter Crashes
On August 22, it will have been one year since the Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed shortly after take off in northern Iraq. This crash was the single greatest single loss of life for the 25th Infantry Division since the Vietnam War and the worst helicopter crash in Iraq since January, 2005. The aircraft weighed about 18,000 pounds and carried four crew members and 10 Schofield Barracks soldiers who had been brought in the night before for an attack and were now being picked up for their ride back.
The last radio call received from the pilot was, "1-2 is going down" and the helicopter plummeted to earth, killing all on board. In a 224 page report of the Army's investigation, it tells us how these men died, but a definite answer as to what caused the crash. In the "memorandum for record" it states the chopper went down because of a gouged and cut tail rotor shaft by an unknown foreign object - origin and responsibility for the foreign object causing damage to the tail rotor drive is not known . . . "I find no pilot or crew error". There was no enemy fire reported in the area so it is not thought the aircraft was hit by fire.
A witness stated there was absolutely no reaction time for the crew from the time the tail dropped and spun right to the time it hit the ground.
The Black Hawk is known as the Army's workhorse since 1978 and has accumulated over 4 million flight hours in 1,500 planes delivered to the Army and another 600 to other countries.
Is The FAA Finally Ready To Act On Medevac Helicopter Safety?
Category: Helicopter Crashes
In January, 2006, after a lengthy 18 month study brought on by a high number of fatal crashes, the NTSB called for new safety standards in the medical transportation aviation industry.
"It is disturbing when you see that number of accidents in a three-year period, particularly in a profession whose mission is to save lives," NTSB acting chairman Mark Rosenker said.
After this investigation, the NTSB's key recommendations were to require all emergency service companies to install onboard technology that would alert pilots to rapidly approaching objects below - such as buildings and mountains, to shorten the pilot work hours, and to require risk assessments of weather and flying conditions before taking off. The competition between firms for jobs can often lead to higher risks taking than higher safety standards. The NTSB also stated the status of the patient should not enter into the decision whether or not to fly - that decision should be based on risk assessments alone.
At that time the FAA stated it had no timetable for acting on the recommendations of the NTSB - some of which would require many of the steps the FAA had began to encourage.
The FAA stated the installation of the terrain-awareness equipment would be $30,000 but according to the president of the Association of Air Medical Services in 2006, it could cost as much as $250,000 per helicopter which costs about $2 million each. Gee, Frieda wonders how much the families of those killed in air ambulance crashes would value their loved one's lives. It would seem better to have less aircraft properly equipped to further insure the lives of the patients they are trying to save, than to risk the lives of all on board to save money. Even if the higher figure is correct, that would mean a company could properly equip 4 helicopters they already have instead of buying a new one and they run less risk of losing their current inventory and lives. Two years and how many lives have been lost due to the lack of mandates and no timetable from the FAA?
Found in USA TODAY - "Air-Ambulance Crashes Trigger FAA's Attention" Does this mean the FAA now has an idea of a timetable to act on recommendations made both in 2005 by a USA TODAY investigation and in early 2006 after the NTSB investigation? How many have lost their lives in these three years?
"The recent spate of accidents has the FAA's Full attention" stated a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration. FINALLY ! !
All the recent crashes are similar to a pattern that prompted the 2006 NTSB review - they were at night and in places where there was limited visibility and very little reference to a horizon, making the possibility of spatial disorientation a potential cause. The NTSB is monitoring all these recent investigations to see if they are indeed related to the recommendations make in 2006.
Feeling that most crashes are preventable, the recommendations made in 2006 were for better technology and new rules to force pilots to be more cautious - especially at night and in poor weather. The FAA states the new technology has been difficult to put into place - WHY??? - and none of the pilots was wearing night vision goggles.
Frieda wonders why we, the American people, are funding an agency designed to help keep us safe - it is called a Safety Board after all - and no one follows their recommendations - including the other agency that is designed to act on these recommendations and to mandate safety features, devices, and regulations. Perhaps this helicopter crash in Texas over the weekend will bring enough pressure on all the agencys and companies involved in this industry to make the needed safety changes - then these lives lost will not have been totally in vain.
Will Safety Recommendations Help Decrease Air Ambulance Crashes?
Category: Helicopter Crashes
The answer should be a strong "Yes" if recommendations to the industry and to the FAA were followed - but sadly the answer is "No" because the recommendations have seemingly fallen on deaf ears.
The Huntsville, Texas medical helicopter crash on Sunday is one of four since December 30, 2007 that have killed 13 people - 86 crashes between 2000 and 2005 in which 60 people died - more than double the number in the previous five years. Those crashes represent more than 10 percent of the US air ambulance helicopter flights! What's really scary is if this percentage is compared to commercial airline passenger jets, that would be 90 commercial crashes each year, according to a June 17, 2005 USA Today article.
Despite the surge in the number of crashes, however, air ambulance companies and the federal agency that oversees them failed time and again to take steps that might have averted tragedy and saved lives, a USA TODAY investigation shows. The investigation found that: #1. Lack of sufficient industry safeguards allowing pilots to ignore fundamental flight rules. #2. Federal regulations exempt helicopters from some of the most basic safety standards and equipment, including equipment to warn pilots they are too close to the ground even after several disoriented pilots have flown into the ground. #3. Government inspections of air ambulances are haphazard and inadequate - in three fatal crashes the year before, the FAA had never been to the bases for any inspections.
In 2000, the air ambulance trade group asked the FAA to push companies to emulate training used by airlines to minimize mistakes and also suggested the language for such a training program and sent it to the FAA's administrator at the time, Nothing was done by the FAA and it has no record of the recommendations.
Decades of improved training, oversight, and technology for commercial airlines have led to the safest commercial airline travel in the history of the industry. A lot of the changes were brought on due to pressure to tighten oversight of large airlines after the 1996 ValuJet crash and the Alaska Airlines jet crash in 2000 - does this mean without enough pressure, nothing gets done?
None of these improvements have been applied to the air ambulance industry such as training for poor visibility (although 2/3 of fatal crashes occur in these circumstances) and helicopters are not required by federal rules to carry data recorders which would help determine the cause of the crash and help to prevent future crashes.
Now, Frieda will admit wondering why one has to be mandated to do the right thing especially when common sense can dictate these precautions, and when lives are at stake. These passengers aren't choosing to fly as are commercial passengers - they are on what is supposed to be a life saving flight. A former flight director for an air ambulance company says the industry's and the government's failure to act is "almost criminal" - "someone needs to be uncomfortable and it's not the guy in the back of the helicopter."
Four Dead In Yet Another Medical Helicopter Crash
Category: Helicopter Crashes
On Sunday, June 8, word comes from Texas of another late-night/early morning medical helicopter crash - taking the lives of all four people on board - the patient, the pilot, a paramedic who was one day away from her 29th birthday, and a flight nurse.
The helicopter, a Bell 407 operated by Louisiana-based PHI Air Medical, departed Huntsville Memorial Hospital and was en route to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston when it crashed 10 miles from take off in the heavily wooded Sam Houston National Forest. The required 3:00 am contact from the helicopter was not received, initiating a search for the aircraft which was found by an on board global positioning system. The weather at the time of the crash was reported as clear and there were no distress signals from the chopper which was found to have been flying on the correct flight pattern and to have gone down in a straight line, hitting the tops of the tall pine trees and knocking them down.
The fact no calls of distress were made/heard and the crash took place shortly after take off, points to either a catastrophic mechanical or electrical failure or yet another controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). Regrettably, the latter, often caused by spatial disorientation at night or in poor weather, continues to plague the medical helicopter world. This crash in Huntsville on Sunday is one of four since December 30, 2007 that have killed 13 people and all have similar characteristics.
The NTSB states it will take up to 12 months before the results of this investigation is released. We will then know if there were any mechanical or electrical problems with the aircraft - which just hours earlier had saved a 2 year old from drowning. Unfortunately, unless there are some clear indications, the accident investigation will be forced to put the pieces back together, since the FAA still has not mandated Flight Data Recorders or Cockpit Voice Recorders on helicopters.
Rescue Helicopter Crashes in China
Category: Helicopter Crashes
China continues to struggle with challenges as it seeks to respond to the devastation from an earthquake on May 12 which left 15 million people homeless and heightened fears of epidemic outbreaks in the affected areas. An example of the lingering risks associated with this disaster, a military helicopter crashed while evacuating 10 injured residents from the earthquake region of Sichuan. The Russian-built helicopter had brought a team of military experts on disease outbreaks to the area and crashed after air-lifting the patients from the area, which is still suffering from aftershocks. The weather at the time has been reported as foggy with a lot of turbulence.
At this time there is no information on survivors or the cause of the crash.
Deadly Helicopter Crash in Michigan
Category: Helicopter Crashes
What started out as a routine flight in his newly purchased helicopter, ended tragically for 68 year old Larry Boven, a former businessman from Comstock Township, east of Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was killed on Friday when his Hiller FH 1100 helicopter crashed in the Chipman Preserve. A witness stated hearing the engine quit just before the crash and then called 911. Boven was an experienced helicopter pilot of many years and owned several other choppers, but had just purchased this helicopter on Thursday from a doctor in Wisconsin who reported he had never had a problem with the aircraft.
The Hiller FH1100 was originally designed as a military light observation helicopter and went into commercial production in 1966 - Boven's helicopter was built in 1970. There have been other accidents reported for the Fairchild Hiller (FH1100), according to the FAA registry, including one in 2003 in Fort Meyers, Florida, in which the pilot reported the engine lost power. Although the doctor in Wisconsin stated he had no problems with this aircraft, Newschannel 3 in Michigan discovered - according to federal crash records - a chopper matching the same identification number and model rolled over during a landing in Alaska 38 years ago causing substantial damage. It is not known if the Boven was aware of this history.
The FAA is investigating the crash.
Lack of Recommended Equipment Cause of Medical Helicopter Crash?
Category: Helicopter Crashes
In the last 10 years, 75 doctors, nurses, pilots, and patients have lost their lives as they risk their lives to get patients the medical help they need by transporting them to the nearest hospital from the scene if an accident or by transporting them to a more "needs appropriate" medical center.
This reality was brought home last week when a University of Madison (WI) Med Flight crew was killed when their helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff after transporting a patient from UW-Madison to another hospital. The crew had flown through a rainy night to make the trip - it is not known at this time if weather was a factor in the crash. Med Flights will be grounded until the FAA clears the remaining helicopter, which could affect some of the most critical patients.
According to the NTSB, this particular helicopter did not have two pieces of safety technology the agency has recommended to prevent crashes. The chopper was not equipped with a computerized voice system to warn of approaching terrain or night vision goggles for the pilot, according to a senior vice president at Denver-based Air Methods who leased the helicopter to the UW hospital. These recommendations were made in a 2006 report which came after the agency noted an increasing number of crashes involving medical helicopters and planes. The report suggested many fatal EMS flights could be prevented with the use of these two pieces of equipment - Federal regulators have not made these devices a requirement, but have encouraged voluntary installation by companies.
So we ask why aren't they used if they will increase safety and save lives? Frieda is absolutely sure she doesn't want to be on a live-saving medical flight only to be killed in a crash that could have been prevented if the proper equipment had been used. Part of the problem is the shortage of night vision goggles for non military use. OK, Frieda understands that one. Well, what about the Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems? It seems there's a long wait for the equipment and once installed, the crews have to be trained. Frieda believes these obstacles can be overcome if there was a sincere desire to do so and a real commitment to safety for these courageous men and women. According to CEO Aaron Todd of Air Methods:
He said he couldn't say whether the technology, which costs about $100,000 to install on each craft, could have prevented the crash.
Frieda's willing to bet the crew of the UW medical helicopter and their families would sure like to have had the chance to find out.
Medical Helicopter Crash in Wisconsin Kills 3
Category: Helicopter Crashes
A University of Wisconsin Hospital Med Flight crashed Saturday night after successfully transporting a patient to a LaCrosse Medical Center. The new American Eurocopter EC12 took off from LaCrosse at 10:30pm and there were no further communications from the crew.
Mark Hanson, the Med Flight director stated the pilot was flying visually - he wasn't sure why the pilot was not using his instruments. Mike Allen, senior vice president of hospital - based medical services for the Denver-based Air Methods, which leases the aircraft to the hospital said, it is "very common and acceptable" for pilots to use a visual flight plan. In this case, however, neither gentlemen knew how familiar the pilot was with flying in the LaCrosse area. Weather does not seen to have been a factor in the crash itself but rain and deteriorating conditions did limit the rescue search to the ground only. There were no witnesses to the crash.
Continue reading "Medical Helicopter Crash in Wisconsin Kills 3"
Helicopter Crashes in Alaska
Category: Helicopter Crashes
A 14 year old boy miraculously survived a helicopter crash and a night in the cold temperatures north of Anchorage Alaska. According to the NTSB, the chopper was carrying state Department of Administration technicians who were working on radio site maintenance and the pilot and the three passengers were killed.
The B2 Aerostar 352 went down in heavy snow on Tuesday and the bad weather prevented an immediate air search. On Wednesday morning a state trooper helicopter spotted the wreckage and Air National Guard jumpers rescued the 14 year old. Frieda wonders why a young boy was on board a government task oriented flight in the first place - is that allowed?
NC Helicopter Crash Preliminary Report
Category: Helicopter Crashes
The helicopter crash that killed a Wilmington, N.C. fire captain is under investigation. The chopper crashed shortly after take off and several witnesses report seeing the aircraft in trouble. "Spinning in the air", "it was coming down, crashed and exploded into flames", and "it sounded like the engine blew up" were some of the eyewitness description of the crash. The helicopter was a Robinson R22 built in 2000.
The pilot - a 17 year veteran of the Wilmington Fire Department - was off duty when the crash occurred. The FAA, NTSB, Robinson Helicopter, and Lycoming (the engine manufacturer), and the N.C. State Highway Patrol are all part of the investigation that has been able to locate all parts of the helicopter which have been moved to an undisclosed location for further study. Although it will be months before a final cause will be released by the NTSB, a preliminary report has been released. The investigation will look at three main area of concern - the possibility of pilot error, the functionality of the aircraft, and the weather at the time of the crash. There was initial speculation by a friend of the pilot stating this was a case of engine failure - which in a R22, "the pilot has about 1 -2 seconds to push a lever that drops the pitch of the blades or the helicopter will drop like a rock from the sky". There was also speculation of a malfunction of the tail rotor.
Neither the FAA nor the NTSB would not speculate on the cause at the time of the crash. However, in a report released on March 22, the NTSB's preliminary report states the pilot was trying to make a forced landing but because he was missing sections of rotor blades a safe landing was impossible. Witnesses state parts of the helicopter began to fly off the Robinson 22 as it was going down - these blades were later found in an adjacent field.
UN Helicopter Crashes - At Least 10 Dead
Category: Helicopter Crashes
Flying in bad weather in the mountains of Nepal proved too much for a UN helicopter - a Russian-made aircraft - carrying at least eight passengers and 3 crew members, all UN personnel. Although 10 bodies have been found at this time, there are conflicting reports of just how many were on board the ill fated helicopter.
The UN has been helping Nepal in it's peace process for the last couple of years since communist rebels gave up their armed revolt and joined the mainstream politics. The chopper was returning from a mission to monitor ceasefire violations and implementation of the peace agreement between the Nepal government and the Maoist rebels when it lost contact with the air traffic control in the capital of Katmandu. There are reports from the BBC the craft was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm and burst into flames
Following the Monday crash, only rescue units on foot could reach the site due to weather conditions and the hilly terrain. When the weather clears, rescue helicopters will be sent in to aid in the recovery efforts.
Helicopter Crash Kills Seven in Korea
Category: Helicopter Crashes
A UH-1H "Huey" helicopter crashed into a mountain east of Seoul on Wednesday killing all seven on board. The chopper was returning to base after transporting an emergency patient to a military hospital. Killed were the two pilots, two medical officers, and three soldiers - all South Korean army personnel - and all bodies have been recovered and were taken to military hospital
The UH-1H is a Vietnam War era chopper - proving itself to be a rugged aircraft which needed relatively little time for maintenance and was fully instrumented for night flights and in poor weather. Today they are used to transport troops and military equipment.
An investigation has begun to determine the cause of the crash.
South Padre Island Helicopter Crash Kills Three
Category: Helicopter Crashes
On Tuesday, February 5, a medical helicopter carrying two medics and the pilot en route to the Port Isabel Convention Center for a medical evacuation, crashed into the Laguna Madre killing all three on board. The chopper, part of the Valley AirCare emergency service, was on the 30 mile trip from Harlington when it aborted the landing on South Padre Island - possibly due the bad weather - and was returning to Harlington when it crashed.
The bodies of the paramedic and the flight nurse were found Tuesday night and the body of the pilot was found still strapped inside the wreckage on Wednesday morning. All three have been identified.
Almost 10 years ago another Valley AirCare helicopter crashed on the was to rescue a truck driver after his tractor-trailer overturned. All three on board were killed in that crash which destroyed all the aircrafts parts including the black box. After more than a year, investigators determined the cause was the pilot had continued flying despite bad weather conditions and low visibility.
The NTSB is in charge of the investigation and a memorial fund has been established for the families of the three men who lost their lives
NTSB Blames Maintenance for 2007 Helicopter Crash
Category: Helicopter Crashes
On Tuesday morning March 27, 2007, a Robinson R-44 helicopter passed over a helicopter crew chief working on a house in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL - he could tell something was wrong with the rotor - the system sounded in distressed. Seconds later the chopper hit a nearby beach and exploded into a fireball. The two people on board for the training flight were killed. The FAA requires additional certification for pilots who want to fly this helicopter partly because of the design characteristics of the rotors.
The NTSB believes poor maintenance is to blame for this crash that killed the 38 year old flight instructor and a 24 year old student. According to the NTSB, a crucial part of the flight control system was missing and that "attach hardware" was missing along with another component not being tight. A mechanic these things were a result of understaffing. Since the deaths of these two young people, Silver State which owned the helicopters has changed procedures to make sure there are more mechanics per shift, more thorough inspections and fewer interruptions. Frieda wonders why an enviornment for competent and thorough maintenance can't be standard operating procedure before two young people lost their lives unnecessarily.
NTSB Releases Rescue Helicopter Crash Report
Category: Helicopter Crashes
Green Bay, Wisconsin - On April 13, 2006, James Vincent, Jr. took off for a routine post - maintenance flight from the GRBC Rescue Heliport in Eagle III, a Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm BO 105LS A-3 air ambulance helicopter built in 1987. A few minutes later the chopper crashed in a field about 30 feet from the heliport, killing James, the only occupant.
According to a report by WBAY, a local Green Bay TV station, the NTSB has released the final report and determined the crash was an accident caused by "the control pedals inside the Eagle III backup were in the wrong position that day, making them ineffective when James Vincent took off."
The report is interesting in its conclusions, especially because it seems to cite no physical evidence in support of its theories. The thrust of its findings seem to be based on the fact that maintenance was performed on the anti-torque pedals but the report provides scant theory, let alone evidence, of exactly what maintenance was performed that actually caused the alleged restrictions in the pedals.
Many questions do remain. How did the pedals actually get jammed? Which pedal was jammed? Why couldn't it become unrestricted by pressing on the opposite pedal? What was done or not done that caused the problem? Where is the physical evidence of the problem? Were adequate operational and maintenance instructions issued? Was any part found to have malfunctioned or failed?
Answers to these questions are not found in the NTSB report.
And ultimately--did the NTSB get it right? Did something else cause this tragedy?
Florida Helicopter Crash Kills Two
Category: Helicopter Crashes
A four-seater Robinson R44 helicopter exploded after crashing onto a runway at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport a little after noon on Tuesday, killing the two people on board. According to eye witnesses,. "the chopper seemed to be practicing takeoffs and landings when it suddenly rose and flipped on its back, crashing onto the runway and exploding on impact". The cause of the crash is under investigation and officials are working to get positive identification on the two people killed in the crash.
Dade Collier Training & Transition Airport (TNT) has an interesting history. It is a huge, nearly abandoned modern airport that is called a true "white elephant". It was begun in 1968 as the Everglades Jetport and was planned to be the largest airport in the world with 6 runways and was to provide service for the Miami area by the US SST supersonic jet. The location was ideal - built far away from populated area to lessen the noise of the SST operations. Only one problem - before the airport was completed and operational, the US SST was canceled, thus eliminating the airfield's reason for being even though one runway ( measuring 10,500 feet) had already been built. Also, environmentalists, wanting to protect the ecosystem of the everglades, convinced government officials of the "unacceptable" harm an airport would bring to the region. It was also decided that removing the new runway would cause further environmental harm to the area so it remained and eventually opened for very limited use under the name of Dade Collier TNT. Before the day of flight simulators for training airline pilots, the crews had to be trained with actual airplane flights - Dade Collier was the perfect answer since there was no other traffic on the single runway. In 1996, there were still emergency personnel and equipment at the airfield because large passenger planes would go there for bounces to train pilots. With high tech flight simulators to train pilots at much less cost, the use of Dade Collier has diminished drastically - it's modern day purpose still undefined.
Three Die in Navy Helicopter Crash
The flat farmlands south of Corpus Christi, Texas is the sight of the deadly crash of a Navy helicopter on a training mission which killed three and injured one. The injured crew member is in critical condition in a hospital after the fiery crash. According to the Navy, it was foggy at the time of the crash near a 971 foot broadcast tower but authorities would not confirm speculation the MH-53 Sea Dragon hit the tower. According to a TV station executive, the tower beacon had been knocked off and parts of the antenna were on the ground - and a large piece of the chopper wreckage was found at the base of the tower.
The chopper was part of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 out of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. According to their Mission Statement, they "conduct mine hunting and mine sweeping operations using the MH-53E helicopter. From the air, crews place mine countermeasures equipment in the water to detect or destroy mines".
NTSB Releases Cause of Fatal Helicopter Crash
Category: Helicopter Crashes
On January 10, 2005, a Life Evac helicopter carrying a pilot and two others crashed into the Potomac River shortly after 11:00 p.m. The helicopter crash killed the pilot and the paramedic - the only survivor was the flight nurse.
In a preliminary report released in late January of that year, the NTSB said wake turbulence from another aircraft may have been a factor in the crash. Wake turbulence occurs when planes fly, they leave streams come off the wing tips and leave a wake of disturbed air. This disturbance remains in the area and continues to fall in altitude for some time after the aircraft has flown out of the area. A minute before the chopper crashed, a jet had flown over the Wilson Bridge - it was considered a possibility the helicopter had flown in the flight path of that jet.
After a thorough investigation of the helicopter crash, on December 21, 2007, the NTSB says the crash was likely caused by the "pilot's failure to identify and arrest the helicopter's descent". The report states "the pilot probably had been scanning the sky for a jet flying in the opposite direction and might not have been studying his instruments". The findings also discovered the radar altimeter onboard the chopper wasn't working before the crash.
Helicopter Crash Leads to Wedding Bells
Category: Helicopter Crashes
Oh, Frieda just loves stories like this - tragedy ends in romance. Although there was sadness for two families, there was a reunion and a happy ending for two other families.
It was two and a half years ago that Stacey was in her apartment and saw the smoke from a Sacramento sheriff's department helicopter crash. As she watched the news of the tragic crash, she was surprised to see the name of the only survivor - it was Eric, someone she had known a long time ago. Eric had played soccer with her brother, their families had been very close, but as often happens they has lost touch over the years.
Stacey and her family visited Eric in the hospital as he was recovering form life threatening injuries - but Eric doesn't remember the visits or much of anything about the days following the crash. They had a brief introduction several months later, but neither one of them remembers much about that either. However, Eric definitely remembers emailing her a year later - he knew exactly what he was doing - and now, after his miraculous recovery, they're planning their wedding.
"I don't want to sound too corny, but she's perfect," said Eric, 31. "How something so (wonderful) could come out of something so horrible - it's just amazing."
In this silver lining was found a golden wedding band.
Forrest Sawyer Injured in Helicopter Crash
Category: Helicopter Crashes
U. S. news anchor Forrest Sawyer suffered a broken hip when the helicopter he was in crashed into Lake Natron in Tanzania. The pilot suffered a broken leg.
Sawyer is best known as a former broadcast journalist with ABC News for 11 years before leaving to go to NBC as a new anchor. In 2005 he left the broadcast networks to become founder and president of Freefall Productions when he produces documentaries and serves as media strategist and guest lecturer. He was on an assignment for the Travel Channel when the crash occurred. Sawyer is quoted as saying, "I've been in a lot of strange situations. But I'd never come as remotely close to dying as this." No one sustained life threatening injuries in the crash. Pat Younge, president of the Travel Channel acknowledges the heroism of the production crew and Sawyer, for helping to get all the passengers out of the crashed helicopter and safely onto shore.
Helicopter Crash Found In Alaska
Category: Helicopter Crashes
Crews have searched Prince William Sound for a Eurocopter BK 117 medical helicopter that vanished on Monday, December 5. The search ended Saturday when searchers discoverd the aircraft and the body of the flight nurse. The pilot, paramedic, and patient are still missing. The aircraft was transporting the patient from Cordova to an Anchorage hospital when it disappeared in blowing snow with winds at 25 mph and gusts around 50 mph. At the time of the flight, the National Weather Service had issued advisories alerting pilots about the turbulence and low visibility.
According to McHugh Pierre, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs - "We are going to assume there are survivors" citing warm weather as favorable to survival.
NTSB Reports On Helicopter Crash
Category: Helicopter Crashes
The NTSB has stated in a preliminary report the California Highway Patrol Eurocopter AS350 crash in July is likely the result of a training exercise gone awry. The investigator for the NTSB stated the certified flight instructor turned off the hydraulics to demonstrate an emergency flight maneuver, then he started having trouble controlling the cyclic, which maneuvers the main rotors. According to the report, the flight instructor had asked the commercial pilot seated in the right seat to turn the hydraulics back on then they increased air speed and tried to climb in an attempt to fly out of the spin. The instructor said he has performed this maneuver regularly and has never had any problem - he speculates the other pilot did not restore the hydraulics during the accident sequence.
Neither men were injured in the helicopter crash.
Black Hawk Helicopter Crashes In Italy
Category: Helicopter Crashes
The bank of the Piave river in northern Italy was the site of Thursday's crash of a U. S. Black Hawk helicopter carrying 10 U.S military personnel. A Reuters report states four were killed in this crash and six have been injured. The chopper was a single-rotor Black Hawk with four blades on a training exercise. No details on the cause of the crash have been released and a press officer at the U. S. embassy in Rome had no additional information.
The somewhat legendary Sikorsky Black Hawk is the first choice for military operations worldwide. More than 3000 Black Hawks and its derivatives have accumulated more than 6.5 million flight hours for the U.S military and international customers and now serves in 27 governments. It's range of missions is diverse - including combat assault, peacekeeping, border control, drug interdiction, disaster relief, and medical evacuation.
Helicopter Crashes, Plane Crash Kill 10 in Sao Paulo
Within two hours, three helicopters crashed in or around Sao Paulo, killing three and injuring five. The first helicopter was carrying four people when it crashed into a main thoroughfare killing a woman and child immediately - the pilot died later in a local hospital. About twenty minutes later, a second chopper went down on a golf course, injuring its two passengers. The third helicopter crashed less than two hours later - the three on board survived, but were critically injured.
Sao Paulo is Latin America's biggest and most populous city in the southern hemisphere is located in the southeastern part of Brazil. With a population of over 11,000,000 in just 588 sq, miles, it's usually very "traffic choked" so it's easy to see why using a helicopter is the favored mode of transportation - being known for it's very large helicopter fleet.
These helicopter crashes follow a deadly plane crash on Sunday which killed 8 people and completely destroyed four single family homes in Sao Paulo. The Learjet 35A, owned by Reali Taxi Aereo, crashed into a heavily populated neighborhood not long after taking off from a small airport in Sao Paulo bound for Rio de Janeiro. The cause of the crash is not yet known
Helicopters Back On Job After Deadly Mid-Air
Three months ago on July 27, helicopters from all five Phoenix television stations were following a low speed police chase on the ground when one chopper flew into another, causing both to crash killing their pilots and photojournalists. Since that incident, there has been a rethinking of procedures involving television pilots - mainly allowing pilots to double as reporters (instead of giving their full concentration to flying the craft) and the lack of rules requiring minimum space between crafts.
It amazes Frieda that 4 men have to die before a dangerous situation is examined and common sense precautions are considered and, hopefully, put into place. Does this mean "they" had no idea of the hazards prior to the helicopters midair/crash or that "chomping at the bit" to be the first to report news is more important that safety?
Continue reading "Helicopters Back On Job After Deadly Mid-Air"
Military Helicopter Crashes in Alabama
Category: Helicopter Crashes
Not much is officially known at this time about the crash of a U.S. military helicopter that crashed in Alabama, killing three. The TVA and the Redstone Arsenal, which managed the Army's helicopter fleet, were on their way to the crash site on Wednesday to investigate.
We do know the helicopter was based at Fort Campbell, KY, home to the 101st Airbourne Division. The base has not released the names of the victims nor the type of chopper involved. The area did have fog at the time of the crash, but it has not been determined if it could have been the cause or if the aircraft actually hit a high voltage power line connecting a generating plant with a substation near Huntsville as has been speculated. Due to maintenance, the lines were not carrying power at the time of the incident and the fog was so dense an air ambulance was unable to fly to the site - all we know is something went terribly wrong during this training mission from Fort Campbell to Chattanooga Municipal Airport.
One source states this was a UH-60 Blackhawk with three soldiers on board. Hopefully the investigators from Fort Campbell and Fort Rucker (Alabama) will be able to determine the cause of this disaster and the findings of this investigation will result in safer flight practices for our soldiers here at home and abroad.
Hawaiian Helicopter Crashes Still Under Investigation
Category: Helicopter Crashes
It has been six months since the two fatal sight-seeing tour helicopters crashed in Hawaii killing five and injuring seven and the answers to what happened could be as long as a year away.
Although the NTSB will give the final accident report, the FAA has done its own investigation which studies the aircraft's worthiness of flight, pilot competence, adequacy of FAA regulations, and the performance of air traffic control. None of these investigations has led to any additional regulations or modifications of the existing regulations in heli tour operations. The latest regulation of requiring pontoons of life jackets on all air tours in Hawaii for single engine helicopters that go further than the shore of any island was put in place in February before these crashes occurred.
No deadline has been set by the NTSB for the conclusion of their investigation - probable cause reports have been known to take up to three years. Frieda hopes the NTSB doesn't take this long. Their findings could prevent other helicopter crashes both in Hawaii and industry wide.
Deadliest Helicopter Crashes in Iraq
Category: Helicopter Crashes
This list starts with March 2003 and ends with the most recent crash at the time of this writing. As you read the following, remember each one of these lives has a story to tell - of goals, dreams, and a future that will never be theirs.
~ March 30, 2003: A Boeing Vertol Sea Knight crashed, killing twelve - including and four American Marines. No hostile fire reported.
~ November 2, 2003: A Boeing Chinook transport shot down, killing all 15 aboard.
~ November 15, 2003: Two Black Hawks collided and crashed (during an attack), killing 17 soldiers.
~ January 26, 2005: A Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion transport crashed in a sandstorm, killing 30 Marines and 1 sailor.
~ April 21, 2005: A Bulgarian MI-8 was shot down killing 11 people including 6 Americans.
~ January 7, 2006: A Black Hawk crashed killing 12 Americans - eight soldiers and 4 civilians.
~ January 20, 2007: A Black Hawk crashed, killing all 12 American soldiers on board.
~ August 22, 2007: A Black Hawk crashed, killing all 14 American soldiers on board. No hostile fire suspected.
Black Hawk Helicopter Crashes in Iraq
Category: Helicopter Crashes
In an article written in March of this year, Frieda addressed the issue of too many helicopters crashing in Iraq. Due to the number of helicopters and men lost in the war it was stated " the U.S. would rethink the strategy of using helicopters in Iraq". Well, it would seem they are still thinking, because we recently lost a another Blackhawk and all 14 men on board - the deadliest crash since January 2005. The men had just been picked up after a mission when the crash occurred - enemy fire is not suspected.
One of those solders was 30 year old Matthew Tallman who leaves a wife and two children behind. Specialist Tallman had been poised for the promotion he wanted to help guide young people just entering the service. This serviceman didn't live to see that promotion - he became Sergeant Tillman after his death.
Responsibility For News Helicopter Collision And Crash
Category: Helicopter Crashes
Flowers, cards, and candles can be found in the park where two news helicopters crashed after colliding in air while covering a news story. These gifts are tributes to the four victims - two pilots and two cameramen - who lost their lives in the Phoenix tragedy. The NTSB has the wreckage at another location in the Phoenix area where they are conducting a detailed examination and plan to issue a preliminary report in a few days followed by the full report within nine months. Luckily no one on the ground was injured and no property was destroyed even though there were several hi-rise buildings in the area as well as a VA hospital.
The helicopters were following a police chase of a stolen white truck. The suspect eventually abandoned the white truck and was eventually caught by police. He has been booked on counts of assault, theft, and resisting arrest and may also be charged in connection with the helicopter deaths.
Now, Frieda agrees this is one of the deadliest news helicopter crashes and four good men are dead, but she doesn't understand how the suspect can be held accountable. Isn't that like saying the two professional football teams in a Super Bowl are responsible if the Good Year Blimp and the ESPN helicopter collide over the stadium while the game is in progress? You're thinking "that's ridiculous," right? It is - and so it this.
Continue reading "Responsibility For News Helicopter Collision And Crash"
Helicopter Crash Wreckage Inspection
Category: Helicopter Crashes
Recently Frieda had the privilege of being invited to observe a visual and nondestructive wreckage inspection of a helicopter which had been involved in a fatal crash. Her interest in the methodology used to determine the cause of an aircraft crash has heightened considerably since writing this blog - reporting on NTSB findings and reading the results of its investigation. It has amazed her - and still does - how investigators take pieces of what was once a whole functioning aircraft, reassemble it, and say, "this is probably what happened". So, on the day of the inspection Frieda was excited, nervous, not at all sure what to expect, and thinking, "just how long can one look at a mangled helicopter and what can it tell us".
Navy Helicopter Crashes - Five Dead
Category: Helicopter Crashes
NAS Fallon base spokesman, Zip Upham, is calling the death toll "the worst in recent memory at the Naval Air Station". He is referring to the deadly crash of a Navy SH-60F helicopter on May 8, in a area described as "rugged and remote" near Austin, Nevada. All five servicemen aboard were killed.
Pilot Avoids Helicopter Crash on Maui
Pilot Avoids Helicopter Crash on Maui
Another tour helicopter was in trouble on the island of Maui when it had to make a "hard landing" just off the runway with six passengers and the pilot on board. The pilot had reported tail rotor trouble. At this time we don't know exactly what kind of trouble the chopper was having - an investigation has started - the good news is no one was hurt in