Mountain Crash - NZ

[Te_Kahu]

Reports coming through on my vine of an H369 crashing in the vicinity of the Crater Lake, Mt Ruapehu this evening. So far I've been told that five people have suffered minor injuries - possibly four conservation workers and the pilot.

For those who don't know Mt Ruapehu is a volcanic cone in the central North Island. (It is only moderately active from time to time) The crater lake is at an altitude of + 9,000'

TK

[Semi Rigid]

Helistar operating from Huka Falls Lake Taupo crashed a H500C at the crater lake on Mt Ruapehu yesterday afternoon.Mt Ruapehu being the North Island's highest peak. Why would you be up there with 2 pilots and 3 Department of Conservation workers on board?
That's what I heard! 2 pilot's on board. Very very lucky people to get away with only minoe cuts & dings & other nasty things like broken ankles & busted rib cages.Jeeze how no one drowned in that (suspected) bottomless sulphur lake at the top I guess we will never know.Mt Ruapehu is an active volcanoe so wouldn't it be a bugger to survive a hecktopleter crash only to be blown to smitherines by a mountain 'burp'.
On ya Pete Masters.Ever the humble professional.Hauled so many people out of the crap that it beggar's belief.Kudos to you.:D

[Scissorlink]

Lets say the machine weighs 1300 pounds, 5 pax at standard weight is 900 pounds, 50 pounds of gear, maybe 200 pounds gas...thats a weight of 2450 pounds...this would put the machine at 50-100 pound under MAUW, Anyone got a C model manual to look for max IGE hover at that weight ? Or even give the pilot benefit of the doubt and make it 2300 pounds ? Be interesting to know


SL

[ems300]

add in a nice and warm day as well!!!:rolleyes:

Still they are all lucky they survived and thats the main thing really, well done to the pilot for putting it down where he did once he realiased it wasn't going to make it,:D :ok:

[Ding Dong]

I am glad that all are ok(ish) ..

But.. tell me more about mountain burps!?

[sir.pratt]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10415006


http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/waikatotimes/0,2106,3897527a6579,00.html

search 'mt ruapehu eruption' in google images for pics of what it looks like before and after a mountain burp....

and it erupts from under the lake

[Steve76]

Yeah and he might have had an engine failure too guys. Why the assumption he was hovering or trying to land?
HUET wouldn't help you in that lake - you might swim out but I bet the lung full of water would get you in the end.

[sir.pratt]

not knowing anything about the crash, but knowing plenty about the lie of the land up there, it is common for DOC workers to be picked up/dropped off by chopper from the emergency shelter (about 150-200' above the lake level), the only direction to go to climb away from rising ground, unless you have picked up on the top of the whakapapa glacier, is towards the lake. winds do funny things when they find a sudden blockage at 10000', and the rotoring coming over Turoa and over the summit ridge, could easily catch someone out. mauw (or near to), high altitude (it's easy to 'forget' you're at 10000' when the ground is 50 ft below you), unfavourable winds.....

[feelerup]

quote from NZ Herald:

" Mr Taylor was sitting on the floor of the helicopter with a Helistar staff member who was responsible for refuelling . The other two passengers were strapped in at the front , alongside the pilot ."

Almost without a doubt overloaded at 9000' and with pax sitting on the floor ! glad its not me as there are sure to be repercussions.

[Te_Kahu]

I am led to believe that the machine, ZK-HDJ, had a five POB and two large packs on board. The pilot took off from the Eastern lip of the crater and attempted to fly across the crater lake. There is a drop from that lip down to the lake and it would seem that all he was able to manage was a semi-controlled decent to the edge of the lake.

One W&B calc that was relayed to me yesterday suggested a C model in those conditions and estimated weight would have had IGE @ a little over 4,000 ft. They were at 9,000 ft :uhoh:

TK

[Scissorlink]

Not good

SL

[Semi Rigid]

What a callous disregard for the souls on board this "pilot" has displayed. I hope the New Zealand CAA have their longest & sharpest ivories inserted when they eventually decide to hang draw and quarter this geezer in public.
I cannot belive The Dominion Post were hailing pilot Lilburn a hero on the front page yesterday.

[Scissorlink]

CAA using long and sharp Ivories ??? thought they only use those when an operator forgets to update a manual or has not written on the white board when a pilots medical is due :=

SL

[The Raven Flyer]

From reading the news reports about this accident,

The pilot did his duty to make sure everone was accounted for & accessed injurys incured before making an attempt to seek help.
Must have been a bloody painful walk out of the crater .

Hats off to Pete Masters ,a very experienced & well respected pilot who pulled the rest of the passengers out to safety.

I hope that the pilot and passengers have a speedy recovery for the injurys incurred

I dont think the Liburn should be hailed a hero for what he did as quoted by the Lion foundation rescue helicopter Pilot Dan Hardcourt, anyother kiwi pilot with similar injurys would have done the same.

I would have toagree with what Pete Masters has said,Pilot error with the Aircraft to heavy for the altitude & the possibility of mis judging the wind.

No rear seats/seat belts for PAXs,there may be some issues here with the CAA about continuation of Helistars AOC

Hopefully will the true finding will eventuate with CAA to prevent type of accident this from happening again

Raven

[Semi Rigid]

No seats or seat belts in the back of the machine?
DOC need their heads read. I wonder Keith McKenzie thinks about this accident.
Pilot crashed an uninsured jetranger onto the helipad at Huka Falls base returning from a local spin with the spray painter on board who had just finished a new paint job on it. In the aviation safety magazine, Vector, the accident report stated that the pilot was 56 years old or some age similar which would mean that his father (owner of the jetranger) must have taken the fall for that accident to keep his son's record clean.:=

[Te_Kahu]

SR

Keith is absolutely disgusted about the whole episode.

Those of you who know him can probaby guess he may have even said it in stronger language than that. :O

TK

[The Raven Flyer]

No seats and seat belts for rear paxs.

If this is fact,
Heli Star is not a setting good example for an Air Transport operator.
I hope the CAA act accordingly.

[Te_Kahu]

I understand Mr Lilburn has since rolled up another machine. Maybe there is a message staring this young fella right in the face.

Helicopter overloaded, crash report finds
New 2:16PM Wednesday Jan 21, 2009

An investigation into the crash-landing of a helicopter on Mt Ruapehu's crater lake in 2006 has found its load was nearly 20kg too heavy and the pilot had insufficient mountain flying experience.

Taupo pilot Bruce Lilburn and his four passengers were injured when the Hughes 500 they were travelling in went down on the northern edge of the lake.

Lilburn had picked up two Department of Conservation (DOC) officers who had been doing routine work near the crater lake.

He took with him his loader driver from an earlier job and another DOC worker.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) report said one worker questioned whether the helicopter would handle five people and Lilburn responded that they would "see how it goes", or words to that effect.

The pilot did not ask for the weight of any passengers or their packs, although he helped load them on to the helicopter.

Take-off was normal but as soon as the helicopter started moving forward it stopped climbing and he knew something was wrong.

The helicopter hit the water, throwing both front-seat passengers from it. Another worker was submerged but escaped through an open rear door.

Lilburn broke his ankle and one passenger fractured neck vertebrae.

The TAIC report said the take-off weight was estimated to be 18kg over the maximum allowable, and the pilot did not have the mountain flying experience and knowledge of the helicopter's performance necessary for him to undertake the flight safely.

Although the pilot's options for dealing with the load problem were reduced by the two unnecessary passengers, the report said he could have returned them to the park before picking up the remaining workers.

The report made mention of two passengers who had not been wearing seatbelts, saying their injuries would not have been as severe if they had worn restraints.

No technical defect was found with the helicopter, although damage caused by the accident meant the possibility of reduced engine performance could not be ruled out.

TAIC made several safety recommendations to the Director of Civil Aviation which included a closer examination of how pilots were trained and how well the industry was complying with Civil Aviation Authority rules.

It also recommended the need for life jackets on flights where a forced landing on water was possible be addressed, and said a culture of non-compliance where seat restraints were concerned be examined.

Following the accident, Lilburn was hailed a hero after he trekked for an hour with a broken foot to get help for his four injured passengers.

Using an ice-axe, he scaled a near-vertical 30 metre eroding ice shelf above the crash site, and then made his way down the mountain.

However, in December Lilburn was committed for trial over the incident after a charge of operating an aircraft in a manner causing unnecessary danger was laid under the Civil Aviation Act .

He was remanded at large for callover in the Rotorua High Court on March 4.

- NZPA