Hangar crash Jandakot

[VH-XXX]

A HELICOPTER has crashed into a hangar while taking off at Perth's Jandakot Airport.
Police say no one's been injured, but the helicopter is on its side and leaking fuel.
Emergency services are at the airport in Perth's south.

Two people have survived a helicopter crash at Jandakot Airport.
Police say the pilot lost control of the machine during take off and the helicopter hit a hangar before landing on its side.
The pilot and a passenger escaped and a spokesman for St John Ambulance says they have minor injuries.
Emergency service personnel are at the scene to clean up fuel leaking from the helicopter.


ABC Perth (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/30/2997006.htm?site=perth)

[imabell]

forgot to turn on hydraulics


http://www.bluetonguehelicopters.com.au/pprune/nohyd.jpg

[Squeaks]

http://l.yimg.com/ea/img/-/100830/300810genchopper3-167m0a9.jpg

The pilot of a helicopter which crashed at jandakot airport this morning said he feared it would burst into flames, killing him and his passenger.

Dick Stookes said he and a friend had been set to fly to a mate's outback station near Newman about 7am when the accident occurred.

Mr Stookes, who along with his male passenger suffered only minor injuries, said that immediately after take off he realised the Robinson R44 helicopter's hydraulics were not switched on.

With the helicopter about 1.5m off the ground he decided to land but the helicopter tipped forward slightly, clipped a hangar and crashed on to its side.

Mr Stookes said he feared for his life.

"I was concerned it was going to ignite," he said. "We were strapped in which means you cannot get free quickly so if there is a fire then you are in trouble."

Mr Stookes said he felt "extremely lucky".

He had been fielding phone calls this morning from concerned family and friends.

"I am feeling well now," he said. "I am ashamed that the helicopter is wrecked but to be alive is more important".

Emergency crews used an absorbent to clean up 250 litres of aviation gas and hydraulic fluid leaking from the black R44's roof.

A police spokesman said the AR Stookes Pty Ltd-owned aircraft crashed about 7am, landing on its side near a hangar.

The West Australian, with video report (http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/mp/7844693/chopper-crashes-at-jandakot/)


http://images.watoday.com.au/2010/08/30/1867769/article-chopper-420x0.jpg

[industry insider]

Surely (I have never been in any Robinson) it must be possible to fly an R44 without hydraulics? If you can fly a 206, Bell 47 or 350 without hydraulics, a Robbie can't be that hard....or can it?

A checklist may have been useful here as may a sensible distance between aircraft and hangar during take off.

[pdoyle]

When will they learn. always read the bloody checklist. Several friends on 777s and 74s and they are 10.000hr plus pilots and guess what Checklists. And yes you can fly a 44 without HD in, if you cant you shouldn,t be in the machine. GLAD TO HEAR THE GUYS ARE FINE THOUGH BUT HOPEFULLY LESSON LEARNED. if any low timers are reading this if your instructor starts a machine without a checklist he/she will eventually miss something thats the nature of the human being. Its there for a reason the photos prove why

[topendtorque]

He is extremely lucky, he really would have been lampooned had he crashed next door to a shoolyard full of children instead of a mundane looking fleet of trucks which look suspiciously as if they may contain high octane aviation fuel.

Perhaps the airport authority should re zone sections of the airport where there are suspicious looking helicopter pilots to have them engage their activities inside protective earth bunds which would contain all sorts of inadvertant liquid run off??:ugh:

tet

ps
Just maybe the hyd off was a lazy man's cyclic lock whilst messing around with other things, instead of just overlooking the check list. know of a couple of blokes killed because of that. M/R blade contact with cranium.

[Tarman]

If he was 1.5 metres off the ground when he noticed, then why didn't he just switch them on ? The switch is on the cyclic !

[Fareastdriver]

Mr Stookes, who along with his male passenger suffered only minor injuries, said that immediately after take off he realised the Robinson R44 helicopter's hydraulics were not switched on.


That statement should keep the insurance company happy.

[Nubian]

Same thing happened in South-Africa(net-star I think) a while back, but as far as I can remember ended worse for the occupants.

[delta3]

Happened to me a few years ago, a passenger had somehow thrown the switch. Took me quite a while to figure out what the hack was happening.

This is the same as with other basic emergency training : you "learn" the recovery techniques, but not (sufficiently) the diagnosis!

But then again creating "surprises" in training could be dangerously surprising....

m2c, d3

[ReverseFlight]

R44 hydraulics off training in flight and hover to land were both taught in my endorsement training. However, it was probably nerves which threw the pilot when he'd realised he'd done something wrong. Checklists would probably not have helped (yes, he did land the aircraft immediately) - a cool mind would have been much more useful to handle one of those beasts.

[industry insider]

Reverse, I meant a pre take off checklist, not an EOP or Abnormal one!!

[Epiphany]

The before take off checks are the most important ones. If you do nothing else make sure you do these.

[rotorboater]

Emergency crews used an absorbent to clean up 250 litres of aviation gas and hydraulic fluid leaking from the black R44's roof.

Do the press ever check any figures, it would be rather overweight with 250lts avgas!

[ReverseFlight]

insider & Epiphany, I appreciate the pre-takeoff checklists are important. We have no evidence yet whether the pilot used a pre-takeoff checklist. Even if he did, some intervening event could have disturbed his flow. I once flew with an experienced instructor who went through his entire Raven II checklist, expect he'd forgotten the very first item - secure seatbelt ! Imagine his embarrassment when another pilot in a Cessna nearby kept pointing to the buckle hanging out side his door.

I think pilots are not trained enough on the "what if" sceanarios and they haven't a clue what to do if something unexpected crops up. As Tarman pointed out, he could have just switched it back on whilst in the hover.

[Soave_Pilot]

Robbos pilots tend to forget about the check list, or just ignore them...:=:=

[dragman]

The age old arguement of the pre-take off check list for VFR flight. It's a bit type relative really - especially on ATO/CTOs. The passenger's fingernails are already missing after they realise they are flying in a 44. Imagine the consolidation of fear when their pilot (whom is far too young as far as they are concerned) pulls out the pre-start checklist.

[BHenderson]

Would the collective not be a tad heavy? You don't need a checklist to realise that.

[Epiphany]

Dragman,

I am not talking about a pre-start checklist. If you can't start the machine without a checklist then you shouldn't be flying. It is the checklist before you pull collective that is the important one - even in simple types like the R22. The pre-take off checks.

Are the doors closed? Are there any warning lights? Are the hydraulics on? Is it clear left and right? Not rocket science but could have prevented this and many more accidents.

I have the luxury of a company checklist and a co-pilot but pre-take off checks can be done without either and should be done by everyone regardless of type.

[heliduck]

Good habits are just as important as a checklist as you tend to carry them out without thinking about it. For example, I wobble the cyclic in a small "X" pattern before I pull pitch in any machine to check for free & easy movement, & the result is I have never taken off with the hydraulics off or the frictions on. I don't even realise I'm doing it most of the time, it just happens. Unfortunately habits take time to develop into subconscious actions, so the use of a checklist is critical to the development of habits. I agree that pulling out the hard copy checklist & working through it can be unsettling for some passengers which is why learning a pattern for your checks & practicing it until it becomes habit is so important. I don't use a hard copy in day to day operations, but I do pull it out occassionally when I'm on my own & work through it just to make sure that I haven't forgotten anything while developing my habitual checks.
The other option is to crash a machine because the hydraulics were switched off, I guarantee you'll remember to check them next time!!


There are no new ways to crash a helicopter, we just keep repeating the same mistakes others have made before us.

[Soave_Pilot]

As I learned from a fellow ppruner, I always do a FISH procedure before take off now

FUEL, FLOATS, FRICTION CHECK
INTRUMENTS GREEN
SWITCHES ON
HARNESS, HYDRAULICS ON

:ok:

[industry insider]

The point remains Reverse that had he used a pre take off checklist and presumably not missed any items (how long and hard can a Robbo checklist be?) he would not have threatened lives. In this case, it was just hurt pride and a written off R44 luckily.

[Soave_Pilot]

I know a pilot who flew a R44 into the hangar because he didn't want to leave it outside overnight... Oh well, I guess i dont have to tell you what happened to the poor Helo. The guy didnt die, and the insurance laughed at his face.
Some ppl are just too dumb to be pilots.:=

[206Fan]

I know a pilot who flew a R44 into the hangar because he didn't want to leave it outside overnight

Now Ive heard it all.

[Wiley Coyote]

All seems well now, the R44 is a write off. No insurance :(
However the owner is flying his new R44 .....watch this space !:ugh:

[Infern0]

Checklist or not, I'm surprised he got it off the ground without realizing the hydraulics were off. In my experience, raising the collective with hydraulics off is very difficult (heavy). That would be the first indication. He should have also felt it in the cyclic prior to liftoff while he was finding the center point. This just seems fishy to me.... And yes, checklists are very important. I always use them, and I constantly have to remind students to use them. It's rather frustrating when your 50 hour CPL student seems to think he knows it all....

[Wiley Coyote]

.....or the 65y.o. pilot doesn't know the difference :)

[Peter-RB]

Sounds like the Pilot hadn't selected the right gear,...........that is for his brain,
The last time I flew in the R44 the Hyd off was a very muscly effort, on going light and finding his centre point he must have felt the lack of Hyd assistance ,....if not, the lack of engaged grey matter speaks volumes.!

PeterR-B

[McGowan]

I no long fly the R44 type, but I was wondering if the shut down includes turning the hydraulics off. If not, why were they off for the start?

The only hydraulic R44 I've been in was when they first arrived in Australia and then I was surprised that the hydraulic switch was on the cyclic amongst the radio transmit and frequency change switch.

[toptobottom]

Soave Pilot:
Robbos pilots tend to forget about the check list, or just ignore them...:=:=


That's a rather naive and prococative statement :=. Why do you say that? What evidence is there that Robbo drivers ignore check lists proportionally more than any other? Familiarity breeds contempt, regardless of type, but I find odd with this is that even if the pilot had forgotten to check that the HYD switch was ON, he would have surely felt the difference before lifting :confused:

[topendtorque]

Me thinks hydraulics had nothing to do with it.

Had they been off and he picked up a bit nose heavy, (he was fairly well loaded which always gives a nose low attitude in those rockets) he would have been travelling forward before he hit the roof, albeit just thinking about and trying to wrestle said cyclic aft, he would have gone further into the shed and ended up almost inside the hangar.

The real story might be this; The machine was parked too close he jerked it off the ground, realized just before he hit that he was too close, got the cyclic aft to give a rearward travel / attitude but too late, hit the roof and ended up outside the shed.

time to cut the comedy on this one i reckon.

[lelebebbel]

@McGowan:
The hydraulics are on at all times in R44 I/IIs, except for a quick hydraulics check during startup. The pilot might have forgotten to reactivate the hydraulics after this check. The switch is on the cyclic, but unlikely to be activated by accident.