Heavilift 206 missing in PNG

[TWT]

Aussies, Kiwi missing in PNG helicopter | thetelegraph.com.au (http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/aussies-kiwi-missing-in-png-helicopter/story-e6freuy9-1226419665828)

A helicopter carrying two Australians and a New Zealander has gone missing in Papua New Guinea.

THE Bell 206 helicopter, operated by Hevilift Ltd, went missing on Friday afternoon near Mt Hagen in the PNG Southern Highlands.

There were two Australians and one New Zealander on board, all Hevilift employees, the company said.

"An immediate air search was initiated by Hevilift, with all available aircraft" continuing the search on Saturday morning, the company said in a statement

The company said it was in contact with the families of the employees.

Hevilift Group Managing Director, Paul Booij, is on his way to Mt Hagen.

Comment is being sought from PNG's Civil Aviation and Safety Authority (CASA).

[catseye]

Liam Fox, ABC corro in Mosbi was on the QLD ABC this evening. In short two pilots and an engineer in B206. Distress call 5 mins after takeoff. One specialist australian acft deployed. Went missing on friday afternoon.

[John55555]

Who was on board?

[Glide Landing]

My sister-in-law's son. No hard news yet.

[blackhand]

We wait and we pray, its the nature of the beast.

[xxxchopperpilot]

can someone please advise those onboard, initials would suffice. Something please.

[Nigel Osborn]

Not looking good, mayday call, low cloud, trees, mountains needing to refuel. No signals picked during search today. Fingers crossed.

[Helo wife]

Australians on board helicopter missing in PNG - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-07/australians-on-board-helicopter-missing-in-png/4116148)

Yaqub Amaki from PNG's Civil Aviation Safety Authority says the chopper was flying near Mt Hagen.

"It was coming in from InterOil, one of the sites into Hagen and halfway through Hagen it actually went down and at the moment we don't know the status of the three," he said.

Very anxious time.

[tail wheel]

Aussies, Kiwi on missing chopper in PNG (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8495585/aussies-kiwi-missing-in-png-helicopter)

Rescuers are continuing to search for the wreckage of the missing Bell 206 chopper, operated by Hevilift Ltd, which went missing on Friday afternoon near Mt Hagen.

PNG aviation officials said the chopper was thought to have gone down at Kikori, a densely wooded and oil-rich settlement at the head of the Gulf of Papua, but they were yet to find any wreckage and could not confirm fatalities.

"near Mt Hagen" or "at Kikori"? They are a long way apart and a lot of tiger country in between..........

[technoprat]

I've got my fingers crossed for you guys.

[EMS R22]

Not good hope the news is good. Can anyone PM me if they no the kiwi who was on board please.

[gulliBell]

can someone please advise those onboard, initials would suffice. Something please.

The Company or family will release those details when appropriate. The pilot was very experienced, has been with the company in PNG for a long time. Evidently he was on his last tour prior to moving on elsewhere in the organization.

It is difficult country but I'm sure no effort will be spared in the search.

[krypton_john]

Satellite tracking should be mandatory in such remote environments.

[BigMike]

"Satellite tracking should be mandatory in such remote environments"

Satellite tracking is already used by most operators in PNG, not sure if this aircraft was equipped with it.

Recent B105 crash might not have been found had it not had a tracking system onboard.

[skidbiter2]

Agreed !
It's a good piece of mind to have that equipment on board, especially in this place, the trees swallow up everything!


And, no, the Hevilift 206's don't have tracking, everything else does but tough luck if you are in a 206.

[pohm1]

Fingers crossed they're safe.

P1

Link (http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/south-pacific/7240459/No-sign-of-missing-Kiwi-helicopter)

The New Zealander who was with two Australians when the helicopter they were on went missing in Papua New Guinea's highlands has been named as Antony Annan.

Charter company Hevilift Ltd tonight released the name of the 49-year-old, who was a deputy chief pilot in the company's rotary wing.

Also missing are chief pilot Russel Aitken, 42, and a second Australian who the company declined to name due to the wishes of his family.

Seven helicopters and several aircraft were today searching a rugged jungle-clad area highlands but there was no sign of the three men or the Bell 206 helicopter they were flying in when they went missing on Friday afternoon near Mt Hagen in the Southern Highlands.

Hevilift said a mayday call was broadcast approximately five minutes after it departed an InterOil Drill Rig site 3.25pm (local PNG time) on Friday.

It was believed they were heading to Hou Creek to re-fuel and then were to return to their main base at Mt Hagen.

"The conditions at the time were believed to be low cloud with reduced visibility but visual meteorological conditions existed."

That meant they were flying on sight rather than instruments.

Hevilift said a specially equipped Dornier 328 fixed wing airplane from Australia would conduct electronic surveillance in the search area.

Hevilift Managing Director, Paul Booij, arrived in Mt Hagen yesterday and praised the efforts of all Hevilift personnel, rescue and government officials and private operators in the area assisting in the search.

"We are devastated that our colleagues are missing. But the response of the local Hevilift team has been immediate and is ongoing. We are all doing everything we can and we are humbled at the response by others to assist us in the search.

"We are in constant communication with the families and are assisting them in any way we can. I cannot begin to imagine what they are going through, it must be just harrowing.

"Everyone here, in this rescue, has their own families and we all know that we cannot let up in our efforts to locate our colleagues," said Mr Booij.

PNG has a grim record for aircraft and shipping disasters, in part to do with the extraordinary terrain they have to operate over.

Last year a New Zealand pilot was among four survivors of an Airlines PNG plane which crashed, killing 28 people.

[Scissorlink]

Sad news,

With the regulatory and safety requirements in the PNG exploration work, I would have thought that everything that flies would be tracked !

[Night Beetle]

Industry Insider

Not the time nor the place to grind your axe P/off

[Semi Rigid]

I wonder how the media got 'chopper went down near Wabag' 'mayday call made 5 minutes after taking off from an InterOil rig-site'
Wabag is nowhere near any InterOil exploration leases and Kikori and Kerema are in the opposite direction to Mt Hagen - Hevilift's PNG rotary maintenance facility/offices.

[Air_Geo]

A hi-resolution heli-mag survey will be flown by a Perth mob...
(very tight line spacing at very low-level)
Hopefully there is enough steel in a 206 to give a blip from forest canopy height.

[African Eagle]

Sorry to ask such a practical question at a time of special sensitivity to those connected to this incident but, I am wondering - who is covering the cost for the efforts surrounding the search for survivors?

In Africa there are places where there is a total lack of national SAR support and we often talk about operator collaboration. One year we investigated the possibility of subscribing to an insurance fund which would cover the costs involved in private SAR missions but, sadly, the operators could not agree so nothing happened.

[Nigel Osborn]

Seems to have been an engine failure, very tough when you think how reliable the engine is.
I think each company & CASA pay for searches.

[BigMike]

Generally the operators help each other as there is no rescue service in PNG.

[Granny]

What makes you think it was an engine failure?

[Rotor Work]

Blackhawks join search for missing chopper - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-10/adf-blackhawk-helicopters-join-the-missing-png-chopper-search/4122068)

Blackhawks join search for missing chopper

By PNG correspondent Liam Fox (http://www.abc.net.au/news/liam-fox/166886)
Updated July 10, 2012 18:26:34
Related Story: Search continues for chopper missing in PNG (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-08/search-resumes-for-australians-missing-in-png/4116796)
Related Story: Australians on board helicopter missing in PNG (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-07/australians-on-board-helicopter-missing-in-png/4116148)

Map: Papua New Guinea (http://maps.google.com/?q=-9.5,147.116667(Papua%20New%20Guinea%20)&z=5)

Two Australian Defence Force Blackhawk helicopters have joined the search for a chopper missing in Papua New Guinea's highlands.
The fourth full day of searching failed to find any sign of the missing helicopter.
The Hevilift Bell 206 disappeared last Friday while travelling from a drill rig site to Mt Hagen.
Three people were on board, including two Australians, 42-year-old pilot Russell Aitken and 36-year-old engineer Emmett Fynn.
Australia's High Commissioner to PNG, Ian Kemish, says two Blackhawk helicopters joined the search today after local authorities asked for help.
"Our ADF colleagues responded very quickly and have already undertaken several hours of search in the area," he said.
The Blackhawks were already in PNG providing logistical support for the country's general election.

Hope tomorrow brings good news R W

[GoodGrief]

I fly in remote areas too. Not as remote as PNG but it is pretty lonely out here.
There have been reports of ELTs not going off in case of a hard landing or worse.

Since I'd like to be found dead or alive in case off a mishap I have mounted a SPOT2 in my aircraft with tracking service activated.
The aircraft is being tracked by the office and selected friends over the internet.

Edit: What is a SPOT?
SPOT SATELLITE MESSENGER :: HOME PAGE (http://www.findmespot.com/en/)

[Anthony Supplebottom]

Since you've mentioned it - please properly explain what a "SPOT2" is?

[Semi Rigid]

Granny, reportedly they had been having some 'issues' with that bird. Changed FCU on it to get it back to Hagen base.
I reckon those personal epirbs would be close to useless underneath 3 canopy jungle.
You'd have to climb to the top of a 200' tree.

[heli-cal]

Surely the lack of an official SAR capacity, challenging terrain and subsequent risk to crews would merit a tracking/signaling device fitted by the operating companies to all their aircraft!

[Goody35]

Check out Spider Tracks Live flight tracking | Spidertracks (http://www.spidertracks.com)

I wouldn't go flying with out these days. Lots of mountainous country in NZ

[gulliBell]

Check out Spider Tracks Live flight tracking | Spidertracks (http://www.spidertracks.com)

I wouldn't go flying with out these days. Lots of mountainous country in NZ

True, most of the contract aircraft in PNG are fitted with Spidertracks or SkyConnect. They are usually configured to report position every 2 minutes, meaning you have a maximum search radius of about 3 miles from the last reported position. This of course would be very useful information for a SAR effort, but the reality in PNG is you can be a hundred feet above 200' tall 8/8 jungle canopy directly over where an aircraft that has gone down and still not see the wreck, or any indirect evidence in the canopy itself. In which case a 3 mile search radius still requires a hell of a lot of searching.

Regarding the usefulness of ELT, I can't remember a missing aircraft in PNG actually ever being detected by the system. They either don't go off, get damaged, or the signal is shielded by the terrain making remote detection impossible. They do however go off from time time via inadvertent activation, and they are detected then. But as I say, I can't remember the last time an aircraft wreck in PNG was detected by the system.

[blackhand]

I can't remember a missing aircraft in PNG actually ever being detected by the system.David and Wayne's crash was picked up and reported back by Canberra

[gulliBell]

True, but there were witnesses to those prangs and they were not reliant on the ELT for discovery....I mean in those instances where the aircraft went down in remote dense jungle, I don't remember any of those ELT being activated or detected by satellite.

[Rotor Work]

PNG helicopter search enters sixth day | Pacific Beat | ABC Radio Australia (http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/pacific-beat/png-helicopter-search-enters-sixth-day/978102)

Found this link to ABC Radio National, Interview was at 17:25 today, the speaker is Australia's High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, Ian Kemish.

Still no good news.
R W

[topendtorque]

I don't remember any of those ELT ----- --------- or detected by satellite


Easily believable

I don't know what the xmon power is on the Judas collars we used on animals during the TB eradication by comaprison to your average ELT, but we had one very smart bovine who when she heard us used to gallop for cover and be hard to find. The freq we were using was around 150 megs.

We would be right up at 2,500 ft listening to the shlick - shlick in amongst very difficult static, constantly turning and tracking with a yargi aerial, hoping it woudl become a strong click - click, then it would fade, we would reciprocate or turn ninety degrees, but when the cow would detect us going away, she would head for other cover, we would hear a stronger signal briefly while she was travelling across open ground and so on. Finally we realised how much she was onto us and we relocated her collar onto another animal.

This was after only about four or five times tracking her to find her cohorts. One smart cow.

The cover was only isolated clumps of light timber up to about thirty feet but is was enough to completely block the signal at times from just a few mile away.

So, all the best there. tet

[Semi Rigid]

Surely an operator wouldn't go to the expense of installing AFF/Spidertracks/Tracplus/Flightcell unit in the aircraft and then disable it because of the nominal daily subscription charge from the provider. How much would it be? $2 per day? Whatever the cost it would have to be near the low end of the total contribution to the overall direct daily operating cost.

[BigMike]

"A villager in Papua New Guinea has found bits of a helicopter that crashed carrying a New Zealander and two Australians a week ago.

Antony Annan, 49, and two of his Australian colleagues, have been missing since they made a mayday call from their helicopter on Friday afternoon.

Neither the trio nor the helicopter has been found, however helicopter company Hevilift, which is in charge of the search, has been handed their first breakthrough.

A villager in Papua New Guinea was searching water ways and rivers when he found some pieces of plastic that were clearly from a "fly away kit" that is usually kept in the boot of the helicopters operated by Hevilift.

It is a plastic container that holds items like oil, rags and grease guns, Hevilift spokesman Ian McBeath said.

"It is obvious that it is part of the missing helicopter as it is consistent with the size and shape of the container we use for the kit and it has what we believe to be the outline of a 'H' in blue paint.

"We paint the helicopter registration number, in this case HCY, on each container."

McBeath said that when the villager found the piece, he returned to Umasia Village on the Purari River, about eight miles from where he found it.

"When search headquarters got the news at around noon local time, an aircraft was dispatched to pick up the villager and have him show searchers where the debris was located."

Hevilift said while they were searching the area another villager flagged down the search helicopter and provided a second piece of the same plastic container.

McBeath however said the findings did not indicate the men had had a soft landing.

"Regrettably these broken pieces of container would most likely indicate that there has been a hard landing and the aircraft has broken up.

"Finding these pieces means the search area has narrowed significantly, however we still have a large section of countryside to cover.

"We have been advised that there was very heavy rain in the area last night and this has most likely flushed these items out of the bush and into one of the dozens of rivulets which run into the Gipi Creek which runs into the Purari River.

"We now know that the area where we have been searching was the correct one and we can concentrate the ground search teams upstream of the location of where the debris was found, which is five miles from Bawata," he said"

Link: Helicopter parts found by PNG villager, Kiwi and... | Stuff.co.nz (http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/7269899/Pieces-of-lost-chopper-found-in-PNG)

[gulliBell]

Surely an operator wouldn't go to the expense of installing AFF/Spidertracks/Tracplus/Flightcell unit in the aircraft and then disable it because of the nominal daily subscription charge from the provider...

The subscription and usage charges are quite a bit more than that. The cost of the system is of no concern to operators when the client is paying for it. But where a client is not paying for it, I am aware of an operator increasing the reporting time interval to reduce the cost, and not repairing equipment that becomes inoperative (due to the cost of fixing it not being chargeable to a client). That is just the commercial reality of operating in PNG.

[BigMike]

"That is just the commercial reality of operating in PNG."

Then you are not viable then.

Real-time tracking is a must in PNG. It is a necessary piece of equipment, just like wearing a helmet, if you want to operate in this environment. The cost is minimal (about $1.65 per hour based on 85 hrs month-Spidertracks), but the safety advantages huge.

[Semi Rigid]

I am an optimist.
Here's hoping for some good nius this morning - retrieval team going into the wreck. You could survive trapped in the wreckage for 7 nights. There has been heaps of rain there. They have pulled people out of quake rubble after 21 days and they have survived with NIL liquids.

[heliduck]

Operations over jungle should have minimum requirements as for operations over water. Floats for water, Satellite tracking for jungle.

[gulliBell]

Operations over jungle should have minimum requirements as for operations over water. Floats for water, Satellite tracking for jungle.

I don't think anyone could reasonably argue against that suggestion. For the time being it's not mandatory, but hopefully the operators will voluntarily roll out this technology fleet wide and maintain it as if it were mandatory.

Regarding floats over water, those rules are in place. The aircraft that was lost at sea in PNG in Feb 2011 didn't have floats (180 nm over water flight in a s/e helicopter) but it did have satellite tracking and its position was known immediately prior to it crashing into the sea and sinking. The ELT that was fitted to that aircraft was not detected.

[the coyote]

Sad news, bodies of all three have been found. RIP.

Sydney Morning Herald (http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/bodies-of-png-chopper-crash-victims-found-20120713-220i4.html)

[Never in Balance]

Rest in Peace boys.

[heliduck]

I didn’t know any of those involved so excuse me if I speak out of turn, but if there is any way of donating financially which will directly benefit the families can someone please post or PM the details? We can’t do anything for our brethren, but I’m guessing there are some kids out there who just lost their Dad & could do with some help.

[Vertical Freedom]

tragedy strikes our Rotory fraternity, sincere condolences to the Families

PNG helicopter crash: Bodies found - National - NZ Herald News (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10819375)

[pohm1]

RIP Rusty

P1

[technoprat]

RIP Guys, could have been any of us.

[kflexer]

RIP fellas, Ant's you will be missed buddy.
Careful out there everybody.

[Savoia]

Very very sad.:(

My condolences to the family and friends of those involved.

[Semi Rigid]

Yes, ditto what Savioa said. : (

[Aser]

R.I.P. :-(

Aser

[Rotor Work]

Sad news indeed, Thinking of Family, Friends & also the Personel involved in the Search over the last week.
R.I.P RW

[Glide Landing]

Reported found with no survivors.

[chester2005]

R.I.P.


Chester

[inmate]

To the families of all three my condolences to you all. You are in my thoughts.
It is always hard when we hear of the loss of life in our profession but when it is a friend or aquintance it really sinks in a little deeper.
Ant my friend you were one of the best and a credit to our industry, rest in peace we wont forget you.
D.

[tess darby]

I had the privelidge to fly with Anton Annan when I was with Hevilift. I flew with him on the Mt Kari power line job and also other work at M Hagen. I found Anton to be a very safety conscious Pilot who always put safety first. Anton will be missed by all who had the privelidge to know and fly with him. Anton worked hard in his role as deputy Chief Pilot and in a check and training role keeping safety standards high in Hevilift.

[212bushman]

Antony Annan ,
will be farewelled this Friday in Melbourne.

From his wife Caroline, below are the service details for Antony and I will be treating it as a celebration of Ant's great life !

Antony's Service details -

Date: Friday 27th July, 2012
Time: 11.45 am
Venue: Carousel
Address: 22 Aughtie Drive Albert Park Lake, Melbourne.

Please send on to to anyone you feel would like to come.

[John Eacott]

Russell Aitken's tribute: (http://tributes.heraldsun.com.au/obituaries/heraldsun-au/obituary.aspx?n=russell-charles-aitken&pid=158646166#fbLoggedOut)

AITKEN. - Family and friends are invited to attend the funeral to celebrate Russell's life, to be held at Life Saving Victoria, 200 The Boulevard, Port Melbourne on FRIDAY (July 27) at 2.00 p.m. No flowers by request. Please allow a little extra time for parking.

I hope to be there, such a sad loss :sad:

[212bushman]

For those still in PNG,
this Sat 28th, a memorial service will be held in the H/lift hangar for the 3 guys lost. Then a wake in the mess.

212bm.

[John Eacott]

I was unable to get there, but the Herald Sun (http://m.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/hundreds-gather-to-farewell-hero-pilot-russell-aitken-killed-in-helicopter-crash-in-papua-new-guinea/story-e6frf7kx-1226436995968) has a lovely tribute:

HUNDREDS of family and friends this afternoon bid a final farewell to hero pilot Russell "Rusty" Aitken.

The 42-year-old helicopter pilot, who helped rescue people trapped by flames on Black Saturday, died in a horrific crash in Papua New Guinea earlier this month.

Remembered as an outstanding pilot and instructor, firm friend and above all a loving family man, the former Westpac Life Saver rescue helicopter pilot’s final farewell saw the rescue chopper take off nearby in his honour as mourners, including 14-year-old son Jhi, and brother Marcus carried his coffin to a waiting hearse.

In a moving service, Mr Aitken's wife and childhood sweetheart from the age of 14, Kelly, fought off tears as she said goodbye.

"I have never been without Russell by my side, but now I must go on,'' she said. "Thank you Russell for sharing your life with me. I loved you so much and will miss you everyday for the rest of my life.''

"Fly free now my darling, I have very happy memories of you, which will live with me forever."

Revealing how her husband first caught her eye on a bus as she was a young girl, she was joined by Jhi and her daughter Kyah, 18, and vowed to be mum enough for both in her husband's absence.

"I will continue to be the best mum I can on behalf of both of us - our kids will always come first,'' she said.

"Fly free now my darling, I have very happy memories of you, which will live with me forever, your Kells.''

Also speaking of his father, Jhi revealed a dad who, while regularly overseas for lengthy periods, always had his son's football matches videotaped so he could go through them in minute detail when he returned home.

"Before he left the house for the last time he wrote up on our whiteboard 'if it is to be, it is up to me', now every single day I am going to live by this quote, not just for me but in my dad's honour too,'' he said.

Black Saturday hero pilot an 'awesome family man'

"Dad I will never forget you - there won't be a day that goes by that I won't think of you for the rest of my life.

"You will always be my mentor, including, of course, on the footy ground; you are my inspiration, you are my coach, you are my idol, you are my dad. I love you.''

Kyah lauded a father who daily read her the alphabet from the age of six months and taught her to play chess at three-years-old.

"Things will never be the same again and nothing I can say can compare to him," she said. "I was so lucky to have such a wonderful father for the time I did. Like many fathers are to their children, he was my hero.

"I love you forever daddy.''

Mr Aitken's mother Allison Kirk revealed the last three weeks had been a nightmare for the family as searchers hunted for the downed helicopter and eventually made the heartbreaking discovery of Mr Aitken's body, alongside those of an unnamed NSW man and New Zealander Antony Annan, 49.

Mike Martin, president of Life Saving Victoria, credited the family man as an accomplished pilot who had played a major role in the organisation's rescue services in Victoria.

In a further homage a team of life saver rescue pilots carried Mr Aitken the final stretch, down a staircase, to a waiting hearse.

[Kulwin Park]

Emmett's farewell was held in Sydney today :sad:

RIP, and we shall remember you as the great engineer and generous person you were! I was not there, but I have heard great speeches were said about him by his family, friends and colleagues. :ok:

[Garfs]

I have only realised today that one of those involved was someone I knew.

From what I knew of him he was a great bloke and I am truly sorry and my condolences, to Russell and all others involved. What a great loss