Ch 10 chopper crash, Perth

[SimonBl]

Reported on ABC (Australia) site:

Man in hospital after news chopper crashes - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-19/man-hospitalised-after-channel-10-chopper-crashes/4472378)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/4472418-3x2-700x467.jpg

A Channel 10 cameraman has been taken to hospital after a helicopter crash at Baskerville, in Perth's Swan Valley.

The helicopter was filming a truck rollover on Weir Road when the accident happened.

Radio communication from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services reveals the pilot acted quickly to prevent a fire.

"The helicopter pilot has put foam on the aircraft ... while turbines are still running. Helicopter on its side - we are taking shelter behind the embankment."

The cameraman was taken to Royal Perth Hospital with possible spinal injuries.

The pilot did not require hospital treatment.

Police and firefighters are at the scene.

Reporting that the cameraman is hospitalised with 'spinal injuries'. More here, being reported as a Bell 206:

Channel 10 news helicopter crashes in Perth | adelaidenow (http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/channel-10-news-helicopter-crashes-in-perth/story-e6frea6u-1226557275686)

http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2013/01/19/1226557/291753-chopper-down.gif

[VH-XXX]

Looks to have come to a rest right next to a powerline. Wonder if that was a contributing factor...

[gulliBell]

...hopefully a different cause to the last time the CH10 helicopter crashed, in Dianella.

[VH-XXX]

News is now reporting here that it "plunged from the sky on the way to the (truck) accident site."

[mickjoebill]

Oz Tv showing final moment as C10 Jetranger, in level flight decends at moderate speed onto sloping ground perhaps 150 meters from the truck crash.

The 23 year old cameraman, (without helmet or flight suit) is pictured exiting from high side and running from craft, pilot then seen opening front passenger door and exiting.

Witnesses describing heli orbiting over scene then spinning.
Cameraman's report: Channel 10 news helicopter crashes in Perth | Perth Now (http://perthnow.com.au/news/national/channel-10-news-helicopter-crashes-in-perth/story-fndo6e6y-1226557327404)

Comment:
Another filming accident in oz, the third in recent times all involving "open door" filming, a mode of operation which (worldwide) continues to be the most hazardous of tasks for cameramen/photographers outside of war zones.

Message to newsrooms forget hand help woobly scope, get a gimbal!
Message to CEO s of TV stations, at some point these statistics will be used to tan your executive hide, you could be found culpable! The precedent in law (in USA) has been set.

An open door, camera on lap or floating in cockpit or mechanical stabilised rigs that are not crash worthy, minimum or zero level of PPE, perhaps diagonal belt not in use... factors which exacerbate the potential for injury to cameraman in an aerial activity that usually calls for low and slow flight.

The result is very little time for a pilot to recover from pilot error or technical failure.


Mickjoebill

[southerncanuck]

Get a gimble:ok:

[chopjock]

Get a gimbal, yes get a gimbal.
The cost?
Oh about the same as the helicopter.

[212bushman]

Aus Gov't news have interviewed the cameraman. He quoted the engine quit / stopped !

[topendtorque]

He quoted the engine quit / stopped ! Engine Failure.
"Everything you do at low level revolves around the engine not revolving."
Hundreds of ex mustering drivers around who will remember that being drummed into them. No excuse when doing namby pamdy filming work to be on the wrong side of the "curve".

Restraint.
Indeed in the film clip that I saw of the cameraman exiting, he was right outside the machine sitting or standing on skid and door sill, when he stopped - and then unclipped a lanyard.

I was sure that Australian regulations had sorted out this "restrained within the helicopter B 500' business" back after the court case involving a cameraman's death in Cairns Queensland in around 1993.

If I remember correctly the prosecution against the pilot concerned failed dismally when filmed evidence was presented that the local Department FOI (who was part of the prosecution team) who also flew for the local EMS had actively participated in allowing the same practice.

It was after and caused by that accident also that ALL harness had to be approved to a standard in OZ regs.

[212man]

Looking at the video footage from the on board camera, it looks more like a loss of TR thrust - sudden and rapid yaw to the right that continues to impact.

[mickjoebill]

The cameraman was shooting from right side door.
he was right outside the machine sitting or standing on skid and door sill, when he stopped - and then unclipped a lanyard.
He may have been unclipping the camera lanyard, which yes, by design is clipped to his harness:(
In regard to the 23year old camera ops behavior, he said he didnt know if pilot was dead or if he should (have) stayed to check....maybe if pilots insisted that camera operators wore helmets and flight suits the operators may not run off like they were in a war zone under fire.
In this case potentially under a fire! Given that the last filming accident in oz involved the cabin flooding with fuel the "flight for life" is understandable

A school crossing supervisor has more PPE than a crew member hanging out of a jetranger at low level!
TV execs who are the paymasters of media flights are living on borrowed time, the saftey record needs to turn around.

On this occasion, Lady Luck has not added to the woes of recent spate of misfortunate filming flights, but whose life will next depend on the roll of dice?

Provision of a helmet and flight suit would improve the odds but best of all a stabilised gimbal seems to act as a lucky charm, reducing the occurance of fatalites or serious injuries of cameramen to nil (aside from the mid air collision in the states)

Having flow film jobs with Peter Barnes, Rusty and Gary Ticehurst I've sadly learnt that it is prudent to improve the odds anyway we can regardless of the experience of the pilot.


Mickjoebill

[floppywing]

Reports of pitch down and rotating would suggest loss of tail rotor control. Recall way back in 1981 similar incident when Jayrow lost a B206 carrying news team. All killed when pilot lost control while trying to hover at 200' downwind on a 40deg day. The pilot was Canadian just arrived from a northern winter.

[topendtorque]

I think Mick, if CASA do nothing about it, in this day and age and especially in WA you should be able to count on their OH&S people to take an exceedingly keen interest in it.

[mickjoebill]

chopjock

Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: UK
Age: 55
Posts: 375
Get a gimbal, yes get a gimbal.
The cost?
Oh about the same as the helicopter.

In real terms they are getting a little cheaper as are the cameras that are fitted inside them.
Also there are two new manufacturers entering the market this year.
Once the capital cost is swallowed, high quality images that can be taken in all weather conditions are good for the viewer and the heli provider.

Mickjoebill

[chopjock]

Once the capital cost is swallowed, high quality images that can be taken in all weather conditions are good for the viewer and the heli provider.

Mickjoebill

Thanks, I have one. (UM11 HD)

[mickjoebill]

topendtorque

Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,540
I think Mick, if CASA do nothing about it, in this day and age and especially in WA you should be able to count on their OH&S people to take an exceedingly keen interest in it.

Not sure about WA, but in NSW the governing body is "workcover" who do not investigate OH&S of aircraft crashes, they say that they dont have resources to do a parellel investigation to casa. This is reasonable but they agree it is not ideal as casa does not look too far beyond the direct cause, in a way that can alter the way aerial filming flights are planned and managed.
Their advice was to look to the coroners court which does examine and dig wider and make recommendations in the public arena.

I hope that truely positive improvements for aerial filming operations can be learnt by the coroners from the planning and management aspects of recent fatal accidents.

Mickjoebill

[gulliBell]

Get a gimble:ok:

Unlikely. With the budget cuts at CH10 Perth, more likely they'll down-size to an R44 for the job, or no helicopter at all....

Plus I'd add the news helicopters in Perth are all single-engine...what about in Sydney and Melbourne, do they mostly operate light twins in news gathering now?

[CYHeli]

Funny that you should mentions the R44, there are a number of ENG R44 in Australia. Of course they all have externally mounted cameras. So other than not being a turbine, the problem is? Oh, and other than being a Robinson?
Factory fitted has to be a good idea.

[Swinging Spanner]

From a litigation and/or insurance point of view, the cost of a gimbal camera is negligable. The poor fellow with spinal injuries...someone will have to cough up the compensation.

Other helicopter service industries have adapted/changed to mitigate risk vs operational costs...why should the helicopter news/film industry be any different?

In any case it wont be too long when majority of aerial filming will be done by remote control UAV's.

[onetrack]

The poor fellow with spinal injuries...someone will have to cough up the compensation
The cameraman doesn't have "spinal injuries". He suffered a minor back/neck injury, and an arm injury, and went back to work. However, he has taken time off to fully recuperate.
No doubt he'll probably be showing the whites of his eyes for a few weeks when anyone suggests a chopper ride is part of the next film "scoop".

The truck driver was the bloke who was badly injured.

Cookies must be enabled | Herald Sun (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/pilot-praised-aftter-tv-chopper-crash/story-fndo486p-1226557689310)

Man 'flung from cabin' as news chopper crashes - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-19/man-hospitalised-after-channel-10-chopper-crashes/4472378)

[John Eacott]

Some better footage: the reactions of the emergency services is commendable, police running to assist, firies prepping the truck to move closer, etc. Accounts say the turbine wasn't shut down following the crash, easily done in the haste to evacuate. Glad both crew are well :ok:

uOFBFpB5pAo

YB2_cz2VRJs

VXbO1Daarl8

[gulliBell]

The owner of the company was interviewed on CH7 news last night and from what I understand he said it was an engine failure, and through training and skill of the pilot to get the helicopter on the ground whilst avoiding the power line and various other obstacles in the way. It was only because of the unsuitable terrain that the aircraft rolled over.

From the audio it sounds to me as if the rotor rpm was rapidly decaying just prior to impact, and the engine kept running at idle after impact. But from the video taken from the helicopter it is quite evidently rotating rapidly to the right and descending almost vertically, which to me is symptomatic of a sudden onset loss of directional control at low airspeed.

What got my attention is the violence of the roll-over after the helicopter made contact with the ground, and the main rotor departing the scene, which together with the relative un-crash-worthiness design of the B206 (particularly the seats), makes the relative lack of injuries sustained by those on-board quite remarkable. Very lucky...

BTW I think this is the 3rd prang for Ch10 since they have been operating a helicopter from Dianella (VH-AZH and VH-AZN?, but under a different operator). I don't recall Ch7 or Ch9 having an accident before.

[chopjock]

Engine failure? Oh it's the southern hemisphere so the nose rotates to the right in that case.:8

[Tickle]

Seven had an LTE incident in a JetRanger in the 1980s. The pilot managed to set down in a clearing. It was caught on tape from the onboard cameraman. Not sure where it happened.

[mickjoebill]

There is an aching gap between the reality of the comparative risks to aerial camera crew and how it is percieved by media managers and even the helicopter industry itself.
For example, there is a glossy online promotional saftey poster showing a R44 very low over the water, doors off, shooting a boat, the image taken by a photographer in the back seat. Its a dynamic image. Not sure if the R44 was fitted with floats.

So we have a stills photographer in the back and cameraman in the front seat with a large camera on his shoulder. The cameraman is photographed in jeans and T shirt with a life vest. He is without helmet or flight suit. The shoulder seat belt is ineffective as he has rotated his torso to shoot out the door.

On a risk matrix there is a "severe consequence" if either the camera slipped off the shoulder (due to the life vest ) or the fouling flight controls in changing battery ect.

The text on the poster states "Work safe, Fly safe, Fly xxxxx" :eek:


Mickjoebill

[gulliBell]

An R22 crashed into the sea off Rottnest many years ago doing exactly the same thing....

[topendtorque]

There is an aching gap between the reality of the comparative risks to aerial camera crew and how it is percieved by media managers and even the helicopter industry itself.Nailed that one.Especially junior pilot hour sharks out there to do what they think is an easy job.

I think I notice in the last video how there is a sudden jerk to the left in the camera frame immediately prior to the rapidly increasing right rotation.

That might indicate the Tail area running into something which impeded it's movement just prior to the rotation.

There is nothing unusual about the rotation to the right in a "normal" helicopter whose M/R turns in the correct sense, (ahem) and certainly nothing unusual about the severity of rotation when a T/R drive fails.

Been there done that, leaves yer false teeth and glasses and head behind while yer body has gone over there. The only remedy at that height - snap the throttle closed and right now sah.

[rachbuzz]

Mickjoebill

CASA doesnt investigate air crashes - the ATSB does and makes safety recommendations to CASA through its final report. CASA can choose to act on the recommendations of the ATSB or not.

[army_av8r]

certainly has the tell tale look of an LTE incident, unless of course it was a tail rotor mechanical failure. at that altitude it really doesnt make a difference what the cause of the right yaw is... keep the ship level, full left pedal, get some forward speed and if that doesnt help, chop it and go for the dirt! unfortunately it looks like the skids hit a pretty good slope and bounced it down hill. i would be curious to know the wind direction, velocity and temp/DA that day.

[topendtorque]

Army--

Very hard to image a qualified flight instructor being caught with LTE, although which version do you refer to?

1) Run out pedal effect rotation, commences relatively slowly, and is allowed to continue unchecked by useless driver.There is at least one recorded accident thus, in the City to Surf run in Sydney many moons ago. It was a quite heavily loaded 206.
An instructor caught in that? doubt it.
Also the rather light loading of this machine even in high risk ambient conditions should render the condition unlikely.

2) T/R encounters M/R vortices and generates its own VRS and snaps away from behind you to beside you at the same speed of light that a T/R drive failure will generate.Under that scenario it will then slow its rotation as it continues to a position in front of you, as it has encountered different relative wind conditions, as in any VRS recovery.
Once again hard to imagine a flight instructor losing it at that point.even without specific simulated training.

Whereas a drive shaft failure will result in spatial orientation difficulty after the second revolution, but at that point the throttle can be snapped and cyclic steerage maintained to a degree. Your choices are limited to what is below you and arriving at ground level with sufficient cushioning RRPM is another matter but possible under various scenarios.

In this case there does appear to be some little distance between T/R failure A/C position and ground contact. It's fairly easy to imagine the driver keeping the collective up just a little longer than he should (for a bumpless landing) and steering the machine over the ground parties to whatever was beyond. If that was the case then the driver deserves great credit. This decision may have been helped by the awareness of the power lines or bumped obstacle behind him.I.E. something else to get away from.

As far as I am aware simulation training for this event is not part of the syllabus and should be at least at the first BFR. It's not for the faint hearted and should not be commenced below 1200 feet AGL and a readiness for aborting it with left pedal input, must be contemplated if the aircraft appears to want to become inverted.

[gulliBell]

...whatever the reason (LTE or mechanical), the fact remains that the aircraft was being flown low and slow with a door open and in that environment even with 8/8 of flat level ground all around, the prospect of pulling off a forced landing without damaging the aircraft is very remote. The fact that the crew pulled it off without damaging themselves, despite writing off the aircraft, is testament to either luck, exceptional skill, or more likely a combination of both.

But I do ask myself, is it worth the risk exposing yourself to that hazardous environment where the reward is just a 5 second grab on the nightly news? I think not. Much better to give yourself some height, give yourself some airspeed, and remotely point a gyro-stabilized gimbal mounted camera at whatever it is you need a 5 second video grab of. A news cameraman hanging out the door of a single engine helicopter at low level is so 1970's...there is a better and safer way of getting the job done, and that requires some investment in the proper hardware.

[topendtorque]

Can't argue with that viewpoint Gullibell, the cost of new gadgets might frighten a slacko, but the rewards for those with initiative and well thought out budgets must be immense and they should soon leave those tired old ways in the dust I hope.

Stamping out dispos to operate out of the door on a lanyard would be a very good start.

[army_av8r]

Topend, my thought was main rotor vortex interference with the tail rotor, or situation 2 that you mentioned. I certainly dont think he was "unprofessional" if he got caught out with LTE. I have put myself in those positions quite a few times as a result of "getting the mission done". fortunately the OH-58D doesnt spin up quite like its B-206 brother. obviously if something broke back there, then none of what im saying matters. just a reminder that low/ slow in a 206 requires very precise heading control and once it lets go, it can spin up quick. and unless you know its LTE based on conditions, it can be hard to diagnose before your on the ground.

[2leftskids]

Investigation: AO-2013-016 - Loss of control and forced landing involving Bell 206B3 helicopter, VH-ZMN, 18 km north-east of Perth Airport, Western Australia, 19 January 2013 (http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2013/aair/ao-2013-016.aspx)

[John R81]

And the prize goes to......

Floppywing, post 12


Should we start scoring people's guesses as to cause and add that to their profile so it shows to the left of your post? Wouldn't that be interesting and informative for all uf us reading seculations as to cause of incidnets!

[AnFI]

"......is a challenging task with an inherent risk of LTE"

the Lack of Tailrotor Education was present before takeoff

it is not the same as Lack of Tailrotor Effectiveness - no helicopter has a problem once faced back 'into wind' at (airspeed) 30kts - Shirley?

If a helicopter doesn't want to yaw 'out of wind' then let it align with the airflow ... simples

Even if it has to go around once before you work it out don't panic ....

[mickjoebill]

Good to see helmets and flight suites are being adopted.

By my reckoning excluding the mid air collision between news choppers, survivability of cameramen when shooting hand held with door open is very poor compared to an accident involving a stabilised mount.

Around 18% of accidents when stabilised camera is in use are fatal to cameramen, but >50% of accidents when hand held or door open shooting is taking place are fatal to cameraman!

Also incidence of accidents with doors open is double that of stabilised.


Mickjoebill

[infloweffect]

A timely reminder to all 206 drivers young or old. DO NOT Initiate a Level RIGHT pedal turn in a Bell 206 with low airspeed and light winds. Filming usually involves right hand orbits with the camera man on the pilots side with door removed. The pilot makes the mistake of entering a right turn with right pedal to prevent the rotor tilting into the camera shot. Do this and risk LTE. Always lower the collective before initiation of the right turn. This causes the main rotor vortex to rise above the plane of the tail rotor in relation to the helicopters movement downwards. It is not in any txt book or training manual i have ever read but i know it works. Even pilots with many thousands of hours in the 206 can be caught with LTE. If power is available this technique also works with a gentle climb. I have flown the 206 on many film jobs throughout my career. Most instructors or CP's don't know or teach this life saving technique. LTE is demonstrated to take at least 300 feet to recover from a test pilot knowing what is about to happen. If you get LTE you must apply full left pedal and hold that until rotation stops and airspeed is restored. If you are below 300 AGL your in a world of hurt. You may need to close the throttle to stop rotation. Not where you want to be at 300 feet.

[mickjoebill]

Very similar to this one.
Ex-military pilot of this TV spinner say he had no training in LTE.

www.aaiu.ie/sites/default/files/upload/general/12835-REPORT_2004_021-0.PDF


Mickjoebill

[[email protected]]

Inflow - far better to keep the speed up when turning downwind (in both these incidents, low speed was the issue) or you end up descending downwind with low speed, putting you more at risk of VRS than LTE. It's an old problem of flying orbits around a fixed point on the ground - the pilot is target-fixated and flys a constant groundspeed instead of airspeed. Loss of translational lift and the tendency to weathercock add to the mix and bingo! All aggravated by certain designs without sufficiently powerful TRs!

[infloweffect]

Crab- agree though my point is more aerodynamic related and the point you rightly make is lack of basic skills. One would hope that any low timer out there reading up on LTE knows there are many ways to enter it. Mostly due to pilots fixating on the task and not flying to airspeed. The LTE that kills is the one you thought you had covered. Clear sky light wind, camera guy you worked with before and all of a sudden the world is spinning. The weather vane effect, low speed high DA / AUW and pilot input all make up for tail rotor effectiveness issues though as a pilot should be acutely aware of all of those. The pilot induced right pedal turn is not something that is covered and that is the crunch. Push the pedal and chance it. Once the tail rotor vorticy enters the main rotor vorticy it may as well not be producing any thrust. Under the right conditions the helicopter will rotate at an alarming speed entering into full blown LTE the horizon will drop and then rise. Pilot disorientation will ensu as the pedals can have no noticeable effect. All the other ways to enter LTE are usually mismanagement of several poor piloting techniques put together to induce the spin. Too low too slow out of wind too high too heavy. Lets reiterate. 100 hours or 10000 push the right pedal in a level right turn with relative wind 8 to 15 knots and your Looking for trouble. Filming in a valley with hills all around and no way of knowing the winds true direction is a classic. Airspeed and altitude is our friend. Keep the ball in the middle airspeed above 40 kts and descend or climb if you want to use right pedal to turn right. Safe flying

[Ye Olde Pilot]

Let's not forget that one of those Channel 10 accidents was caused by trying to fly the disabled 206 out of the street next door and in to the Channel 10 helipad.

All of course filmed by 7 and 9 news:ok:

[gulliBell]

...and the other Channel 10 accident was running out of fuel and writing off the aircraft.

[mickjoebill]

Let's not forget that one of those Channel 10 accidents was caused by trying to fly the disabled 206 out of the street next door and in to the Channel 10 helipad.
What year was that incident?

Mickjoebill

[gulliBell]

From memory both prangs happened only a few months apart, probably 1992-ish. The one that ran out of fuel was -AZH and the one that landed in the street, took off again and pranged was -AZN.

[Ye Olde Pilot]

I think is was earlier than 1992 and more like 1991.

Great Northern Helicopters had the contract in those day for Channel 10.

[gulliBell]

Yeah, maybe 1991 but it was of that era. Two different pilots were involved, and unfortunately for Great Northern Helicopters they never recovered. -AZH was rebuilt in New Zealand but was later sold, eventually finding its demise some years later slinging water out of a dam over east somewhere. And -AZN was also rebuilt but I can't remember what happened to it.

[Ye Olde Pilot]

Here is VH-AZH

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/6/2/6/1407626.jpg

I remember is arriving back at Jandakot in a box.

Colin who owned Great Northern was a lovely guy and a great instructor.

However for some strange reason he never was interested in flying the Channel 10 and Channel 2 contracts he had although he was happy to fly the Abrolohos Island fishing charters every year.

I did my helicopter conversion with him and have fond memories of those days.
He wanted to sell the operation and I was tempted but there was too much competition from the likes of West Coast in those days.

The pilot who ended up crashing at Channel 10 was a part timer who was a video tape editor.....at Channel 10:D

[gulliBell]

Actually it arrived in Bankstown in a box, it was re-assembled there and ferried over to Perth via Ceduna and Kalgoorlie.

There was no money to be made flying it for Ch10, far more lucrative flying cashed up cray fishermen and their families out to the Abrolhos for 4 months of the year, and the occassional AMSA lighthouse job and other adhoc work.

[Ye Olde Pilot]

Des who flew the Channel 10 contract used to have a habit of coming back to Jandakot for a coffee and a pee but leave the 206 with the rotors idling for 20 minutes unattended on the ground. (We are talking early 1990's)
Colin reckoned it was easier and cheaper than doing a shutdown and restart.

Anyone know where Colin is now? And Des who was from Singapore?

[gulliBell]

....certainly cheaper to leave it idling for 20 minutes and earning "engine on" revenue time :D

[SuperF]

Mmmmmm. A bit like the old seismic survey days in NZ. Cheap hourly rate, but one guy wandered out and started 4 500's at 6am, then went back inside for breakfast. An hour or so later all the pilots went out, refueled and started for the day...

They didn't shut down for at least 12 hrs, which was the only way to make money at the cheap hourly rates charged, even tho some machines might not have flown at all for the day!

[Ye Olde Pilot]

The big problem in Perth is Channel 2 (ABC) 7 9 and 10 are all chasing non existing stories to fill space on the evening news.

So it's fires and car accidents etc.

Perth is the most remote city on the planet. Not much happens but Parkinsons law says work expands to fill time.

In my days there West Coast pretty much had the chopper trade wrapped up and Colin and Gt Northern Helicopters could not compete even though they had the ABC and Channel 10 contracts.

I did my test with the chief pilot of Channel 7 in 1990. Anyone know where he is now?