Washington State aircraft damaged during search and rescue

[havoc]

Yakima first responders assist with emergency helicopter landing | KIMA (http://kimatv.com/news/local/yakima-first-responders-assist-with-emergency-helicopter-landing)

They hit a rock with their UH-1

by Jackie DelPilarSaturday, July 23rd 2016

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Yakima Fire Department assisted with an emergency helicopter landing this week that almost ended in a crash.
A news release from the Yakima Fire Department says a helicopter from the King County Sheriff's office made an emergency landing after the chopper was damaged.
The helicopter was on a rescue mission over Mount Adams for a lost hiker.
The Airport Rescue Fire Fighting, or ARFF crew, along with YFD 94 and Battalion 91 responded to the airport to assist with the landing.

Firefighters say the landing skid and fuselage was damaged, making it impossible for the helicopter to land without support.
The helicopter hovered near the ground for crew members to jump out . The news release says crews then stacked more than a dozen pallets for the chopper to land on. Firefighters stood by in case of a crash, which fortunately did not happen.
The helicopter landed safely and was later taken back to King County for repairs.

http://static-26.sinclairstoryline.com/resources/media/ff53086b-2133-42af-bbee-29d641f33fb4-large16x9_helicopter1.jpg?1469232524782

[Adam Nams]

They hit a rock


Quite a large one and with some force, looking at the damage incurred.

[TwinHueyMan]

Word on the street is LTE. High commendations were made by other crews that observed it for the pilot for getting it back out without losing the ship.

Mike

[500guy]

Mt. Adams is 12,281 feet high. If they were anywhere near the top of it with that UH-1, it would be pretty easy to get into LTE or power settling. Were they trying to do a one skid/ toe in rescue at the time?

[Ascend Charlie]

In the case of a heavy Huey above 6000', LTE stands for LACK of Tail Rotor Effectiveness.

[TwinHueyMan]

Not sure what they were up to up there, but despite the fast fin and strakes the old "wrong direction, wrong side" tail rotor just didn't have enough it seems. Would be willing to bet 212 drivetrain will be requested when the aircraft goes in for repairs.

Mike

[LRP]

actually it is on the correct side, just turns in the wrong direction.

[Ascend Charlie]

What Twin Huey means is that this machine needs the "flip-flop" modification, so the tail rotor goes onto the other side of the fin, which then lets it rotate up into the rotor downwash.

[albatross]

Hang on aren't we speaking about a 212 here? tractor vs pusher TR. don't think we want to go back to 204 daze.

[roscoe1]

They are talking about the old Helitrade (now Hillsboro) STC for the 212 hub and blades and going to a tractor tailrotor with 212 blades on the rh side. That may actually not be as effective as a ship with composite Huey blades, fast fin/strakes and Van Horn composite left side tail rotor blades. I'd like to see a fly-off of both styles during hot and high. Might surprise folks.

[roscoe1]

BTW, I hope they put the pallets under the stinger after the blades stopped turning. Yikes.

[LRP]

What Twin Huey means is that this machine needs the "flip-flop" modification, so the tail rotor goes onto the other side of the fin, which then lets it rotate up into the rotor downwash.
What I was referring to is that the "pusher" tail rotor is more effective than a tractor. The problem with the UH-1 T/R is that it rotates in the wrong direction. Bell's solution was to flip it to a tractor to get it rotating up into the M/R downwash without having to redesign the gearbox to change the rotation. The increase in efficiency by the rotation change out-weighed the decrease in efficiency by switching sides.
In mid-1970 an MWO came out for the AH-1G that flopped the T/R to a tractor, the difference in available left-pedal was noticeable. Later during the AH-1S (MOD) program the 212 tail rotor, 42 and 90 deg gearboxes and control system (all part of the AH-1J) was added to increase the efficiency of the tail rotor as part of the ICAM. Although I have no personal experience with it, I believe that this is the modification that is available for the 205 along with L-703 engine and modified transmission.

[TwinHueyMan]

A pusher is better than a tractor, but the tractor on a H1/205/212 rotates up on the front (vs down in the front on the pusher) which adds more help than which side it's on from what I hear. The 212 drivetrain has bigger TR blades than the stock UH-1D/H and 205 blades. These are available for the UH-1 and 205 with a 212 drivetrain swap, which typically also includes the 212 MR blades paired with a -17 donk. I think they call it a 205A++. If they could have a pusher that rotates up in front, I think it'd be key - not sure this exists though.

The only TR enhancement this bird has (if I remember correctly from seeing it while in WA) is the fast fin and strakes. Northwest Helicopters built it I believe, as well as the WA DNR Hueys, which also have the wrong side/wrong direction tail rotors - but those crews attested to how much the fast fin and strake helped when BLR was first pushing the mod to the market. Before this, the stock fin and tail rotor meant they were routinely holding full left pedal and spinning out of dip spots up in the hills.

Never flew a Huey in the PNW, so this is all hearsay based on working Black Hawks up there. We ran out of tail rotor occasionally, but for completely different reasons!

Mike

[John Eacott]

Article and photo from the Yakima Herald (http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/yakima-firefighters-detail-dramatic-effort-to-save-helicopter/article_a4e5bdd2-4f71-11e6-a90b-cb7606b9e88c.html):

YAKIMA, Wash. — As a damaged helicopter hovered above the Yakima Air Terminal earlier this week, firefighters stacked pallets on the tarmac to ensure it could land safely.

Details of the operation last Sunday were not released by the Yakima Fire Department until this morning.

The King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter had been attempting to land searchers on Mount Adams, when its fuselage and one of its skids were badly damaged after striking a rock outcropping.

The helicopter headed to Yakima, which was the nearest airport with a full-time fire crew on site.

Several members of the crew and searchers jumped from the craft as it hovered just feet from the tarmac, according to a news release issued by the Yakima Fire Department.

Then, in order to compensate for the broken skid, firefighters began stacking pallets for one side of the helicopter to settle on. The craft then landed without further incident.

The helicopter was one of several being used to search for a 60-year-old man who has been missing on Mount Adams since Sunday. That search is scheduled to continue today.

http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/yakimaherald.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/d9/2d975dc2-502e-11e6-bd8f-6f625d6f361d/579251d27b085.image.jpg

[Gordy]

NW Helicopters did not build the fast fin and strakes... BLR did. I habve a Huey with both the fast fin, strakes, the composite TR blades, and the dash 17. We have not switched the TR to the other side as of yet.

It is a beast.....

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j35/helokat/IMG_20151008_161500235_zps7obamc9o.jpg

[LRP]

if you switch sides with the T/R do you go with the entire 212 tail rotor drive train?

[TwinHueyMan]

NW Helicopters did not build the fast fin and strakes... BLR did.

Definitely. But NW Heli has a knack for building incredibly clean and very awesome Hueys with every option available... except the 212 drivetrain. Probably a testament to the fact that they have a graveyard of H1s that I assume they use for parts to build and/or support their fleet of completions, especially in the US.

Gordy, can you attest to the power of the stock UH-1 tail rotor setup with the BLR toys on a Huey? Never met anyone that said the stock UH-1 T/R was solid (without BLR) when flown commercially at high GW and DA.

Mike

[pj98321]

Not mentioned in this thread is the 703 engine and Van Horn T/R blades that this helicopter has.

And yes we did wait for the rotors to stop before piling the pallets under the stinger.

It impacted snow not rocks. That would have ended differently.

It was a ride that I care to not repeat.

[SASless]

Glad you are here to tell the Tale!

Flying on the Mountains gets a bit tricky at times as they have a way of reminding us who is Boss....but perhaps that is why they are as magnificent as they are.

Care to provide us with the full story of what happened as we might all learn a lesson or two from your doing so.


For a bit of History about Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier and pilots landing on top of them.

http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8469

[roscoe1]

The -17 engine is the commercial (type certificated) version of the -703 which is not type certificated. The differences are relatively minor and I believe a 703 can be made a -17 by complying with some service bulletins.
I have to say that in the US where we have public agencies flying restricted catagory or non-certificated Hueys hoisting the public, I am surprised that none of the civil operators have pushed the point that you cannot do any class D loads(non-jettison-able) unless you have a Catagory A Helicopter so why do public use agencies get to do that? The move to twin engine is an expensive one and near as I can tell cost is the ONLY reason to not be using twins for this type of work. An engine failure with people on the hook simply cannot end well unless all are very fortunate.

[SASless]

If you were to use a Bell 212 and have an Engine failure....what kind of performance are you going to have?

Likewise...in the 212...there is a single shaft driving the Rotor System and if it fails....you are right back where you started with the UH-1/205.

[pj98321]

If money grew on trees we would operate a new 412. It doesn't. So we as well as many other public operators use military surplus helicopters. The one in question was recently overhauled to the tune of 2+ million dollars. Not an easy pill to swallow when tax payers are footing the bill.

On the day of the incident a climber had called 911. He had slipped and tumbled on Mt Adams. He was badly injured and unable to describe where he was. The phone coordinates were estimated to be on the south side at about 10,000 feet. It was cold there, just under freezing. We expected no performance issues.

By the time we got a crew together and arrived the ceilings were down to 8,000.

Went back to Yakima and offered to fly some Mountain Rescue folks up as high as we could. Loaded up 2 and headed back up. The Army had provided a UH-60 and they were 10 minutes ahead of us. They tried to climb over the ceiling to insert on the summit but it wasn't happening. They dropped off 4 Mountain Rescue at about 8200. The pilot told us he would loiter in the area until we were done.

First approach didn't feel right so we came back from the other direction. There was a rock outcropping that was big enough to land on. As we were on a low slow approach the tail came around. I was sitting next to the open right door. 3/4 of the way through the second rotation it impacted the snow. Pilot pulled pitch at exactly the right time and it flew away. This was not actually good. I was waiting for the rest of the crash. But the Huey was still running and the ground was getting farther away. The 60 pilot had seen the whole thing. He came up behind us and reported that other than the skid damage torn and torn sheetmetal everything looked good. He climbed high enough to call KYKM and called for ARFF and asked them to "procure" some pallets. Took about 30 minutes to get there. We could hover just fine and had about 800 lbs fuel. All the crew except the pilots and I jumped out. One of the crew stacked the pallets and I guided the pilot onto the stacks.

So all in all a great landing as everyone walked or ran away, and the helicopter still works.

Lessons learned. Still forth coming but basically mountain flying is high risk.

And on a sad note 2 weeks later the fallen climber's body was found.

[roscoe1]

A 212 is a marginal Cat A aircraft to be sure. I don't think anyone would choose a 212 for a hoist rescue ship if cost were not a factor. Of course a Huey can out perform a 212 if there is any altitude or elevated temperature involved. Yes, the 212 lugs around a C box. The twin pac was designed for a Navy helicopter and as far as I know the only aircraft that use it in the civil world are the 212 and the S58T. Not a popular design for obvious reasons. The answer is , don't think of a 212 as a real Cat A ship.....

[LRP]

The -17 engine is the commercial (type certificated) version of the -703 which is not type certificated. The differences are relatively minor and I believe a 703 can be made a -17 by complying with some service bulletins.
I have to say that in the US where we have public agencies flying restricted catagory or non-certificated Hueys hoisting the public, I am surprised that none of the civil operators have pushed the point that you cannot do any class D loads(non-jettison-able) unless you have a Catagory A Helicopter so why do public use agencies get to do that? The move to twin engine is an expensive one and near as I can tell cost is the ONLY reason to not be using twins for this type of work. An engine failure with people on the hook simply cannot end well unless all are very fortunate.
"A Federal, State, or local government conducting operations with public aircraft" are not subject to Part 133 certification rules. Just that simple.

[Three Lima Charlie]

The BH-212 blade airfoil is designed for high speed forward flight. The UH-1 (BH-205) airfoil is much better for lift. We flew both models, and always tried to use the 205 for sling loads and long line work. Unlike the UH-1, the FAA approved the 205 for 91% minimum rotor RPM during takeoff, below 30 knots. Many times I would pull max torque at 100% Nr with the load still firmly on the ground, then beep the Nr down, keep the torque at max, and watch it climb right up at several hundred feet per minute. Wonder why the military never put this in the -10 manual for the Huey?

[SASless]

212,,,high speed....errrrr....mutually exclusive concepts I am afraid!:E

Apply that same concept to 212's verse 412's and you have it figured out.

212's like lifting as compared to the 412.

[NickLappos]

Three Lima Charlie,
the reason why you get a bit more lift in the hover at low rpm is tied into the basic trade-off we face when we select the rotor characteristics. To prevent retreating blade stall at cruise speed (I would say "high" speed, but that is ridiculous for a 212), we size the blade chord much bigger than that needed to hover, so there is enough blade area at the retreating tip to support the whole helicopter as the root has stalled.
In a hover, the skinnier the blades the better, since extra blade area adds drag.
One way to make fat blades seem skinnier (like all these aerodynamic words?) is to slow the rotor down and make the blades go to a higher angle of attack, closer to the best lift/drag point for the airfoil.
As you slowed the rotor down, the blades became a better match fo a hover, and you got more lift for each horsepower.
This is also true of most helicopters, if the rotor can stand the lower rpm.
Why not do it for all rotors? Because you risk lots of other problems, such as loss of tail rotor thrust (this is a big issue with many of the older Bells), and also making a drive shaft jump into your lap (since no real testing was done outside of the green rotor rpm arc).
For many helos, dropping the rotor rpm 5% below the normal/max in a hover will create about 5% more lift so for a 10000 lb helo, 500 more lbs of payload could be had. In Vietnam, we drooped from 6600 to 6200 regularly in takeoff and it helped.

[SASless]

I have seen 5800 RPM in a UH-1 and still flying....so long as you wanted to turn Right in the process because the Tail Rotor was not very effective at that RPM.

Some Bristow Pilots with a bit of brain power left can tell us what MR RPM we used to droop the 212 to while practicing Single Engine Failures on Take Off....it seems like it was 91% but then I had a few too many bottles of Gulder Beer which was 212Man's Beer of Choice as I recall.

[soggyboxers]

Yes SAS, it was droop to 91% Nr for a single engine take off. When I had my SE fire/failure off Port Said, the Nr went down to below 85% but somehow I managed to recover them and the old girl recovered and got me the 60 miles back to the beach (with a chip warning on the other engine and the floats half inflated (but that's another story!). :}

[NickLappos]

soggyboxers, it is takeoffs like that that create the soggy boxers, n'est-pas?

[SASless]

Nick.....tis all of Soggy's flying abilities jointly and severally that gave him that nick name! That Trail of Tears began clear back when he was arm wrestling S-58T's on the North Sea.;)