Originally Posted by
Fareastdriver
How else are you going to do it?
The engineers did their best and passed it as fit to fly. The pilot accepted it on the basis that he trusted his engineers.
I feel sorry for the bloke that signed it off.
A lot of posters are talking about the helicopter being “signed out” or “ok’d” by the engineering staff.
No mention of this in the report.
Just saying...
A pilot who flew the helicopter on 2 July 2020 to Broome Airport reported feeling unusual vibrations through the tail rotor pedals. He described it as if something was repetitively tapping through the pedals. The pilot of the accident flight also conducted a short flight in the helicopter and confirmed the unusual vibrations.
- Maintenance personnel conducted a dynamic tail rotor balance on 3 July 2020 (the day before the accident). The dynamic tail rotor balance was found to be within limits, and the maintenance personnel could not detect any unusual vibration on the ground.
- The accident flight was the first flight since the maintenance was conducted. Overall, the helicopter had 291 recorded hours in service.
Also from the report:
The R44 Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH) includes the following 'safety tip':
A change in the sound or vibration of the helicopter may indicate an impending failure of a critical component. If unusual sound or vibration begins in flight, make a safe landing and have the aircraft thoroughly inspected before flight is resumed. Hover helicopter close to the ground to verify problem is resolved, and then have aircraft reinspected before resuming free flight.
The ATSB strongly endorses this advice, and urges any R44 pilot that experiences unusual vibrations through the tail rotor pedals to land as soon as possible and follow the advice in the POH safety tip.
My BOLD in the quotes of report.