Originally Posted by
KiwiNedNZ
I added my edit to the post about the accident - not sure if it will get approved or not
My comments at the end in the Narrative box LOL
KiwiNedNZ: I share the view of megan that it is likely that the rotors of VH-XKQ cut off its own tail, presuming or course the tail was lost at the time of the collision rather than when the helicopter impacted the sandbank. I can imagine that if the rotors of VH-XKQ initially smashed through the cockpit of VH-XH9, they would have become destabilised and perhaps then one or more cut the tail, even if the rotor was still connected to the helicopter by that stage. The pilot may also have made an urgent control input if he saw the other helicopter in the last few moments before the collision.
I don't think you should be so harsh on people who help with developing ASN. It is a significant safety resource and any errors can be updated over time as better information becomes available. In this case, the person who made that contribution was probably just reading one of the early eye witness accounts that indicated that one helicopter cut off the tail of the other. I can also understand that an eye witness might think that as they probably just saw the collision in the blink of an eye and then the major parts falling separately. They would then have tried to process what they saw. I read about the Rotor-Work Bell 47G crash over Circular Quay many years back. A large number of witnesses saw it happen, and there were many interpretations of what occurred (of course along with the footage of it coming down which sadly included from the cameraman within the cabin).