Technical fault discovered in crashed Copterline helicopter
A technical fault has been found from the control system of the Copterline helicopter which crashed near Tallinn in August with the loss of all its passengers and crew, and its impact on the possible cause of accident is to be further investigated, commercial operator Copterline reported yesterday.
During investigations carried out in Washington, a technical fault was discovered in the front servo of the Sikorsky 76C-helicopter, which is thought to have been a possible cause for a temporary seizing up of the control system.
The front servo is one of the three power steering systems of the control apparatus, which transmits the steering commands of the pilot. The manufacturer of these parts is responsible for their complete overhaul on a regular basis.
"It was discovered in Washington that the front servo did not pass the operational check. It is still unclear what caused the freezing of the front servo. It is also uncertain whether the accident was caused by the front servo malfunction", the Finnish representative of the Estonian-led commission of inquiry, nimi>Hannu Melaranta, announced on Thursday.
Fourteen people died in August, including 12 passengers, when a Finnish Copterline helicopter on a scheduled flight between Tallinn and Helsinki crashed into the Gulf of Finland shortly after take-off from the Estonian capital.
Copterline is also to start lay-off talks because scheduled traffic between Helsinki and Tallinn is not profitable. According to the company, this is a direct result of the helicopter crash in August.
Only one of the company's 12 helicopters is flying the scheduled Helsinki-Tallinn route. However, more than half of the 70-strong personnel is working in scheduled traffic.