The latest update. Starts putting a few things together.
Investigation: AO-2011-166 - Operational event - Agusta AW139 helicopter, VH-SYZ, Carrington Falls, New South Wales, 24 December 2011
Investigation update 18 January 2012:
On 24 December 2011, an injured canyoner was being retrieved from rugged terrain by helicopter winch. A paramedic was assisting the winch retrieval. During the winching process, the paramedic and the injured man fell some distance and as a result the paramedic was fatally injured. The winch cable was subsequently cut.
The ATSB investigation team completed its examination of the helicopter and winch and a number of interviews with the involved crew and canyoners on 27 December 2011. In addition, the helicopter's flight data and cockpit voice recorders, or 'black boxes' were recovered from the aircraft and taken to the ATSB's technical facilities in Canberra for download. That download was successful and information covering the period of the winching accident was recovered from both recorders.
The investigation has established that there was no anomaly with the helicopter or its winch with the potential to have contributed to the accident. In addition, it has been determined that the winch cable was manually severed by the crew following the accident. That action was taken in order for the helicopter to depart the accident site and return to its base.
The investigation is continuing and will include the examination of a number of recovered components including the ropes and other equipment used during the attempted rescue and the analysis of additional recorded information and images. The investigation will also examine the planning and conduct of the winching operation, together with the qualifications and experience of the involved personnel and the operator's policy and procedures as they applied to the rescue.
The information contained in this web-only report is released in accordance with section 25 of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 and is derived from the initial investigation of the occurrence. Readers are cautioned that new evidence will become available as the investigation progresses that will enhance the ATSB's understanding of the accident as outlined in this preliminary update. As such, no analysis or findings are included in this report.