1. A helicopter crash that killed a four-member Coast Guard aircrew last year was caused when a tangled rescue hoist snapped and damaged the rotor blades, according to a report released Friday.
The aircrew managed to right the helicopter but did not realize that the helicopter was too damaged to return to land the night of Sept. 4, 2008, according to investigators.
The Dolphin HH-65 crashed into the Pacific Ocean six miles south of Honolulu International Airport. The service members killed that night were Cmdr. Thomas Nelson, Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Wischmeier, Aviation Survival Technician 1st Class David Skimin and Aviation Maintenance Technician 1st Class Joshua Nichols. Nelson, the pilot, was the executive officer at Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point.
2. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau released a final investigative report regarding the November 9, 2009 hoisting accident. This accident seriously injured two crew members, when the hoist cable failed and they fell approximately 50 ft (16 m) onto deck of the ship. The event occurred when a Bell 412 operated by Torres Strait Ambulance rendezvoused with a container ship (Maersk Duffield) to evacuate an ill crew member.
3. A police rescuer fell five-six feet (1.5-2 m) during a January 2011 helicopter short-haul extraction. The Incident occurred during a body recovery operation being conducted by the South African Police with a BO-105 helicopter. This mechanical “uncommanded jettison” was caused by the pilot’s cargo hook foot release not automatically returning to the locked position. This mechanism requires that it be manually reset.
I know your heart is in the right place Crab, but no matter what we do accidents will happen no matter what equipment you are using. Operating twins did nothing to help these guys. Might I also add that your yank bashing attitude gets a little tiresome after a while.