Maryland EMS Helicopter Crashes into Potomac River

[RDRickster]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/11/helicopter.crash.ap/index.html

I spoke with an EMS pilot from the same airfield (different company), and early reports are that the aircraft MAY have hit one of the construction cranes used on the Wilson Bridge project. Condolensces to family and friends.

[SASless]

Before the shouting starts....that route is an authorized low-level transit for helicopters in the Washington, DC area.....passes under the Reagan Airport (nee National Airport) runway traffic. Thus it would be a normal event for an aircraft to be flying low-level there......that being said.....it will be interesting to read the report when it comes out.

Sadly, another EMS crewmember dies in the line of duty. Condolences to the family and co-workers.
:(

[visibility3miles]

They are examining the cranes being used to work on the bridge where the helicopter went down for signs of a collision. They are also looking into the possibility that birds were sucked into the engine (whatever that means, I am quoting a report I heard on the radio.)

http://www.wtop.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=385819

Investigators will be looking at traffic cameras which captured pictures of the helicopter as it descended.

[Devil 49]

Here's some of the shouting-
Parts of the "FAA approved route" are reportedly expected to be flown at 2-300 feet. Whatever happened in this particular incident, those route altitude restrictions are an accident awaiting a victim. Russian roulette, anyone?

[SASless]

....and that rule applies daytime and NIGHTTIME.....oh...I do love the FAA sometimes.

We might also consider the FAR Part 135 requirement to maintain 300 feet AGL minimum height except for taking off/landing. How does that play into this kind of situation.

[RDRickster]

Details and background on the crash and investigation found here...

http://www.nbc4.com/news/4074032/detail.html

Slide show of the aircraft in the water found here...

http://www.nbc4.com/slideshow/4069942/detail.html?qs=;s=1;p=;dm=ss

Some of the traffic cameras actually caught the incident, although not in the slides above. The construction cranes on the Wilson Bridge project are MASSIVE. The new divided bridge will have 4-5 lanes on EACH side... not to mention the fact this is an existing draw bridge around the D.C. beltway. Occassionally they shut down both directions for large ships to pass through... just to give you an idea of the size of this project. I haven't checked NOTAMs in that area because it is restricted airspace (only EMS, Customs, Military, Police, and Large Carriers)... I wonder if the cranes had lights, if they had flags, or even if there was a notice about them.

[GLSNightPilot]

New NTSB release says they have examined 4 of the 5 cranes with negative results, one left to go, which is the highest.

[SASless]

Second fatal EMS crash this year in the US....are we out to set a record this year?

Do the German's fly their EMS aircraft at night as we do in the US....if so...wonder how the accident rates compare?

[Steve76]

SASless, the Canadians in Ontario fly their EMS all the time at night. They keep to the rules strictly and do not do night scene calls. No issues at all.

[SASless]

Steve,

How do the US and Canadian rules for night flight compare? How can the operators not do scene flights at night....is that not the primary reason for the service? Is there a happy medium between what we do in the US and say...the Canadian or German model that would provide for improved safety and yet still allow for more "scene" response at night?


Is the Canadian method too restrictive?

[NickLappos]

"They keep to the rules strictly and do not do night scene calls. No issues at all."

No issues at all unless you need medical aid!!

[tecpilot]

Hi SASless,

what do you want to know about german or european night ems missions? I have to say, that i'm not so good informed about the US way in night EMS. Therefore i couldn't compare. Anyway, counted to the small numbers of helicopters flying in the night business there is also a relatively high accident number. And it's right that the most operators do not fly on night scene calls. Most EMS flights at night are interhospital flights. That's a long discussion. Shure the pressure to operators and pilots to do such on scene flights becomes higher and higher. And it's not only the reason to help, it's business pressure. Germany, Austria and Switzerland are highly developed and small countries and in nearly all cases you can reach a hospital by ground transport in 15-30 minutes. There is a complete ground rescue network established, that can also reach nearly any accident site within 15-20 minutes. On the night helicopter bases you have a pre-takeoff time during the night hours from 15-60 minutes. The ship have to fly to the scene, land on scene or the nearest possible landing site, medical help, loading the patient, fly some minutes to the next hospital. There is not so much sense in such missions.

JAR-OPS 3 allowed such missions, if the landing site is great enough and illuminated , including obstacles, by ground or helicopter lights. The use of NVG is prohibited to civil operators in Germany and Austria. Switzerland is on NVG ops since several years. May be NVG could improve the situation and off course safety. But at the moment there is no movement. Night on scene flights without NVG have in my opinion and experience :yuk: :yuk: :yuk: (wires, blending by ground spot lights, trees, helicopter ops unexperienced ground rescuer and fire men) a much, much greater risk factor. Why should a helicopter crew risk so much if a ground crew can reach the patient with a much lower risk in shorter time? To earn more money? May be in other countries they have other conditions?

[Paul McKeksdown]

Up until a few years back the night EMS missions in Germany were wholly handled by the military with the exception of one or two authorised units. Their military rules being that they could break the required met limitations in order to conduct 'Search and Rescue' operations. This was always a tenuous link as it was difficult to see what constitued a 'medevac' and what constituted SAR to the military. What was left after that was that upon completion of the mission the night VFR limitations were restored and the helo remained at the patient drop off point until either the weather improved or another task was received from RCC Glucksburg.

This is now slowly changing with the ADAC and DRVB slowly increasing the amount of night capable aircraft and crews. The only overriding factor governing this deployment of night capable units is once again the weather. The night flying restrictions within Germany are quite stringent even for EMC due in part to the lack of permission to fly on NVG.

The military cover most of the country and they are still used as the backup for the EMS helos if the weather deteriorates. The EMS helos will generally be tasked if the weather conditions allow it and the task is considered urgent enough.

[Heliport]

WBAL News Report NTSB Rules Out Cranes As Cause Of Helicopter Crash

OXON HILL, Md. -- National Transportation Safety Board inspectors said Thursday that there was no evidence that a helicopter hit one of the cranes near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge before it crashed into the Potomac River on Monday night.

Inspectors viewed the last of five cranes at the bridge construction site Thursday and found no structural damage or paint from the Eurocopter EC-135 chopper, the NTSB said.

That effectively rules out the cranes as a cause of the medical flight crash just south of the nation's capital, which killed the pilot and a paramedic.

The lone survivor, flight nurse Jonathan Godfrey, told investigators that he didn't remember any abrupt maneuvers or sudden pilot reactions before the crash. But he said "my instincts tell me we hit something."

In one instant the LifeNet crew was flying south over the bridge, and in the next instant they were in the water, Godfrey said.

An initial examination of the wreckage didn't show any obvious signs of mechanical malfunction, the NTSB said. The wreckage will be cleaned and laid out Friday for a more thorough investigation.

[Devil 49]

Me, preaching to the choir-
Remember this is a media report. They do their best, but when it comes to aviation they really don't have a clue, and frequently get the finer points wildly wrong. I'm guessing that the statement, "That effectively rules out the cranes as a cause of the medical flight crash..." is a reporter assumption, and not an NTSB statement of fact.

[SASless]

Devil 49...

I am not knowing on this particular incident...so this is just one man's opinion here....but doth it not seem awfully interesting that a helicopter decides to come to bits right over some tall cranes in the middle of the night while it is at a very low height over the ground? I wonder if they checked for any cables that were hanging underneath some of the cranes as well. One of the photographs taken at the scene showed a rotor blade snapped completely in half. After all...they did hit water when the aircraft impacted.:suspect:

[alouette]

To one of the previous posts. Some countries in Europe do have EMS services at night. Switzerland comes to mind as well as Germany, Austria, etc... Though I look forward for the report from the NTSB rather than the garbage from the media...

[M609]

Norway has EMS night (both with/without NVG)

(It's kinda a requirement, since parts of the country is mostly dark several moths each year)

[tecpilot]

Hi SASless,

this is a link to an accident report from switzerland.
A AS 355 EMS helicopter chrashed after takeoff from an accident site at night due to contact with powerlines in 150ft agl.
The pilot, paramedic and patient died, the doc survived heavily injured. The night was dark and it was impossible to see the powerline and her poles round about 200m from the landing site. The distance between the line poles was 400m and the ship contacted a line in the middle between the 2 poles. The pilot was in the mission area very experinced. During the approach to the accident site he was additionally informed by ground about the powerline. The line was also in the flight map. May be the pilot forgot the powerline. But the approach/departure was also only in one sector free of obstacles. The landing site was illuminated by ground lights and after takeoff the pilot directed the ship into the dark. The human eye needs some minutes to adapt on darkness.
Also the adapting problem is a high risk factor on on-scene night flights.
http://www.bfu.admin.ch/common/pdf/1638l

[Steve76]

SAS,

They didn't do night scene calls. They were not asked and they didn't want to. I think the boys at STARS in Calgary get out at night. As for the rule differences. I don't thing the FAA/TC laws vary all that much. I am not certain thou...

I wouldn't mind doing night scene work with decent lighting and an autopilot but it is hugely risky. I wouldn't like to be the Captain in the non-flying seat of the 76 and having to deal with the lack of view.
With someone you trust it might be a different story.

My next effort in this line of work will have to be single pilot, 3+ axis autopilot, NVFR and IFR. Better a reliable autopilot than an incompetent copilot.

........but then again I am a demanding b@rstard.

[Heliport]

NBC News NTSB Offers New Possible Cause Of Helicopter Crash
Preliminary Report: Jet's Wake Turbulence Could Be Factor In Crash

WASHINGTON -- A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board offers a new clue in the crash of a helicopter into the Potomac River.

The NTSB said wake turbulence from another aircraft may have been a factor in the crash near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge on Jan. 10.

When planes fly, streams come off the wing tips, leaving a wake of disturbed air.

"It's like two tornadoes coming off the wing tips of aircraft, and it increases in size as it leaves those wing tips, and it remains in an area, essentially falling in altitude for some period of time," said aviation expert George Novak.

One minute before the helicopter crashed, a jet flew over the Wilson Bridge, and the helicopter may have traveled in the flight path of that jet, possibly being influenced by the wake turbulence.

[b.borg]

From the NTSB January, 13.
Today, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board inspected the fifth (and tallest) of the five cranes along the Potomac River near the Wilson Bridge construction project. No structural damage or obvious aircraft strike indications were found on this crane, or the four other cranes that were inspected yesterday.

For the full text see the NTSB Advisory (http://www.ntsb.gov/Pressrel/2005/050113a.htm)

[Heliport]

Sole survivor's account here. (http://www.gazette.net/200504/clinton/news/257235-1.html)