AMS Heli crash in Uniondale

[340_co-jock]

Just heard the tradig news of the AMS Air Ambulance crash in Uniondale.
Does anyone know who the pilot and crew were?
RIP my friends

[Latent Heat]

Heres hoping that i heard incorrectly. On KFM this morning i caught the end piece of something to do with the AMS 105 crashing. Apparently 4 fatilities...three crew and one patient.

Really sad news.

Condolences to all families.

[Little One]

Air ambulance crashes, killing 4
03/10/2005 08:44


Cape Town - Four people died when a Red Cross helicopter crashed near Uniondale in the Western Cape, the SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service said on Monday.
The Eurocopter BO105 helicopter crashed on Sunday night with a patient and three aircrew aboard. The wreckage was found at first light on Monday.

"The SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service air ambulance aeroplane and a helicopter based in Knysna located the burnt-out wreckage of the organisation's BO105 helicopter near Haarlem (near Uniondale) just after first light this morning," spokesperson Susann Elphick said.

"There were no survivors and the cause of the crash is not yet known."

Elphick said the helicopter was dispatched to Haarlem at 18:15 from George Airport to airlift a patient involved in a car accident to Lamprecht Clinic in George.

"Our information is they departed Haarlem for George at 19:50 with the patient on board. A radio call was received at approximately 20:20 from the helicopter but no communication was received after this. The flight from Haarlem to George normally takes approximately thirty-minutes (approximately 100km)," Elphick said.

SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service general manager John Stone added a ground search by Metro EMS and Mosselbay Fire and Rescue was launched at 23:00 and continued throughout the night.

"I'd like to express my sincerest condolences to the families concerned on the loss of their loved ones," Stone said.

An aerial search was conducted at first light on Monday.

A Red Cross Pilatus PC-12 plane was dispatched at 04:20 and a Red Cross Eurocopter B2 "Squirrel" helicopter was dispatched at 06:00 from Cape Town International Airport.

The Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre also activated two Eurocopter EC120 helicopters to join the search.

The BO105 was stationed at Oudtshoorn in June to provide helicopter emergency medical services to critically ill or injured patients in the Karoo region.

It is the first time in the thirty-nine year history of the SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service such a crash has occurred.

News24/SAPA

[ANVAK]

Very sad news indeed. RIP and condolences to all.

[lionco]

Well bOb, you pulled the ultimate "Boney1 Alpha" departure.
We will all miss you terribly.

RIP my friend

[Banzai-blades]

One of the best people I had the pleasure of working with.
We will all miss you "BOB"

[Ned-Air2Air]

It was Jeremy flying the 105. Not sure of his last name as never knew it. He used to fly for On Air at Vic Falls and flew the camera ship when I did my shoot there a year or so ago.

From what I can remember he was an engineer in the SAAF who then learnt to fly.

He was a great guy, polite, professional and we had a great time shooting the other helos over Vic Falls.

He will never be forgotten. RIP Jeremy.

Ned aka Heli Ops :( :(

[Ossewa]

:(

What a great guy and excellent Pilot! I’m sure everybody that knew you will have a tea with 2 sugars and milk; just the way you liked it!

Jerros, we will all miss you…! Tonight I’ll drink your quota beer for 2034 old friend!

[nyathi]

My condolences the families and friends of the crew and patient of the BO 105. The crew did one helluva job, they were and are very good. We will mis you!!

RIP!!

[alwaysinverted]

RED CROSS RELEASES NAMES:

Pilot Jeremy Woods (36) of Pietermaritzburg
Emergency Worker Carlos Julius of Mossel Bay
Flight Paramedic Paul Alexander (26) of Glencairn
Car Crash Victim Medicie Miller (9)

Indeed very sad when such young people loose their lives.

Condolences to the respective families. My thoughts are with you all.

RIP!

[Captain Pheremone]

Jerimiah...aka "Little Bob" ......it was not your time and you leave the world one fine gentleman less.

May it be a good ride my friend, unlike myself at least I know you will be going upstairs....I am going to miss you.

You leave many, many people behind who liked and respected you.....not everyone can say that.

Cheers and God speed.
Z

[The Fat Captain]

The world loses another of it's rare gentlemen with the passing of Jeremy Wood. My condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time.

Working with Jeremy was a true delight. He was a man with a fantastic combination of humility, integrity, honesty, intelligence and a wonderfully dry sense of humour.

Godspeed to you on your final journey "Captain Grumpy", it was an honour to have worked with you.

:{

[B Sousa]

Yet another sad loss on the African scene. Too many lately. BO-105s dont come down that easy. Any idea what went wrong??

[Captain Pheremone]

Mercy-flight bodies stuck on mountain
03/10/2005 22:42


George - What should have been a flight of mercy turned into a tragedy on Sunday night when a Red Cross helicopter with three crew and a young, injured American girl flew into a mountainside and burst into flames.
Nine-year old Medicine Miller of the United States, volunteer medical crewman Carlos Julius of Mossel Bay fire and rescue, Red Cross flight paramedic Paul Alexander, 26, of Glencairn and Red Cross pilot Jeremy Wood, 36, of Pietermaritzburg, died in the crash.

By late afternoon, bad weather prevented their bodies from being brought down off the mountain.

The crew took off in the Red Cross BO105 helicopter from George Airport about 18:15 on Sunday to pick up Medicine, daughter of Jeremy and Rita Muller, who had been seriously injured in a car accident.

Crashed minutes afater takeoff

The Toyota Condor, in which the Millers were travelling with the girl's grandmother, Colleen Miller, and great-grandmother, Dorothy Thomson, all of the US, had a tyre burst and ran off the R62 at Haarlem near Uniondale in the Langkloof.

The adults were slightly injured and taken to George by ambulance. It was decided that it would be better to transfer the injured girl to hospital by helicopter.

It was a decision the family was to regret because, only minutes after the helicopter had taken off, it crashed into the side of a mountain in the dark and burst into flames.

It remains a mystery how the accident happened. Many emergency rescue workers who congregated near the R62 to decide on a plan of action, could only speculate about what had gone wrong.

'There was no mist'

John Mathys, a farm worker who saw the car accident and then saw the helicopter taking off, said there was no mist on the mountain on Sunday night.

"I watched the helicopter take off. He flew towards the mountain, instead of straight towards George - that way, along the road, " he said.

"There was no mist, but sometimes the mist comes over the mountain right there."

Pieces of the burnt-out wreckage of the helicopter were spread across hundreds of square metres in the burnt veld.

The tail was lying to one side, while the crumpled and burnt fuselage came to rest much lower down the slope.

Just a fragment with red paint showed that it had been a Red Cross helicopter.

Police who were airlifted to the crash reached the wreckage after an hour's hiking across the rugged terrain.

They found no signs of life: one of the bodies was still recognisable, the other three burnt beyond recognition.

Back in George, the ambulance staff realised there was something amiss when they arrived at George Hospital to find the helicopter was not yet there. They tried in vain to make radio contact.

By 23:00, a search-and-rescue team comprising members of the metro emergency medical services and the Mossel Bay fire-and-rescue unit started combing the uninhabitable slopes for the missing helicopter. But, in vain.

The search was resumed at first light on Monday morning. A Red Cross Pilatus PC-12 and a private helicopter belonging to the Pezula golf estate in Knysna followed the signal emmitted by the missing chopper's black box and found the wreckage.

Bodies stuck on mountain

A police convoy with rescue teams in 4x4s followed a dirt road up the mountain to Haarlem Dam, where the road ended. From there, it took another nine hours of hiking to reach the wreckage.

By late afternoon, after the State pathologist had been to the scene, the rescue teams could start gathering the remains of the four victims into bodybags.

But bad weather stopped a police helicopter from taking the bodies down the mountain. The retrieval will continue as soon as weather permits.

Miller and his wife were too upset about their daughter's death to talk to the media on Monday afternoon.

Captain Eddie Cronjé said they were "heart-broken".

"They were in tears when I spoke to them, and couldn't face talking to the media.

Alexander, who recently started working in George, is survived by his wife, Olivia, and two children.

Olivia, who is pregnant with the couple's third child, is a volunteer at the NSRI in Simonstown.

[flyermansam]

Thank you to the crew of that faitfull flight, who sacrificed their life to assist others... and to you Joules...

May your soul have wings to soar forever

Your brother in arms

[Gunship]

My sincere condolonces to the brave resuers and the sad loss of the little patient.

God Bless the mourning families and friends.

[Exhaust Manifold]

To the crew who willingly assisted others in their times of need, RIP. To Joules may you recieve the wings of gold and the halo of light :sad:

Condolences to their families

[Gunship]

The Civil Aviation Authority and Wilderness Search-and-Rescue have called off operations at the B0105 helicopter crash site in the Langkloof Mountains due to bad weather conditions, the SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service said on Tuesday.

The area was blanketed by low cloud, poor visibility and rain, said spokesperson Susann Elphick.

The CAA and WSAR had left the site and would wait until the weather cleared before recovering the bodies.

Full Report (http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1810974,00.html)

[CanHover]

God Bless you Jeremy,

You were a fine gentleman and aviator (pilot and engineer) and will be sorely missed. May you rest in peace!!

[canthover]

Hey CanHover - sorry I can't!

If this was a CFIT issue, then should we not be looking the pressure that EMS crew are put under by operators to get the job done even in a hostile environment - just look at the growth/changes in the SA EMS industry of late (competition).

How often have we seen it where the approval for a flight takes longer than the job could have been done by vehicle and then at the end of the day the weather delays things even more. Is the underlying philosophy of HEMS not in need of a rethink??

Just a thought.

Condolences to all those lost. These times are tough for everyone.

[Daiseycutter]

I think that it might be pertinent to wait until the smoke has settled before we even begin to think or talk about CFIT. Let the CAA guys investigate for a few minutes more and then perhaps we might go in this direction.

RIP Guys

The rest of you Fly Safe.

[nyathi]

I agree with Daiseycutter, let the experts do their job first and then the rest can start speculating what happened. This crew was very brave in risking their life fo safe somebody elses life! RIP guys, you did on helluva job!

[B Sousa]

If this was a CFIT issue, then should we not be looking the pressure that EMS crew are put under by operators to get the job done even in a hostile environment - just look at the growth/changes in the SA EMS industry of late (competition).
Not an islolated problem. This is a world wide problem. EMS accidents in the states are going through the roof. I know there has been a big push for multi engine aircraft, however that has not helped much when the big problem seems to be SPIFR or continued VFR into IMC conditions..

Let the CAA guys investigate for a few minutes more and then perhaps we might go in this direction.

Most who post here respect the fact that families have been forever torn apart. But based on prior posts as to WHO may be doing the investigation, time may be wasted in the prevention of a similar accident. I think even those who have suffered may agree.
Should there be a thread for condolonces and one for causation??

[takeabreath]

I had the privilege of being Jeremy's first student pilot. I could not have aksed 4 a kinder, more patient instruct. Needless to say we became good friend and his loss is tragic. A person like Jeremy only comes by once in a lifetime and your death leaves a gap that is too big to ever replace. Love you lots mr. Grumpy

[Yossarian]

The bad news I heard today was shattering.

RIP Jeremy, old friend.

[Captain Pheremone]

Hey Daisycutter...I agree 100%

I know this is a rumour network but there is also no easier way to start one than for others to plant the seed. CFIT, Engine failure, Electrical failure, Tail rotor failure etc etc etc ....you name it they happen.

Whoever is doing the investigation lets give them a small amount of credit and see what they come up with!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quite likely Jeremy did everything right and it could have been me or you.

[propellorhead]

For those wishing to pass on messages to Jeremy's family and loved ones. Please visit http://www.acweb.co.za

Farewell dear friend.

[Gunship]

:sad: A police helicopter has recovered the remains of four people killed in a helicopter crash in the Langkloof mountains at the weekend, the SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service (AMS) said on Wednesday.

The bodies have been taken to the George State Mortuary.

Full Report (http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1811681,00.html)

[Gunship]

George - The charred remains of three crew and a child patient have been brought down from a mountain "on a wing and a prayer" two days after their Red Cross helicopter crashed and burst into flames.

The helicopter crashed on Sunday night and the four were burnt to death.

They were the pilot, Jeremy Wood, paramedic Paul Alexander, Carlos Julius of the Mossel Bay fire brigade and nine-year-old American girl Madison Miller, who had a broken femur from a motor accident on Sunday.

The helicopter was located on Monday, but bad weather and rugged terrain prevented the remains from being brought down for two days and nights.

On Wednesday morning, after a police rescue helicopter had been grounded by bad weather on Tuesday, they decided to take a chance when a window opened in the weather.

Superintendent Wayne Venter of the Southern Cape police said: "With God's mercy, the weather gave us a chance to bring back the remains."

Body bags stayed on mountain

The remains of the four had been put into body bags on Monday afternoon by members of the metro emergency rescue services, supervised by Dr Mariette Hurst, the state pathologist.

But, the body bags had had to remain when the weather forced them to leave the wreckage.

Early on Wednesday, the weather lifted for a short while and Venter sent in the Port Elizabeth police air wing's Squirrel helicopter with inspector Arnold Pienaar as pilot and flight crew comprising inspector Nolan Smith of Port Elizabeth and Deon van Wyk of Eden fire brigade.

Smith said on Wednesday afternoon that when they arrived near the crash about 08:00, it was again pouring.

They put the helicopter down as close as possible to the crash scene and waited for the weather to give them a chance to fly in.

Meanwhile, Venter, superintendent Gerhard Lategan of the area crime prevention unit and inspector Wessie van der Westhuizen of Oudtshoorn dog unit, waited at Haarlem Dam about three kilometres away with inspector Johannes Meintjies and the police hearse.

About 09:50 the weather lifted slightly and Venter sent in the helicopter.

While Pienaar kept his eye on the instruments and remained hovering over the body bags, Van Wyk was winched 50m to the ground.

Van Wyk first put the remains of the paramedic and the pilot into a stretcher, loaded it in the cargo net and it was winched up to the hovering helicopter.

With Smith holding the stretcher against the helicopter's skids, Pienaar flew to the waiting hearse.

Started raining again

The bodybags were lowered and Pienaar headed back up the mountain.

Back at the crash, Van Wyk loaded the remaining two body bags.

He said: "It was raining. When I loaded the body bag with the girl's remains, the pilot decided it was time for us to all pull out."

By 11:15, the retrieval mission had been completed, and Meintjies left with his sad load for the mortuary at George police station.

Venter said afterwards: "For us, it was a mission guided by prayer."

Link (http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1811927,00.html)

[Deanw]

Red Cross 'to please explain'

07/10/2005

Michelé O'Connor

Cape Town - The Red Cross air ambulance service (AMS) is apparently in trouble because of an operating licence.

A group of private air ambulance operators has filed a complaint against the Red Cross with the department of transport's council for airline licensing.

This week, private air ambulance service operators all over the country have questioned the Red Cross service's safety, legality and the so-called free service.

The group of operators are demanding that the Red Cross gives account of the legality of its service and its real capability as an air ambulance service after the helicopter disaster in the Southern Cape in which a nine-year-old girl and three crew members died.

Several questions were raised this week about this service's capabilities.

The private operators said the Red Cross does not have a G7 licence to operate as an air ambulance service.

Legal representative for the private air ambulance services, Marette Fouche, said a G7 licence is issued to all air services that want to operate as ambulance and emergency services.

An operator has to meet certain requirements before the council issues this licence. The Red Cross has been exempted from such a licence for the past few years, Fouche said.

She said she has already issued a request to the council that the Red Cross be forced to also apply for a G7 licence. The council also has to provide reasons why the Red Cross should be exempted from the licence.

The requirements for the licence include insurance for patients and proper guidelines for pilots.

The owner of a private air ambulance service who did not want to be named said nobody knows if the Red Cross adheres to any of the requirements and standards.

Monica Mabunda, secretary of the airline licensing council, confirmed that the Red Cross was recently exempted from the licence for a further 36 months.

Another private operator said the Red Cross has offered the fact that it delivers a free service as a charity organisation as an excuse for not having to have a licence. This free service is also being question. Die Burger is in possession of three quotes issued by the Red Cross for flights in the Northern Cape.

The quotes include sales tax and a rebate of 15% in a case where payment is made within 30 days. Louis Witten, service manager of the Red Cross, signed the quotes.

Susann Elphick, spokesperson for AMS, confirmed that the AMS was exempted from a G7 licence. This is because the Red Cross air ambulance service is protected under Section 138 of the airline licensing council.

The service has an agreement with the Civil Aviation Authority to meet all its requirements. This authority is welcome to investigate AMS at any time, Elphick said.

News24

[canthover]

Maybe I am missing something here?

If this is a free service then why write out and sign a quote?

Who pays for the running costs on machines such as Squirrel's and 105's? These are not exactly cheap - or is there some huge generous sponsor?

Who pays the commercial pilots (Hope all EMS pilots have some experience - RT thinks its not important - he fired all his ex STAR pilots) for their services - oh sorry pilots don't earn money - they just love flying so much and have such friendly bank managers! Oh and of course the helicopters themselves are not cheap.

Its fine having an exemption - these are applied for and granted all the time - but are there SOP's, an operating philosophy, safety program, call out criteria, GO/NO GO decision making criteria, hours of operation, etc etc - just a few things to keep it tidy?

Was this a daylight only service or 24 hour VFR - who decides when night VFR is dodge and should be an IFR operation - don't think the 105 is SPIFR equipped?

[Sir Cumference]

This is becomming quite messy!

[Daiseycutter]

And now the fur flies. Ok, so now that the dust has settled somewhat lets get into this a little bit more. I take exception to John Stone stating that they have a 39 year long record of no "accidents".

That may be so, but they have a litany of incidents in their not to distant checkered past - like knocking the nose wheel off of the Citation during a night landing at an unlit airport - like running the blades of this very same helicopter through trees whilst doing a scene call, in a school yard if my memory serves me right -like running this very same helicopter out of fuel and ending up autorotating into a field at the edge of Cape Town.

To this last point I might add that I've heard that the opposition at the time (STARS) had turned the trip down as there was no way that they could figure out how and where to get reserve fuel from, for a minimum 2 hour 30 minute flight using their 105.

The lines of decision making appear to be flawed.

So if an "accident" is the pinnacle for alot of "incidents", one might say that this was an accident looking for a place to happen.

From what we are told or read about this accident, is there yet again not another flawed line of decision making. Here are some thoughts and questions.

1) Launch time 18h15 or there abouts. George Sunset 18h34. Check the 138 Ops criteria about scene calls or EMS operations after dark.

2) Why so long on the scene when apparently no extrication involved?

3) Departed scene at 19h50, last radio contact at 20h20 after which nothing heard. How many miles away from the scene was the wreckage and what were they trying to do for 30 or more minutes?

4) Drivers report that visibility along the roads in the area was intermittently obscurred by fog and rain at the time.

5) SA CARs say what about helicopter night flight - Multi engine, Multi Crew or stabilized auto pilot?

6) Was their 105 even remotely close to being instrumented for night flight and night scene calls?

Anybody else got something to add?

Ok. So now lets all put on our thinking caps, sit back in our arm chairs and start pondering and postulating.

Bring out the CAT.

DC

[canthover]

And I was slated for my ealier comments about CFIT!

What about the idea of introducing NVG to EMS ops - this has been long in the pipeline from one of the AMS (read ex STAR) honcho's. This would only have got them to the accident quicker - but it points to what I was saying earlier about operating philosophy and the way the EMS industry has changed of late.

Sure - accidents will happen in aviation - in fact anywhwere where humans and machines intaract - but its normally the way we set about the task that determines how quickly this tragedy unfolds.

So - the 39 year history is not that rosy after all?:yuk:

[Daiseycutter]

And now for some of those Pigeons.

Canthover

Reference your post before last - the State pays for the operating cost's etc. of the AMS through a non tendered source of funding amounting to millions of Rands every year.

Something else - the Red Cross did not own ZS RMR, the 105 in question. The owners are Tresso Trading 107 (Pty) Ltd. I'm wondering who may, or may not be, the members of this "shelf company" if you get my drift. Lots of non tendered funding moving around there. Same old SA "gravey training" happening maybe?

As to the CFIT assumption, here's just a thought. In light twin aircraft of this generation, be it a fixed wing Aztec or a rotary wing BO105, if you loose a "donkey" you loose about 80% of the aircrafts capabilities, unless of course you are extremely light. So until we find out if both the "donkeys" were doing their job at the time of impact, lets not go there just yet.

And if this post offends anyone, bear in mind that I haven't used, nor will I use any names. I'm just pondering.

DC

[canthover]

DC - I am with you on the donkey/performance issue.

The non tendered funding etc - thereby hangs a tale.....let's hear more.:}

[Irene]

I have been told from sources close to the top that the AMS aircraft are owned partly by the directors. What I want to know is that if the machines are owned as commercial property, how do you manage to swing a G7 exemption on the basis that you are non-profit?

What other exemptions do you get when you are non-profit, non-equitable pilot wages, poor safety programs? I am not suggesting that they would do this at AMS what I am mentioning is the mindset that people take towards non-profit organisations. Most of the time it is a "aahhh shame, they are non-profit and do it for humanity, leave them alone."

Are exemptions and other light-handed handling of non-profit organisations associated with an operation that has a tarnished safety record, as mentioned above. I also remember AMS doing a rescue with the 105 off a mountain in the western cape when the SAAF refused to do it in an Oryx (due to excessive wind conditions).

I wonder what mindset the CAA and Air Services Council are creating?

[alwaysinverted]

Mr. John Stone has carved a very nice little niche for himself and his family in the Red Cross AMS over the last 25 years. FACT!

His daughter is head of the Finance division there. They are not volunteer workers either, and they get paid each and every month. Its nice to hide a "commercial, non profit" organisation under the pretence that it's a charity!

The Red Cross AMS service is not for free. They charge! Its a normal revenue generating business, and they compete with Private Sector Operators. Government Health Services and Hospitals, Metro & others pay them for their services. I guess hospital plans, travel medical schemes and other medical insurances also pay them should they "casevac" a patient that carries the appropriate insurances.

No freebies there. The annual Red Cross Fundraiser contributes a little, but does not near enough cover their expenses.

Yes, its also true that they've had their fair share of incidents, in most cases, I believe, whilst pushing the envelope. Getting the job before someone else gets it.

When the BO 105 went down a couple of years ago on the flight from FASL to FACT with zero fuel remaining, I'm sure that the pilot was not effectively briefed on the mission, as he past both the Worcester & Paarl Medi Clinics where the Red Cross had fuel he could have uplifted. Maybe Management forced him to push the envelope!:confused: Silly thing to do and he payed dearly for it by having his ATP revoked follwing the inquiry. A re-write of some exams got him his ATP re-instated.

Everything normally works out pretty fine until sh1t happens. I don't for one minute believe that Jeremy should have done that flight. Having a night rating allows you to fly at night yes, but when you fly into "the big dark hole and possible weather with no references", you need good pieces of IF equipment and the necessary skills to deal with it, and the BO 105 was'nt exactly equipped with a "state of the art" I.F. Panel. Very basic. Considering the mountainous environment at night, also would not have made it easy.

I'm not suggesting that Jeremy was not highly skilled, but maybe he went on that flight as he was "forced to push the envelope". We will never know. We will also never know the cause of the accident, but we can speculate, and I will bet my last bottom dollar that the incompetent team of the SACAA will rule it as pilot error! It's always pilot error. In this case the wreck is burnt beyond recognition, so how will they ever determine that one engine could have failed, and caused the accident, if there is nothing to examine and check? They're going to say it was dark, misty and rainy, and the pilot became disorientated due to lack of proper instrumentation, given the fact that IMC or partial IMC conditions prevailed during the flight, therefore it's pilot error.

In my 40 years of aviating, I have seen many a strange thing happen. After accidents, the DCA/CAA, Insurance Companies & Assessors manipulate things, I'm sure, the way they want to. Classic cases of insurers refusing to pay because of pilot error is very common. They'll always try and find a way to repudiate a claim. Airworthiness issues, instrumentation, ratings, logbook entries and flight hours etc, are all things that sudenly come up when there's money to be paid out.Therefore, I'm sure, if the American Family intends sueing the Red Cross, they'll possibly get nowhere, as the insurers would have agreed with the SACAA findings, and blamed it on the pilot.

It is really sad, this terrible accident, and it has changed the lives of many people in the process. The sufferings of the poor families, children growing up without a father. The trauma remains endless!

The Red Cross will however not be phased, because they're just going about doing their business. They'll more than likely acquire another helicopter, employ another crew and it will be business as usual.

No G7, no competition, cause they're a charity!

[Irene]

Well said alwaysinverted:ok: I agree 100%, especially about this crash changing nothing real in terms of casual factors, the only change is to the poor lives of the 105 occupants and their family & friends.

[B Sousa]

Jeremy had a current instrument and night rating, however the heli was not IFR compliant.

TakeaBreath
Based on your statement here, Weather etc. Its a sad situation of continued VFR into IMC conditions. Not unlike so many that seem to plague EMS Crews around the world.
Basically the Pilot is in up to his neck with just the piloting workload, then add the pressure of getting an injured person to safety, throw in an Aircraft not really equipped for IFR and IFR weather. All are links that add to the tragic ending.
We have seen it before and we will see it again.

He crashed between 4 and 600 feet below the summit
Another thing that seems strange as I always read about "almost cleared the ridge" I have lost a few good friends "just below the summit" Ironic.

I see some previous postings doing a lot of finger pointing at Owners, Red Cross etc. When all is said and done, I think the answer is going to come back down to the man at the controls. Somewhere someone should have said ...NO As tough as it might have been.

[alwaysinverted]

Take a Breath, You see what I mean! Jeremy had all the ratings, but the aircraft was'nt certified. So the insurance will say; "How can a sensible pilot with all the bells & whistles break all the rules in the book by going IF in a non IF machine?" A recipe for disaster! Anyway enough of that! It remains a terrible tragedy!

John Stone was on TV last night defending his AMS, pilot training etc. I think a big investigation are going to be launched into his operation now. About time!

Gunnzzz, yes my man, I flew for the Red Cross as a volunteer in the good old days of the Aztec and the Navajo. (1975 to 1981) Sister Le Grange (wonderful person)was in charge at the time. John Stone was then the Chairman of the Good Hope Flying Club, and being a volunteer pilot himself, was just getting his fingers into the Red Cross. All pilots were volunteers those days, and their was great cameraderie amongst the lads. I don't know whether I 'm supposed to mention any names, but I think from my days there are still a few guys poling the PC 12 around. Prof. FG, JvdS, A.M. J.M. and D.L. Joihn Stone eventually became the boss, Sister le Grange had to take a back seat, and about 2 years ago, after a life long commitment to the Red Cross Airwing, they "retired" the "good ol sister".

The rest is history!

I've got nothing against the Red Cross and their operation, but as a Profit Generating, Commercial Business, they should comply with all the requirements as laid down in the "Blue Books", just like all other Commercial Operators, and not hide behind the disguise of a charity.

What's good for one, is good for the other! No precedents! :ok:

[Gunship]

Can only agree alwaysinverted - can only agree.

Sadly people had to die before something might be done.

The Huey comes to mind (again) .. :*

[alwaysinverted]

;) Eeeezzzyyy Gunzzz, You'll get ol Bert Fire up again and that ar:mad: e LH, that thinks he knows who I am!:D

He keeps on confusing me with someone else! Dof huh!:confused:

[B Sousa]

Red Cross and their operation, but as a Profit Generating, Commercial Business, they should comply with all the requirements as laid down in the "Blue Books", just like all other Commercial Operators, and not hide behind the disguise of a charity.

As I understand the Red Cross is supposed to be a Non-Profit Organization. Lots of folks in the states have cut them off after some of their practices here were unveiled.

Eeeezzzyyy Gunzzz, You'll get ol Bert Fire up again
Why not............

[I.R.PIRATE]

(in slow motion) : N_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O

[takeabreath]

Been thinking - nothing, nothing will bring our dear Jeremy back. Maybe we must just remember him now, he was not a fighter - maybe all of this would have made him sad. To all flying - take care, enjoy every day like it is the last, and remember Jeremy with a smile - he was and is the best. XO

[SlinkySA]

Jeremy was always quick with a smile and slow to anger, he was a thorough and well prepared person. You could never fault his work. It was a priveledge to know him.

[marc perkins]

Jeremy Wood – Close Friend and Colleague


My apologies for not posting sooner. This week has been traumatic and catastrophic for us all.

By now you all know that Jeremy Wood (aka Jeremiah), died in a helicopter accident Sunday evening. The accident occurred around 2030B, over the Langkloofberg Mountains, over the mountain from Plettenberg Bay.

They were flying our MBB BO-105 from the scene of an accident in a small town called Haarlem. There was an injured 9 year old girl onboard, and they never arrived at the hospital in George. An aerial search with our Pilatus PC 12 revealed the ELT position at around 0400B Monday morning, and the crash site was located shortly thereafter. There were no survivors, and those who have seen the wreckage will know that there was very little left.

We are obviously all gutted, and severely traumatized, and the last week has been terrible for us all.

Jeremy started with us in July on our new service in George, and was bound for our Richards Bay service. I had poached Jeremy, and we were both excited at the prospect of the future ahead. He had served in the SAAF with me as a highly decorated flight engineer/winch man (Air Force Cross – Mozambican floods; and numerous others), on Oryx (Super Puma) Helicopters. He later joined Heyns Helicopters (firefighting) as engineer, and then later as co-pilot if my memory serves me correctly. Thereafter he joined United Air Charters Zambia, flying tourists, which later became On Air Charters, and did a few tours in the Drakensberg, before joining Red X AMS.

There is not one person I know, who has a bad word to say about Jeremy. He was loved and respected by all of his colleagues, and his professionalism as an engineer and a pilot was unrivalled.

Obviously there are many questions regarding the accident, not least of all the decision to take off with the prospect of ending up on a night flight. We are essentially only a day time VFR operation, but we have all been faced with certain calls that have their inherent delays, this in spite of proper planning.

There are, as is always the case with these tragedies, going to be many opinions as to what really happened this fateful night. Already people are convinced that this is a straight forward case of CFIT (controlled flight into terrain). It would be easy to label the crew with this kind of blame. I would encourage you all to hold back on these assumptions, out of respect for the deceased, who cannot answer for themselves. Also in the absence of any meaningful evidence from the wreckage. I will offer a few of my thoughts regarding the accident, and let the usual rumor process run it’s inevitable course:

• The crew had not flown all day
• The call they received was at approx. 1810B from the Metro Controller/ Dispatcher. The report they received at the time was of a Motor Vehicle Accident involving 5 “Red” (critical) patients, who had been flung from their vehicle. The only available paramedic in the area en-route had also been involved in an accident, so there was no medical assistance at hand. This paramedic eventually arrived after the heli had landed.
• This was a young and keen crew, and their mindset at the time I’m sure was to try render assistance. This is in our nature in EMS.
• Jeremy was an inherently cautious person and had often called for advice on marginal decisions/calls. Not on this occasion unfortunately.
• Sunset in George last Sunday, was at 1830B, and with the 50nm flight to Harlem, and a departure at approx. 1820, we have them landing at last light at the accident scene approx 1845.
• Most possible route, and witness reports, en-route to Harlem would have been through the Outeniqua Pass, to town Herold, and then along R62 to Haarlem.
• Witnesses estimate, a cloud base of approx. 3500’ in the George area at time of departure. You need approx 3000’ to get through this pass comfortably.
• They left the scene at 1950B.
• Most possible route, back the way you came, R62 to Herold, via Outeniqua Pass to George.
• Witnesses estimate a lowered cloud base of 2000’ -2500’ in George area between 2000B and 2100B. With no way through Pass, possible route would be back to point of departure to find a clear route over mountain to coastline at Plettenberg Bay.
• Witnesses report no cloud in Haarlem area. However moon was 1/8. Dark, very dark.
• Last known radio call 2030 (40 min after dep)
• Crash site located early next morning by ELT 500’ below highest peak (4590’) between Haarlem and Plettenberg Bay
• Jeremy had a current Night and Instrument Rating. Yes little night flying experience, but some 45 Hrs Instrument Flying
• Jeremy had flown many Night and NVG missions as a flight engineer in the SAAF
• The BO-105 has poor single engine performance, even at sea level. The graph’s say 100-150’ min ROC at MAUW at sea level 25 deg OAT at VY. This is if my memory serves me correctly.
• With the mountain at 5000’, and a Safety Altitude of 6000’, if you were to lose an engine, level flight would be impossible. If while trying to maintain level flight over the mountain, you were to damage the remaining engine then your already fatal predicament becomes even worse.
• Any other structural failure, over the mountain at night, would leave anyone with little to no options.
• It would have been extremely dark in that area, and I am not suggesting that spatial disorientation, with possible CFIT wasn’t a possible cause. Once again however without any hard evidence, to disprove mechanical fault, this could be totally unfair to this crew.


Obviously this is all my personal line of thinking, and an attempt to put the pieces and sequence of possible events together. There will be many opinions and many theories, this I know and have learnt to come to peace with. I just hope that my comments will help place certain things into perspective, and prevent any undue, unsubstantiated claims being made. There are too many possibilities to reach one particular conclusion.

Obviously night flying had a huge role to play, and we are looking long and hard at ourselves as individuals, and as a close knit organization into the role we played in this awful tragedy. Understandably many questions will be asked, and as we all know hindsight is an inexact Science.

There are some hard lessons ahead, but obviously none so hard, or painful as losing someone as special as Jeremiah. Also the crew and patient

I can assure you that as friends and colleagues we are devastated by the loss of all these people. The trauma and mourning extends right to the top of our Organization, as I have witnessed all week long. We are a unique Organization, but are cemented by our common goal to try make a difference to those people in need of assistance. We will not forget, and we will not just sweep this tragedy aside as implied. I know we will learn from this all, and will continue to strive to become better, in an always unsafe, and ever changing and often unpredictable environment.

Jeremy will be sorely missed by us all. As always he remained until his passing a quiet, respectful gentleman with a sharp dry sense of humor, and a loveable nature that those close to him would know well.

Ultimately he was an Aviator, with an inexhaustible passion for Helicopters.

RIP Jeremiah

Great friend and colleague

Marc Perkins

PS: Gunns, Sorry to hear about your bad experience with the Red Cross. I am sure however that your gripe is with International Red Cross, and not Red Cross Air Mercy Service South Africa. A completely seperate Trust. Your gripe has no bearing on this unfortunate incident, and is out of place I feel on this thread.

PS: Tuesday 11 October 1100B Service for Paul Alexander (Paramedic). King of Kings Baptist Church, Cnr Oukaapse weg/ Buller Louw Rd/ Fish Hoek

PS: Wednesday 12 October Memorial 1000B Service for all Deceased. High School de Built Hall, Langenhoven Str, Next to George Hospital

PS: Wednesday 12 October 1400B Service for Jeremy Wood (Pilot). Maritzburg College School Chapel, Alexander Park, Princess Margaret Drive, Pietermarizburg

[Gunship]

Posts re IRC deleted. It had no bearing on this tradegy.

Sorry for the loss again Marc.

Sadly I can not remember him at all but I think he was after my time.

:sad: RIP :sad:

[Ned-Air2Air]

Marc - Good to see you posting here and it was a pleasure to catch up with you when George and I stopped in.

You are right, Jeremy was one of those pilots you dont come across that often. In my opinion he was a dedicated professional and when I flew with him shooting On Air's helos over Vic Falls he was always the consumate professional and fantastic to work with.


The only ones that can tell us exactly what happened will never be able to, everyone else will only be able to speculate. Sure people might have their "conclusions" based on the "evidence" but in reality Jeremy and those that died are the only ones who know what "really" happened.

May they rest in peace, and for all the rest of you flying there in Sud Afrika, and elsewhere around the world, be careful and as long as the number of landings in your logbooks equals your takeoffs then all will be fine.

Ned aka Heli Ops.
:(

[Wyatt Earp]

Hey Marc,
Good posting and a well written dedication to a fallen comrade. Just a point of note, The AMS operation is a day VFR operation not so? The AIP says that last light was really at 1818 and the take off to the primary was at 1825, after official dark. and the weather was deteriorating to a lower cloudbase and it was dark moon. Lets defend Jeremy in the proper way. Why would a person of his calbre take off after dark in a VFR day operation to a known roadside landing and knowing that he will be returning in deteriorating weather in a mountainous area in a twin engine helicopter with only one pilot. No Marc, this really smells of "pressure" and "dont worry about the rules". The Red Cross have been landing at night with Citations and PC 12 in badly lit strips for many years, how come the helicopter could not hack it. Quite simple, go and look how experienced the fixed wing Red Cross pilots are and look at where Jeremy was put and what job he was expected to do. We all mourn this tragedy, but if you continue to operate VFR day in IFR night you shall surely perish. Lets learn from this mistake and not blame "maybe an engine " or maybe "it broke up", lets ensure that when we do a job we do it with the normals like training and giudence of the low time guys and not throw them to the lions for the sake of profit.
Saluut Jeremy, we will learn from your mistake.

[Demented]

Too true Wyatt Earp.....but is that not the state of helo aviation in SA

[alwaysinverted]

2nd Family member dies!

I see in the Newspaper today that Mrs. Dorothy Thompson, the 80 year old Grandmother of 9 year old Madison Miller, who lost her life in this tragic accident, died at 10.00 hours on Sunday morning, from a heart attack.

Her daughter & Madison's mom, Mrs. Colleen Miller said that her mom was just too traumatised by the accident, the tragic loss of her great grand child, and that of the others. She could just not come to terms with it.

Sad, really sad. RIP!

[SlinkySA]

Thanks Marc for clearing up some issues. This is by no means a dig at you.

I have a question or two and a few points to ponder. It seems there are no clear cut rules in Red Cross AMS with regards to day VFR and night IFR flight. In my mind if there was a clear cut rule we would not be having this discussion in this forum at all because the helicopter would not have been dispatched, bearing in mind that it was a late call and their return would have been in the dark. Seen as this is a rumour forum and the rumour is that the child was not critically injured but had a badly broken leg. Point to ponder - the helicopter was despatched so who would pay for the flight if there was no patient? Who did the flight tracking for this flight or was there none? Did the helicopter land at the accident site again?

I know in my heart that it was not Jeremy's fault and that is all that matters to me. As said in previous postings there is not much left of the aircraft and chances that a definite conclusion can be drawn from what happened are not likely. There were many factors contributing to this tragedy and hopefully AMS will implement hard and fast rules with regards to night operations in the near future.

All said and done, it was a decision from up above that it was Jeremy's time to come home. A call we all have to answer at some point in our lives. Jeremy will be missed by so many people but each one of us has a special memory of Jeremy. RIP

[flyermansam]

Sorry to be butting in, and i know a few guys are interested in what the cause was, and why it happened and all. I didnt know the Pilot, but i did have a close friend on the chopper, Carlos Julius. The fact of the matter remains that they got a call saying a 9 year old girl was seriously injured, she won't survive the trip via road.
"It's 10 minutes after sunset, but the girl won't make it"... what would u do in that position? It's a risk they took... and that... in my humble opinion... is what a hero does. They put their lives on the line to save (or at least try) her life.

Condolences to all the friends

"Lived as hero's, died as hero's"

[leginheli]

It is common practice in most EMS operations around the world to never tell the pilot the nature of the accident or victim as this then influences the pilots decision to go ar not to go and they end up going on the call regardless of the risks. I have no doubt that had Jeremy known that it was a 9yr old kid it would have affected his decision; I know, I have been there and luckily I got away with it.

Unfortunately, in this case, 3 people died unnecessarily in order to save 1 life. I think if you asked the wives/parents/kids of the 3 deceased crew if it was worth the risk taken for that 1 life you would get a universal NO!

Procedures are put in place specifically to avoid this sort of thing happening. The AMS despacher ( if there was one ) should never have even let the call go through to the crew as they should know what the operating radius with times etc of the aircraft is, and what the cut off times are for a day VFR operation are. During my time as an EMS pilot the average time for a call was 61 minutes from first take off to last landing and therefore the cut of time for any call was 31 minutes before sunset.

This is unfortunately not the first time someone has taken off to do a call knowing they will get back in the dark and it will not be the last.

[Irene]

I agree with leginheli 100%, there are different pressures on all of us to fly, mostly commercial ones by the people who pay your salary. The same in EMS, except you add the emotional aspect of it when it comes to the passenger being a patient in need. The necessity of the flight becomes an irrelevant issue, but if you wanted to look at it from a medical point of view then look at patient outcome - with hindsight - 9 year old with injuries taken to hospital by ambulance or placed in helicopter and subjected to another crash with subsequent fire? Nothing heroic about that in terms of medical interventions as the patient had a better chance of survival, in terms of medical intervention, by road ambulance.

No disrespect to the crew intended, I don't think anyone, except a suicide bomber, embarks on a mission when they really think something could cause them to die. This is the learning point that needs to come from this incident, why do highly professional, capable and respected pilots do things like this? Could it be one of us next? My guess is a poor flight safety program / aviation leadership on the part of AMS, combined with a CAA that can't spell general aviation safety as they have yet to equip themselves with sufficient quantity of the right caliber of people to be proactive.

[flyermansam]

don't want things to get ugly, as they generally do in these things...
But the possibility of sacrificing your life for someone elses is one of those things that comes with the territory in this field... i know. There are countless EMT's around the world that are at peace with the fact, and i know that the family's of those people are also at peace with the fact, it may hurt, and you wouldn't want to think of it, but... that's what makes them different!

"Unfortunately, in this case, 3 people died unnecessarily in order to save 1 life. I think if you asked the wives/parents/kids of the 3 deceased crew if it was worth the risk taken for that 1 life you would get a universal NO!"

I am sort of hesitant to say this, but i don't find that they died "unnecessarily". They believed in a cause... they dedicated their lives to it!!! they fell in the line of duty, doing what they wanted to do... and to me there is no greater honour.

But no more nit-picking for me - i know Carlos, Jeremy and Paul are at peace... They at least tried. Whether or not Medicine would have made it by road is not the point - as was mentioned earlier... hindsite is an exact science.

Rest easy Joules, my brother from another mother - HBFD proud of u