US Army MH-47 has wire strike on a TV Tower

[SASless]

A US Army MH-47 Chinook with five persons aboard crashed in southern Georgia this morning. Four known dead and one injured reported. The aircraft was on a flight from Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia and was enroute to Fort Rucker, the US Army Aviation School near Daleville, Alabama.

Initial reports indicate the aircraft struck a support wire from the 1,000 foot tall TV antenna and crashed very close to the base of the antenna. The mast is described as being in danger of collapse and endangers rescue and recovery operations at the site.

US Marines from nearby MCLB Albany, Georgia are securing the site.

[ShyTorque]

Sad to hear. A similar accident, albeit involving a Blackhawk last time, occurred about 18 months ago, in Texas.

Is there a common issue? Aren't these masts properly charted? :(

[SASless]

Yes, all charted and lit up. Problem is the support cables extend much further from the masts than one can imagine. Some of these rascals are well over 1000 feet high. What is bothersome about this one is it involved a MH-47 which has some very neat nav gear on it. The accident report will make for some very interesting reading when it comes out.

The Blackhawk event in Texas was during bad weather with low visibility.

[toolguy]

When I was learning to fly my instructor took us to the top of one of these antennas and we circled it. He asked me, "Where do you think the support cables touch the ground?" I had no idea, so he carefully followed one down to about 50 ft agl. The tower topped out at about 1000 agl and the guide wire was about the same distance long , if not longer, plus there were four holding them up. I guess that a good rule of thumb is to circle as far away from these things as possible, and if they aren't on your map, draw it on with a big ugly mark.

[bladepitch]

sad to hear.
recently i completed a wire strike course in melbourne hosted by commercial helicopters in mudgee. the course was presented by Utilities/Aviation Specialists Inc. The couse is called flying in the wire and obstuction enviroment and is the best 300 bucks i have ever spent in aviation. The course instructor is Robert A Feerst and his experience is second to none.
In short this course helps the pilot to recognize the tower or pole structure and its possible support structures as well as the enviroment where they can exist. (some wire structures shown in the presentation are beyond belief) this was obviously forgotten in this sad accident. i encourage all pilots and Crew members to do this course as it will no doubt save your life when you fly down in this enviroment.

for more info go to www.commercialhelicopters.com (http://www.commercialhelicopters.com)
www.helicoptersafety.com (http://www.helicoptersafety.com)


BP. :ok:

[toolguy]

Absolutely! I sat in on one of Mr. Feerst's presentations at HAI, the man has the real scoop about wires and hazards of all types. Well worth it for any pilot to take the time to hear the man.

[bladepitch]

hey toolguy

Mr feerst had some interesting storys to tell of his homeland and the effect it has had on the wire strike rate over there. in OZ recently we have had a number of unfortunate fatal wire strikes. This is Mr Feersts first tour here and he only comes out when the demand is high enough to warrant the expense it takes. hopefully word will catch on and it wont be his last

BP

[ShyTorque]

Yes, all charted and lit up. Problem is the support cables extend much further from the masts than one can imagine. Some of these rascals are well over 1000 feet high. What is bothersome about this one is it involved a MH-47 which has some very neat nav gear on it. The accident report will make for some very interesting reading when it comes out.
The Blackhawk event in Texas was during bad weather with low visibility.

I was in Texas when the Blackhawk hit the wire. Yes, it was in very poor visibility and at least one very high ranking officer was on board, if I recall correctly. Never saw an accident report but it seemed like the aircraft was being flown VFR when it should have been IFR and well above the height of the wire, or well away from it. Were the circumstances of this latest accident similar?

Some of our UK masts and support wires are quite big and extensive, too. Anyone seen the Rugby masts from close up, on the ground? Gives me the shivers - about three square miles of a complete "spider's web". The remaining four large masts are only part of the hazard. :eek:

[toolguy]

bladepitch

Here in the states they are painting the wires to blend in with terrain so people don't have to see the 'ugliness', and even if you have EGPWS there is no guarantee the powerlines will be in the database. I test flew a piece of kit from Safe Flight Instrument last yearthat is a an energized powerline detector. It acts like a radio receiver that picks up the frequency of the line (60 hz in the states) and acts like a geiger counter, the closer you get the louder and more annoying it clicks at you. It weighs a couple of pounds and works well enough to alert you to when you get close to energized wires to take evasive action. The down side is that if the wire is not energized, it will not work, and it does not detect obstacles like guide wires, but it costs about $15k us and is simple to install. Here is a link to their website:

<http://www.safeflight.com/>

[ShyTorque]

I was involved in a trial of a similar device fitted to an RAF Puma helicopter in 1979/80. It didn't reliably detect cables (even some of the main 250 foot high High Tension ones). The device was never fitted to squadron aircraft.

[SASless]

News account (for what that is worth) says the aircraft popped out of a cloud and into the wire and tower.

[barit1]

Last weekend a Hughes struck a power line near Cleveland, Ohio narrowly missing a crowd watching the local Memorial Day parade.

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20060531X00648&key=1

[bladepitch]

tooley

an updated version of that would be the voice modulated aid they showed us on the course and you get two verbal warnings at set distances from the wire and its set to parameters the same as class airspaces. this version is also solar powered and charged for 24hr use and only activates when you violate the airspace.
interesting stuff !

cheers for the link

BP;)

[M609]

Have a look at this: http://www.ocas-as.no/03_engelske_sider/english_startpage.htm

The Norwegian has grated certification for this system, and installation on several powerlines are in progress.

As long as the aircraft have a VHF radio, no additional equipment is needed.

....When an aircraft enters the first warning zone, obstacle warning lights are activated to facilitate visual detectin of the obstacle. If a collision avoidance maneuver is not performed, and the aircraft enters the second warning zone, an audio warning is activated. The audio warning signal is transmitted on all VHF frequencies to warn the pilot of the undetected obstacle. The audio warning signal is distinct and easy to recognize.....




The FAA have been to Norway to see the system as well.

[barit1]

The tower damaged in the MH-47 accident was brought down (http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=5001722&nav=5kZQ) by explosives.

Unfortunately an adjacent tower was also brought down. :ugh: