View Full Version : Falcon Aviation Services Crash in U.A.E.
21st Century
4th Sep 2007, 04:36
Yesterday a Falcon Aviation Services Agusta 109 Grand rolled over in the UAE. Fortunately there were no serious injuries! The aircraft had just been delivered from the factory two weeks before. It occurred when it was being operated at Jebel Dhana, where for some reason the pilot chose not to use the existing helipad, but instead was operating out of a sandy area and experienced a brown out. The pilot was said to be the 'highly experienced Chief Pilot at Falcon' (CF?).
21st Century
4th Sep 2007, 05:18
It has been confirmed that the pilot was CF, Falcon's Director of Ops (highly experienced and a great guy to work for).
:(
21st Century
4th Sep 2007, 07:04
The reason the pilot elected not to use the existing helipad was because there was a chain around it that had not yet been removed by the resort ground staff there. The brown out occurred on take off, not landing. There were six passengers on board, all of whom made it out with no serious injuries. The aircraft which had been used operationally for only 1 week is a write-off. The GCAA (UAE aviation authorities) are investigating.
Longdog
4th Sep 2007, 22:34
Very glad to hear CF and all were fine.
I have the dubious distinction of being the first guy CF hired at ADA when he became Chief Pilot.:)
I also have the more dubious distinction of being the first guy CF had to fire!:uhoh:
He is a fine fellow, and a very expierenced driver, and I am glad there were no injuries.
Torquelimited
5th Sep 2007, 02:35
Gotta say Cal is, was, and probably still is the best Chief there ever was... although tough luck with the brown-out and its good to hear all are okay.
Any idea about registration of this helicopter ???
Thanks
It was their newest Grand and only been in service a week or so.
CDME
Foggy Bottom
6th Sep 2007, 18:55
Glad everyone got out without major injuries. Brownouts can be Nasty!!
I worked for Cal on two occasions and agree that he was the best CP that I have worked for.
21st Century
8th Sep 2007, 09:19
Any idea about registration of this helicopter ???
The aircraft was on the UAE registration (A6). Not sure what the registration number was.
Steady Green
10th Sep 2007, 11:13
Forgive my ignorance but is it easier to get into a "brown out" or a "white out" and is one worse than the other?
Also is it, as one earlier contributor suggested, "bad luck" to get in this situation or could it be "bad flying"
Steady.
Foggy Bottom
10th Sep 2007, 12:46
Brown Out = sand/dust
White Out = snow
Neither is easier to get into or out of...depends on the condition of the sand/snow and the terrain around you. The problem arises when you have no contrasting terrain. If you kick up a lot of sand/snow and the terrain around you is also all sand/snow it is very difficult to pick up a horizon or even to see anything on the ground to see your drift. If you aren't instrument proficient and try to stay outside of the aircraft during this takeoff, you are asking for a lot of trouble.
I am sure CF has made many, many departures from areas susceptible to "brown outs" successfully. Can't comment on what happened this time, I wasn't there.
bad flying is unlikely
phil
Steady Green
10th Sep 2007, 18:49
Why is bad flying unlikely Paco?
What I would be more concerned about is why there is no response from the operator, Falcon Aviation Services, and also the local civil aviation authority, the GCAA.
As far as we know (or in this case don't know) there may have been several fatalities in this occurance (accident) but no one is willing to talk. There has not been any indication in the UAE that there has even been an incident. It seems as though it is okay if you say nothing at all and it will all go away.
A good Third World mentality for a supposedly First World country who hope to be at the very top of the Aviation International tree.
If they cannot deal with the (comparatively) small stuff how on earth are they going to cope with their greater role in the World?
Emirates and Ittihad are becoming world leaders amongst Airlines but if you see that their own local Authority cannot deal with the basics how can anyone trust them?
Steady Green - First off the accident happened not in Abu Dhabi or Dubai but at a resort up on the Saudi border so it was already out of the public eye. If you ever dealt with the Arab culture they prefer to keep things quiet, both good and bad so it doesnt surprise me that they didnt put out a press release saying hey we had an accident here.
Also GCAA are in the process of doing their investigation. Unlike many others Falcon dont respond to posts here "guessing" what happened. When they get the report from GCAA they will no doubt make a comment here if they feel like it.
CF is away on holiday at the moment, and in case you are wondering these are his annual holidays and were locked in before the accident happened.
And there were no serious injuries or fatalities in the accident and Falcon are actually putting some things in place to refresh all their pilots on the risk of brownouts.
Just my 0.02 cents worth.
mfriskel
10th Sep 2007, 20:02
Green-
It would be unwise for any pilot or operator to make posts concerning an accident or incident that they may have been involved in, especially while it is still under investigation. Aviation is a very big target for lawyers, and you don't have to have a physical injury to sue.
It is also interesting that so many people can make a judgement on an accident or incident over short snippets on a web post. Each cognizant authority has it's own procedures for reporting and investigating aircraft mishaps. As long as those procedures are followed, you really have no other business with the subject. I know of countries much larger than the UAE who have had fatal civil accidents and not a word has shown up on PPRUNE.
Mark
I was making the point that out of the two choices offered, bad luck or bad flying, it was unlikely to be the latter, since the person concerned is known to be competent (I know of several pilots who, if they were in the same accident, I would have automatically said it was bad flying!)
I know someone on the accident team who is also competent, and I am sure that the findings will be fair and unbiased.
Phil
MrNosy2
19th Sep 2012, 10:15
Does any one know the circumstances of the accident to Falcon Aviation Services Agusta 109 A6-FLC at Jebel Dhanna on 2 September 2007 reportedly 'rolled over on take-off.' I seem to remember reading about it here at the time but don't seem to be able to find the thread now.
21stCen
19th Sep 2012, 13:08
Hmmm, this thread had been deleted back in Sep 2007. Looks like it has been 'resurrected'...
Mrnosy2,
Mind your own business!!!
Your name says it all!
spinwing
20th Sep 2012, 01:04
Mmmmmm ...
This was one of those "**** happens' events the rehashing of which will be a total waste of time ... :=
'Mods' pls put it back in the archive where it belongs ... :hmm:
Thanks