EC 135 down in France?

[skadi]

Hi,
heard a roumor, that a 135 crashed near Auxerre/France some days ago. Does anyone has more infos?

Thanks

skadi

[skadi]

Obviously it was this machine:

AIRFRAMES.ORG - Aircraft Database - F-HBMA (http://www.airframes.org/reg/fhbma)

[roque basse]

according to a ground witness, the helo has suddenly started to spin. Looks like a tail rotor failure.
The pilot was a former french air force pilot, a real good pilot and a gentleman.

[eivissa]

What a sad start for '09 http://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/sowee.gif
am I counting right that this is the seventh accident with fatals for this year and its only been 2,5 weeks? S76,Mi2,Mi17,Mi171,UH60,EC135,Cougar...and all of them have at least one thing in common. The second engine couldn't save the day.

[eivissa]

Sorry if it seemed as if I was about to make a point. No more disscusions about single/twin stuff. It's just a bad start for the year and also just happens to be that those aircrafts all were twin-engined http://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/sowee.gif

[skadi]

according to a ground witness, the helo has suddenly started to spin. Looks like a tail rotor failure.



remembers me to the tragic EC 135 accident in Japan some time ago, followed by an ASB from Eurocopter concerning the T/R controlrod. This part was broken and caused the above mentioned crash.

skadi

[Fly_For_Fun]

It is indeed a sad start to 2009. My thoughts are with the family and friends of the pilot.

[Luc Malhomme Helylux]

Yes, helas

The EC 135 T2 crashed at 2 pm near Auxerre.

People on the ground heard a big noise and saw an helicopeter arriving in zig zag above the village of Mollènes.

Then the helicopter started to turn on itself and crashed down.

It looks like a tail rotor failure.

The pilot was Bruno BECHU 43 old, he left a familly with 4 cildren beetwen 4 and 13.

Bruno was really a good guy, a cream of man...

The best are going fisrt... like always...

This is the second EC 135 T2 going down this year.

The fisrt was this one in may: see NTSB report:

On May 10, 2008, about 2245 central daylight time, a Eurocopter Deutschland EC135 T2+ air medical
configured helicopter, N135UW, operated by Air Methods Corporation, was destroyed during an
in-flight collision with trees and terrain near La Crosse, Wisconsin. The flight was conducted in
accordance with Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 without a flight plan. The
helicopter's position was being monitored according to the operator's flight following procedures.
Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot, physician and flight nurse sustained
fatal injuries. The flight departed La Crosse Airport (LSE), La Crosse, Wisconsin, at 2234. The
intended destination was the University of Wisconsin Hospital Heliport (WS27) in Madison, Wisconsin.
The helicopter was equipped with global positioning system (GPS) tracking equipment that provided
departure, arrival and en route position information to the operator's Operations Control Center.
Flight progress was automatically updated every three minutes. According the GPS flight-following
data, the flight initially departed WS27 about 2038 en route to Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital,
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. The flight arrived at Prairie du Chien about 2113 and picked up a
patient. The flight subsequently departed about 2131 and proceeded to Gunderson-Lutheran Hospital
in La Crosse, arriving about 2154. After dropping off the patient, the crew departed about 2209
and repositioned the helicopter to LSE for refueling. The flight departed LSE, elevation 654 feet,
at 2234 with the intention of returning to WS27. No further position updates were received from
the accident helicopter.
Local authorities received a 911 call from a resident stating that they thought they had heard an
aircraft crash. At 2304, the helicopter operator notified local authorities that the aircraft was
missing. A search subsequently located the helicopter wreckage about 0900 the next morning.
The accident site was located on a wooded hillside in a sparsely populated area approximately 4 1/2
miles southeast of LSE. Tree strikes and main rotor blade fragments were observed at the top of
the ridgeline. The elevation of the ridge was approximately 1,160 feet at that location. The main
wreckage came to rest on the east side of the ridgeline, on the descending hillside opposite the
departure airport. It was about 600 feet from the initial tree strikes at the top of the
ridgeline, at an elevation of approximately 930 feet.
An employee of the fixed base operator at LSE, who fueled the helicopter, reported moderate rain
and fair visibility at the time. He stated the helicopter lifted off and proceeded east-southeast.
At 2253, weather conditions at LSE were recorded as: Calm winds, visibility 8 miles in light rain,
few clouds at 1,400 feet above ground level (agl), and overcast clouds at 5,000 feet agl. Fire
department personnel reported fog and mist along the ridgeline at the time of the search and rescue operations.

[FredFri]

Mes condoléances à la famille.

J'avais croisé Bruno lorsqu'il était venu postuler chez CHC à Aberdeen...