Mustering Accident

[Ag-Rotor]

Anyone heard any thing re the Mustering accident at Julia Creek yesterday.

[Unhinged]

Not much out there yet. ABC is reporting this at Probe begins into fatal chopper crash - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/10/3212126.htm)

Probe begins into fatal chopper crash By Chrissy Arthur
Posted May 10, 2011 07:11:00
Air safety authorities will begin an investigation today into a fatal helicopter crash at a remote station in north-west Queensland. Police say a chopper crashed yesterday afternoon on private property near Julia Creek, east of Mount Isa, killing the male pilot who was the only person aboard.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau spokesman Ian Sangston says it is believed the pilot was mustering livestock at the time of the accident. "Overnight we've arranged to deploy a team of investigators from Canberra this morning," he said. "Three investigators will be travelling, including engineering, pilot and other disciplines, and they arrive at Julia Creek this afternoon.
"Police say it's pretty inaccessible and it is apparently four-wheel drive territory."

[topendtorque]

Another poor bloke gets killed and it hardly registers a beep. A bit of jungle talk I heard was that maybe it was the belts parting company at an unsafe height?? A remarkable part of that was that the belts broke across, not shedding lengthwise and then rolling off as per usual.
Cannot understand why is it only this type of machine, either airborne or groundborne that we hear about belt problems?

[SilsoeSid]

Deepest sympathies to family and friends. :(


In answer to the point about hardly registering a beep, I don't really find it that surprising as when we start discussing problems with operating methods, flight safety, questionable practises etc etc, we are told how we know so little about 'the real world' out there. Phrases like, 'If you want to see a helicopter really at work watch this', followed by a link to a mustering video where we all think, there's an accident waiting to happen.

To some of us, mustering accidents are no surprise.

As the well known phrase says, Flight Safety is No Accident, perhaps it is time musterers took a bit more notice and stopped being so macho !

[topendtorque]

Yes Silsoe Sid your 'large box quote' was indeed the subject of this thread.

Those are words, chilling to hear and frightening to speak.

You are right our industry has quite a share of those who don't grasp the realities of "flight safety is no accident".

Whether that is more or less than some other sectors have had over the years is debateable. It is also fair to say that to utilise the quieter methods of mustering, known as "Low stress" often places the helicopter in a bad position. I.E. pressure on, and then pressure off, this second bit often being accomplished by retreating backwards and climbing at a low airspeed.

Those that are not careful end up then hovering at say 120 feet or less while they wait to see if the cow will reciprocate the communication bit, then they set up to slowly approach /descend again for the 'pressure on' bit.

It's no maneuvre for a heavy machine and or a relaxed feeling.

Of course with care, forethought and or good mentoring, one can often do all of this without being in the dreaded areas for much if any time at all. Over trees you will usually be be at a disadvantage.

For years now lots of the current pilots have seen ex stockmen take to the skies and they strive to do the same themselves, which is to be admired.

It is sad that there are schools that can get them through their license without many of them really appreciating what a dew point or a mercator projection is. Or indeed, it may be seen at times without any real discipline of throwing that collective down once drive to the main rotor is suddenly and violently lost.

Also of course if the rumours about this accident are correct and the drive belts did fail, again, after all these years of Robinson practising to make them good, well there are plenty of big sticks around these parts which perhaps should be used with gay abandon around the heads of those who can only build faulty belts.

However your message 'Flight Safety is No Accident' should endure, in the factory the workshop and the flight school.

condolences to those concerned.
tet

[PO dust devil]

Pretty tasteless comments from SS. The story is about a guy who died doing something legitimate. Generalizations are not helpful IMHO.

condolences to family and connections

DD

[Ag-Rotor]

'A mustering accident hardly registering a beep'.... a statement born from frequency.
There has been a transition over many years of mustering operations where Aviator pilots pursued a career in mustering and learnt how to muster cattle, to stockman taking hold of their industry by becoming pilots and applying their cattle skills to the trade.Unfortunately allong the way the respect of the helicopter and the desire to be an aviator has been completely abandoned.
I remember a prominant member of the mustering fraturnity saying that he was very cautious when hiring pilots with a stockcamp background because from where he sat the majority of ringers he came in contact with had no respect for machinery and rairly kept the stockcamp vehicles in any sort of good working order. The few that made it into his organisation were surrounded by a lot of pilots from a non cattle background who were pilots first and musterers second, and the mentoring from within the organisation was always to train up very good pilots who could muster cattle. Management demanded a high skill level, good aviator attitudes, rigid check and training.
A quote from CASA not so long ago stated that the industry was almost void of mentoring and presented a major safety concern confronting the future of the industry.