Pilot texting may have caused copter crash

[barit1]

A fatal medical helo accident (http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20110827X00428&key=1) in NW Missouri occurred after fuel exhaustion, per the NTSB preliminary report.

But Fox Business channel is now reporting that the pilot was frequently texting unrelated messages during the flight. The fuel problem is attributed to distraction and poor airmanship, per the NTSB official on Fox (Willis Report).

[flyawaybird]

Pilot texting a factor in deadly copter crash - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/09/us/pilot-texting-ntsb/)

[27/09]

I think it a bit over the top to say this could/should lead to a ban on texting or phone use at certain times prior to flight. There's plenty of other distractors out there that can have the same disruptive effect, are we going to attempt to identify them all and ban them too?

A bit more discipline during the pre flight procedure would have solved this problem.

[DaveReidUK]

Since when have "probable cause" and "contributing factor" been synonymous ?

"The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable causes of this accident were the pilot’s failure to confirm that the helicopter had adequate fuel onboard to complete the mission before making the first departure, his improper decision to continue the mission and make a second departure after he became aware of a critically low fuel level, and his failure to successfully enter an autorotation when the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident were (1) the pilot’s distracted attention due to personal texting during safety - critical ground and flight operations, (2) his degraded performance due to fatigue, (3) the operator’s lack of a policy requiring that an operational control center specialist be notified of abnormal fuel situations, and (4) the lack of practice representative of an actual engine failure at cruise airspeed in the pilot’s autorotation training in the accident make and model helicopter."

[BOAC]

This will no doubt resonate on the enquiry into Peter Barnes fatal crane strike in London in January as and when we get the AAIB 'findings'.

[pohm1]

I think it's way more likely that running out of fuel caused the crash.

P1

[akaSylvia]

From the CNN piece:

Freudenberg, a former Army helicopter pilot who served in Iraq, had worked for the company just under a year, and probably wanted to avoid revealing that he had taken off with inadequate fuel, which is a violation of FAA regulations, investigators said.


None of this is in the accident report nor can I see any reference to it in the presentation documentation. Isn't it a bit of leap to go from "distracted attention" and "failure to confirm adequate fuel" to lying about how much fuel he had on board in hopes of making it without a reserve?

[DaveReidUK]

Isn't it a bit of leap to go from "distracted attention" and "failure to confirm adequate fuel" to lying about how much fuel he had on board in hopes of making it without a reserve? Maybe, maybe not.

"After reaching the [Harrison County] hospital, the pilot reported to the company’s EMS communication center that he did not have enough fuel to fly to Liberty Hospital and requested help locating a nearby fuel option. During their conversation, the pilot did not report and the communication specialist did not ask how much fuel was on board the helicopter, and neither of them considered canceling the mission and having fuel brought to the helicopter."

[DownIn3Green]

So here we go again trying to justify the Capt's shortcomings (i.e.- lack of attention to detail...for instance a basic pre-flight) instead of accepting that he screwed up...

In these types of operations the "dispatcher" is or is not licensed...(I'm not trying to cast any stones at this partictular operation)....however...

What the dispatcher says or doesn't say does not relieve the PIC from taking off without enough fuel...

In my businesses, and cockpits (when I was still flying) cell phones, I-Pads, etc, are checked at the door...

My justification for this stance was "If you were working for a Doctor or Lawyer Office, you wouldn't be "Texting" all day long...So what makes you think you can do it on my time?)

Out of Fuel...Crash....PIC....Guilty....End of Story....

Of course there could be many mitigating factors which were the links in the chain that finally snapped, But there is no excuse for running out of fuel....Period...

[Capn Bloggs]

85 texts in 12 hours to the same person? iSad. :(

[ATC Watcher]

That are about standard numbers when you are in love..:hmm:

but this : To the amazement of safety officials, [the pilot] evidently sent several text messages with one hand while flying the helicopter with the other.
A friend who is flying AS-350s says this is not really possible as the AS-350 has no auto features and one needs both hands to be kept in the air .

[pohm1]

A friend who is flying AS-350s says this is not really possible as the AS-350 has no auto features and one needs both hands to be kept in the air

Not really true, the AS350 collective friction does a good enough job not to need to touch the collective lever once set, during straight and level flight.

This unfortunate incident does seem to be a straight forward mix of distraction and poor fuel management.

P1