Helicopter down in PNG at Kimbe

[Mumbai Merlin]

The 'National' newspaper is reporting a Bell 427 helicopter has ditched in the sea. Niugini Helicopters based in Kimbe said one pilot was on board and is recovering. No further details as yet

[Mumbai Merlin]

A HELICOPTER pilot escaped with minor injuries after his Bell 427 helicopter ditched in water in the Kimbe area yesterday.
It had failed to arrive in Kimbe at 11.10am as scheduled and was reported at about 1pm that it was in the water and the pilot, the sole occupant, had been rescued, PNG Accident Investigation Commission chief commissioner Hubert Namani said.
He said a team of investigators would be sent to Kimbe this morning.
Namani said PNG Air Services Ltd had reported the accident.
.

[tail wheel]

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1080x811/80-bell_406_3bd387facb665eb3ce61bf7e0cac5730857c28f1.jpg

[gulliBell]

Oops, write that one off...apart from a red face glad to see that no other harm done.

[geeup]

Hoskins airport had been closed by NAC for about 2 weeks due Volcanic Ash.

Mt Uluwanu is closer to Kimbe then Hoskins airport.....

Are 407s less likely to ingest Volcanic Ash??

Pure speculation.

[Sunfish]

Loved diving in Kimbe Bay.

[gulliBell]

..Are 407s less likely to ingest Volcanic Ash??

Just as likely to ingest volcanic ash as any other helicopter. But this was a B427 twin engine helicopter, and volcanic ash had nothing to do with its demise. They do know exactly what happened, and the accident investigation is as easy as it gets on this one.

[Kagamuga]

The volcanic ash that has been present at Hoskins is I believe not a contributing factor. The aerodrome was closed due to residual ash from a few weeks ago. However we know from PX Fokker flights that the "Roller" engine can handle the ash. But ...
Give the investigators a day or two and I think you might be surprised as to why the accident happened.

[gulliBell]

...Give the investigators a day or two and I think you might be surprised as to why the accident happened.

They know what happened. Another one of those meetings with the boss for tea and bikkies where there is no tea or bikkies. As Maxwell Smart, Secret Agent 86 of Control used to say: "Sorry about that, Chief".

[Ascend Charlie]

You don't normally see the transmission and the skids on the same side of the aircraft.

Neat little chop through the boom, there is normally a "DANGER" sign right on that spot.

[gulliBell]

Kagamuga is right about "surprise". I thought pilots had found every which way to prang a helicopter. The "surprise" is to learn that a new way has been found.

[dude12345]

I bet they don’t replace it with another 427, was it the pilot that destroyed that 407 in Kiunga a few years ago? I heard he got a rating straight after the kiunga crash. F$&k up moved up.

[gulliBell]

The 407 crash, from what I recall, the load master - who'd had somewhat dubious training it seemed - had hooked a long line to the helicopter belly hook without telling the pilot. The pilot took off without realizing he was connected to an immovable object at the other end, so when he was 150' into his take-off that is as far as he got and the whole show turned into self-destruct mode. Again, if I recall, said load master claimed he never attached the line, did a runner and was never seen again.

[dude12345]

A few different stories, My favourite is taking a phone call on take off & forgetting about the load anyway there insurance company won’t be happy.

[gulliBell]

Did the same pilot crash both helicopters?

They'd never had a prang in their entire existence until that 407, which is remarkable for PNG, and now the 427.

It wouldn't be the first time a pilot pranged a perfectly good helicopter and was then promoted onto a twin, I can think of 2 or 3 others.

[Office Update]

Apparently, according to rumour, it was the same pilot that wrapped up the company Bell 407 and prior to that allegedly a helicopter off a Tuna boat, with unfortunate outcome.

[Mumbai Merlin]

The company web site lists the Bell 427 as "currently not available" Optimistic, but I think the damage to customer confidence is far greater.

[gulliBell]

Actually this company has a commendable safety record. They haven't had a fatal prang, or a prang that has injured anybody for that matter, and as far as I know they are the only helicopter charter operator in PNG who can claim that. Bad luck for them that the pilot did a woefully absent minded thing in this instance that wrote off a perfectly good helicopter for no reason.

[bront]

Is it a secret or something? What happened?

[gulliBell]

The pilot was doing an in-flight maintenance check and inadvertently shut down both engines without realizing it (the engines should have been at idle during the check, not off). When he finally realized the engines had been shut down he ran out of time and altitude to do anything about it before getting wet.

[geeup]

Sounds like a lack of aircraft knowledge.

Where was the Ground School & Endorsement done?

[Office Update]

If the pilot was conducting a post maintenance flight check; [as suggested by gullibell #20] I would suggest a very poor chain of command. In the real world the Chief Pilot would conduct such checks, and for a very good reason. Mentoring is a vital part of gaining experience and I would have thought that the pilot in this case should have been under instruction.
What does the Company Ops manual have to say in regards to post maintenance check flights? Whom should be conducting said checks etc. Fleet captain, fleet manager ? In the company I work for any request for an engineering flight comes in writing with a specific understanding of what is expected and how the flight shall be conducted, and to achieve what outcome. Makes the Insurance company smile!
It is extremely easy to undo a decade of hard work, in five rushed minutes; tends to make clients rather nervous.

[gulliBell]

Yes, a pilot would need a written Company authority to be approved for undertaking post maintenance assessment flights. The maintenance assessment task would need to be briefed in advance with the mechanic, and the flight properly authorized (a pilot or mechanic can normally authorize such flights). There are protocols to be followed, sometimes duplicate inspections are required and recorded, etc, depending on the work undertaken. When operating at a base away from the main maintenance base (as in this instance, the maintenance had been done in Rabaul and the check was being done on the repositioning flight back to Kimbe main base), the pilot is the only pilot at the base. If he doesn't have a Company authority for undertaking maintenance assessment flights they have to fly in another pilot.

In-so-far as the pilot inadvertently shutting down both engines. The shutting down of engines in flight is covered in the normal check and training syllabus for all pilots. At the very least, bringing an engine (or both engines) to idle in flight is always checked and the pilot needs to display competency. For an initial type rating, if not done in the simulator, then shutting an engine down in flight (twin engine helicopter) and restarting it would need to be demonstrated. So, the training pipeline should produce a pilot who is competent at doing all those things. Big mystery to me how they ended up with a pilot at the controls of a single pilot helicopter who unwittingly shut down both engines in flight and didn't know about it. I guess anybody could have a bad day, especially in PNG.

[bront]

The pilot was doing an in-flight maintenance check and inadvertently shut down both engines without realizing it (the engines should have been at idle during the check, not off). When he finally realized the engines had been shut down he ran out of time and altitude to do anything about it before getting wet.
You're right, that is a new way to crash a helicopter!

[gulliBell]

The AIC preliminary report is on the website.

[Kagamuga]

http://www.aic.gov.pg/pdf/PreRpts/AIC%2019-1001%20P2-HSG.pdf

[Mumbai Merlin]

11th August 2020 update from AIC



Ballina Limited t/a Niugini Helicopters
P2-HSG
Bell 427
Helicopter impact with water
Kimbe, West New Britain province
Papua New Guinea
11 August 2019
[ii]
About the AIC
The Accident Investigation Commission (AIC) is an independent statutory agency within Papua New Guinea (PNG). The AIC is governed by a Commission and is entirely separate from the judiciary, transport regulators, policy makers and service providers. The AIC's function is to improve safety and public confidence in the aviation mode of transport through excellence in: independent investigation of aviation accidents and other safety occurrences within the aviation system; safety data recording and analysis; and fostering safety awareness, knowledge and action.
The AIC is responsible for investigating accidents and other transport safety matters involving civil aviation in PNG, as well as participating in overseas investigations involving PNG registered aircraft. A primary concern is the safety of commercial transport, with particular regard to fare-paying passenger operations.
The AIC performs its functions in accordance with the provisions of the PNG Civil Aviation Act 2000 (As amended), and the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1951, and in accordance with Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
The object of a safety investigation is to identify and reduce safety-related risk. AIC investigations determine and communicate the safety factors related to the transport safety matter being investigated.
It is not a function of the AIC to apportion blame or determine liability. At the same time, an investigation report must include relevant factual material of sufficient weight to support the analysis and findings. At all times the AIC endeavours to balance the use of material that could imply adverse comment with the need to properly explain what happened, and why it happened, in a fair and unbiased manner.
As per the paragraph 6.6 of the International Standards of ICAO Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, if the report cannot be made publicly available within twelve months, the State conducting the investigation shall make an interim statement publicly available on each anniversary of the occurrence, detailing the progress of the investigation and any safety issues raised.
The AIC has produced this Interim Statement in accordance with its mandate under the Civil Aviation Act 2000 (as amended), in accordance with the requirements of ICAO Annex 13 and the PNG Accident Investigation Commission - Policy and Procedures Manual.
[iii]
Interim Statement
On 11 August 2019, at 11:25 local time (01:25 UTC), a Bell 427 helicopter, registered P2-HSG, owned and operated by Niugini Helicopters, was reported to have impacted a reef 3.1 nm of North West of Buluma township while conducting a VFR ferry flight from Kokopo, East New Britain Province to Kimbe, West New Britain Province.
The AIC was informed at 17:45 local time (07:45 UTC) 11 August 2019, by Papua New Guinea Air Services Limited (ASL) of an accident involving a Bell 427 helicopter, registered P2-HSG, owned and operated by Niugini Helicopters.
The AIC immediately commenced an investigation. Due to volcanic activity in the Bialla area, West New Britain Province, the AIC was unable to get its investigators to the site until the 14th August 2019. The day after the accident, the helicopter wreckage was salvaged and stored at the Operator’s hangar where the investigators conducted the initial examinations.
During the investigation conducted by the AIC, all relevant information regarding the occurrence was gathered and analyzed. It included aircraft operations and maintenance, weather conditions, survival aspects, organisational and human factors, as well as other elements necessary to establish the cause, contributing factors and circumstances in which the occurrence took place.
Currently, the Draft Final Report is being developed by the AIC, to be sent to the involved parties in accordance with ICAO Annex 13 Paragraph 6.3. The AIC will invite them to provide their significant and substantiated comments on the report in accordance with ICAO provisions.
Upon completion of period for comments to the Draft Final Report, the AIC will release the Final Report in accordance with Annex 13 Paragraph 6.5.
Hubert Namani, LLB
Chief Commissioner
11 August 2020