AS350 Crash caught live on TV, Auckland, NZ
Join Date: Nov 2009
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Deeper, yes your right shoulder straps are mandatory but was just saying that not everyone wears there shoulder straps when lifting (which used to include me) but now I personally find it more comfortable wearing them whilst long lining especially in the AS350....but its a personal choice for everyone to decide for themselves.
As far as the helmet goes I stand by my statement he was lucky he didn't whack his head on the door pillar.....I know helmets wont prevent all deaths or injuries but they might prevent some???
Dan
As far as the helmet goes I stand by my statement he was lucky he didn't whack his head on the door pillar.....I know helmets wont prevent all deaths or injuries but they might prevent some???
Dan
Hero to Dog Poo in 2.3 seconds!
I wonder if a remote hook would have helped? ie no hook up man on the ground holding the strop/line that's still attached to the top of the structure above the aircraft as it is landing?
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There were a number of factors in this accident but unfortunately the loader driver pulled the cable into the blades which appears to be the main cause. Poor guy, a momentary lapse in concentration.
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This clip contains new footage at the end. You can see the loader driver jump up and pull down on the cable for whatever reason. It could be that Greg notified him of the hook failing to release or something. I really feel for this guy, its a loader drivers worst nightmare. So lucky no one was hurt. From what I know these guys run a very professional operation. I wish them all the best.
Chopper pilot had 20 years experience - National - Video - 3 News
Chopper pilot had 20 years experience - National - Video - 3 News
At what point do we demand a DA on these poxy as350 seats!
As a rear seat passenger I value my knees.
Good demo of why cameramen shooting from side doors usually get a bump on the head.
Did the tail boom fail due to shock induced by the main rotor strike... the main rotor does not appear to strike it??
Mickjoebill
As a rear seat passenger I value my knees.
Good demo of why cameramen shooting from side doors usually get a bump on the head.
Did the tail boom fail due to shock induced by the main rotor strike... the main rotor does not appear to strike it??
Mickjoebill
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AS350 Seats
500E. Yes the old AS350 seats and attaching rails are a significant weakness imho. I often will check them, as on occasion the attachments appear loose (not bolted/adjusted to the deck correctly) - you might first notice it when a crew member or passenger is adjusting their position in the back and grabs hold of your handy seat, only to feel the seat tip slightly or shuffle 
I have often had visions of someone inadvertently dislodging my seat which needless to say would leave us in a somewhat precarious situation. Watching that video and reading that report, really brings it home - not pleasant. It's a wonder that the modification - albeit a horrendous exercise and one which as a past owner would have caused me tremendous heartburn - hasn't been mandated as often shear forces are involved in incidents which look like they will make easy work of dislodging the seat.
6 weeks for that mod
What's that stuff - gorilla glue 
I have often had visions of someone inadvertently dislodging my seat which needless to say would leave us in a somewhat precarious situation. Watching that video and reading that report, really brings it home - not pleasant. It's a wonder that the modification - albeit a horrendous exercise and one which as a past owner would have caused me tremendous heartburn - hasn't been mandated as often shear forces are involved in incidents which look like they will make easy work of dislodging the seat.
6 weeks for that mod
What's that stuff - gorilla glue
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Scary scene. Glad everyone is ok. A thought for others in the future...we sling all day long moving drills on a 120 foot line, with a helmet, shoulder harnesses and the door on (or off), because, we have vertical reference windows in our machines as an industry standard. I have only ever seen 2 in australia, but never been to NZ. They are not that expensive...and dont take long to get proficient.
Really consider it guys...it really is the way to go
Just tightened up my chin strap!
Really consider it guys...it really is the way to go
Just tightened up my chin strap!
A still from the recently released video: the crewie was tugging on the strop just before it all turned to worms, indicating a jammed hook release?
Edit: this photo shows the crewie, how it all landed around him is amazing. If he hasn't used up all his luck for the month, maybe the winning Tatts ticket is on the cards
Edit: this photo shows the crewie, how it all landed around him is amazing. If he hasn't used up all his luck for the month, maybe the winning Tatts ticket is on the cards
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Another good video from a different angle
Lucky to come away unscathed - Campbell Live - Video - 3 News
Lucky to come away unscathed - Campbell Live - Video - 3 News
, no time for a UK "elf" & safety risk assessment
SEAT
Interesting report in view of this accident Thanks ichris
Accident Report:
AS350B2, G-OROZ; 21 January 2001 at approximately 1521hrs
Front Seats
Both front seats had detached from the floor in the impact. Rescuers found the pilot still in his seat, lying across the rear seat occupants. It was evident that both front occupants had been thrown forward and to the right when their seats became detached. There was evidence that the pilot had been thrown against the cyclic stick and the instrument panel and his head had struck the door frame.
The front seats were the standard, original fit AS350 high-backed seat which is entirely of a mounded fiberglass construction. The seats were identified with part number 77125805 on the seat back. The shoulder harness inertia reel unit is attached at the bottom of the seat back. Longitudinal steel strips located on either side of the base of the seat pan allow the seat to be bolted to the 'C' section seat rails. The seat rails are locked in place in the cabin floor by turnbuckles which locate in slots in the bottom flange of the seat rails.
Both front seats had failed in a different manner on each side of the seat. The seat rails had torn out of the base of the pilot's seat, leaving the seat rails still attached to the cabin floor. The right side of the seat base had failed extensively due to vertical compression loading. The left side of the seat base was largely undamaged, except where the fiberglass had sheared around the periphery of the seat rail attachment due to tension loading.
The right side of the front passenger's seat base had failed the same manner as the right side of the pilot's seat base. On the left side, the entire seat rail had pulled out of the cabin floor due to the slots in the seat rail having been distorted sufficiently to allow the seat rail to become released from the turnbuckles. The outer section of the rear slot had failed in overloading and was missing. The seat rails were fitted with 'L' shaped brackets which overlapped the outer edges of the slots and were designed to limit the extent to which the slots could open up, but this proved ineffective due to the slots having experienced significant vertical as well as lateral distortion.
The failure of the front seat bases was inconsistent with the relative lack of damage to the cabin and in particular the cabin floor. Similar failures of the seat rail attachments at the seat base and the cabin floor attachment were seen in a previous fatal accident to an AS350 helicopter with the same type of seats (AAIB Accident Report 4/96 refers). The seats have also been known to fail even under fairly gentle impact loads, as reported in AAIB Bulletin 1/2001 in which an AS355 helicopter made a forced landing on the roof of a house and in which the occupants sustained no injuries.
Although the AS350 fiberglass front seats met the crash worthiness testing requirements applicable at the time that the helicopter was certificated in 1978, subsequent experience proved these requirements to be inadequate. Accordingly in 1989 the FAR Amendment 25 regulations revised the certification loading requirements upwards considerably. The same requirements are reflected in JAR 27.561:
Seats designed to the latest specifications which are installed on the current generation of new helicopters by necessity have a substantial metal frame to enable them to meet the new design criteria. These seats are available as a customer-specified option on the AS350B3 which is the latest variant of the AS350.
Eurocopter Letter Service No. 1424-25-99 was issued in November 1999 to advise operators that the new crash worthy seats could be retrofitted to earlier variants of the AS350 under an optional Service Bulletin (SB No. 25.00.57) issued in May 1999. In view of the cost and time involved (6 man-weeks) to perform this modification, it is unlikely that many operators would have opted for the improvement, particularly if they had been unaware of the deficiencies of the fiberglass seats.
LetterService No. 1424-25-99 also recommended that operators who opted not to install the new crash worthy seats should modify their fiberglass seats in accordance with Eurocopter SB No. 25.00.63. issued in 1999. This SB was issued in response to the Safety Recommendations made in previously mentioned AAIB Formal Report 4/96. The SB adds 4 additional plies of fibreglass to the lower seat pan and introduces new 'T' section seat rails. The SB is recommended by Eurocopter but has not been made mandatory by the DGAC or CAA.
EASA Safety Information Bulletin - Eurocopter AS350 and AS355 helicopters - Improvement of Pilot’s and Co-pilot’s Seats
Accident Report:
AS350B2, G-OROZ; 21 January 2001 at approximately 1521hrs
Front Seats
Both front seats had detached from the floor in the impact. Rescuers found the pilot still in his seat, lying across the rear seat occupants. It was evident that both front occupants had been thrown forward and to the right when their seats became detached. There was evidence that the pilot had been thrown against the cyclic stick and the instrument panel and his head had struck the door frame.
The front seats were the standard, original fit AS350 high-backed seat which is entirely of a mounded fiberglass construction. The seats were identified with part number 77125805 on the seat back. The shoulder harness inertia reel unit is attached at the bottom of the seat back. Longitudinal steel strips located on either side of the base of the seat pan allow the seat to be bolted to the 'C' section seat rails. The seat rails are locked in place in the cabin floor by turnbuckles which locate in slots in the bottom flange of the seat rails.
Both front seats had failed in a different manner on each side of the seat. The seat rails had torn out of the base of the pilot's seat, leaving the seat rails still attached to the cabin floor. The right side of the seat base had failed extensively due to vertical compression loading. The left side of the seat base was largely undamaged, except where the fiberglass had sheared around the periphery of the seat rail attachment due to tension loading.
The right side of the front passenger's seat base had failed the same manner as the right side of the pilot's seat base. On the left side, the entire seat rail had pulled out of the cabin floor due to the slots in the seat rail having been distorted sufficiently to allow the seat rail to become released from the turnbuckles. The outer section of the rear slot had failed in overloading and was missing. The seat rails were fitted with 'L' shaped brackets which overlapped the outer edges of the slots and were designed to limit the extent to which the slots could open up, but this proved ineffective due to the slots having experienced significant vertical as well as lateral distortion.
The failure of the front seat bases was inconsistent with the relative lack of damage to the cabin and in particular the cabin floor. Similar failures of the seat rail attachments at the seat base and the cabin floor attachment were seen in a previous fatal accident to an AS350 helicopter with the same type of seats (AAIB Accident Report 4/96 refers). The seats have also been known to fail even under fairly gentle impact loads, as reported in AAIB Bulletin 1/2001 in which an AS355 helicopter made a forced landing on the roof of a house and in which the occupants sustained no injuries.
Although the AS350 fiberglass front seats met the crash worthiness testing requirements applicable at the time that the helicopter was certificated in 1978, subsequent experience proved these requirements to be inadequate. Accordingly in 1989 the FAR Amendment 25 regulations revised the certification loading requirements upwards considerably. The same requirements are reflected in JAR 27.561:
Seats designed to the latest specifications which are installed on the current generation of new helicopters by necessity have a substantial metal frame to enable them to meet the new design criteria. These seats are available as a customer-specified option on the AS350B3 which is the latest variant of the AS350.
Eurocopter Letter Service No. 1424-25-99 was issued in November 1999 to advise operators that the new crash worthy seats could be retrofitted to earlier variants of the AS350 under an optional Service Bulletin (SB No. 25.00.57) issued in May 1999. In view of the cost and time involved (6 man-weeks) to perform this modification, it is unlikely that many operators would have opted for the improvement, particularly if they had been unaware of the deficiencies of the fiberglass seats.
LetterService No. 1424-25-99 also recommended that operators who opted not to install the new crash worthy seats should modify their fiberglass seats in accordance with Eurocopter SB No. 25.00.63. issued in 1999. This SB was issued in response to the Safety Recommendations made in previously mentioned AAIB Formal Report 4/96. The SB adds 4 additional plies of fibreglass to the lower seat pan and introduces new 'T' section seat rails. The SB is recommended by Eurocopter but has not been made mandatory by the DGAC or CAA.
EASA Safety Information Bulletin - Eurocopter AS350 and AS355 helicopters - Improvement of Pilot’s and Co-pilot’s Seats
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Risk assessment?
Lucky escape!
Would not have needed that brown trouser moment if the operator had taken the time to have the mast guide wires de-rigged prior to the whole evolution. Since it was a pre-planned load job, 20 years of experience should have told him about wires?
Helmets save lives, when the rest of the flying experience fails. That seat.....well that's another story.
Would not have needed that brown trouser moment if the operator had taken the time to have the mast guide wires de-rigged prior to the whole evolution. Since it was a pre-planned load job, 20 years of experience should have told him about wires?Helmets save lives, when the rest of the flying experience fails. That seat.....well that's another story.
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AS350 Seats
500E. Yes the old AS350 seats and attaching rails are a significant weakness imho. I often will check them, as on occasion the attachments appear loose (not bolted/adjusted to the deck correctly) - you might first notice it when a crew member or passenger is adjusting their position in the back and grabs hold of your handy seat, only to feel the seat tip slightly or shuffle
I have often had visions of someone inadvertently dislodging my seat which needless to say would leave us in a somewhat precarious situation. Watching that video and reading that report, really brings it home - not pleasant. It's a wonder that the modification - albeit a horrendous exercise and one which as a past owner would have caused me tremendous heartburn - hasn't been mandated as often shear forces are involved in incidents which look like they will make easy work of dislodging the seat.
6 weeks for that mod What's that stuff - gorilla glue Seriously though I'm surprised that mod hasn't received more attention.
I have often had visions of someone inadvertently dislodging my seat which needless to say would leave us in a somewhat precarious situation. Watching that video and reading that report, really brings it home - not pleasant. It's a wonder that the modification - albeit a horrendous exercise and one which as a past owner would have caused me tremendous heartburn - hasn't been mandated as often shear forces are involved in incidents which look like they will make easy work of dislodging the seat.
6 weeks for that mod
What's that stuff - gorilla glue Seriously though I'm surprised that mod hasn't received more attention.
