Ch 10 chopper crash, Perth
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Ch 10 chopper crash, Perth
Reported on ABC (Australia) site:
Man in hospital after news chopper crashes - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Reporting that the cameraman is hospitalised with 'spinal injuries'. More here, being reported as a Bell 206:
Channel 10 news helicopter crashes in Perth | adelaidenow
Man in hospital after news chopper crashes - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
A Channel 10 cameraman has been taken to hospital after a helicopter crash at Baskerville, in Perth's Swan Valley.
The helicopter was filming a truck rollover on Weir Road when the accident happened.
Radio communication from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services reveals the pilot acted quickly to prevent a fire.
"The helicopter pilot has put foam on the aircraft ... while turbines are still running. Helicopter on its side - we are taking shelter behind the embankment."
The cameraman was taken to Royal Perth Hospital with possible spinal injuries.
The pilot did not require hospital treatment.
Police and firefighters are at the scene.
The helicopter was filming a truck rollover on Weir Road when the accident happened.
Radio communication from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services reveals the pilot acted quickly to prevent a fire.
"The helicopter pilot has put foam on the aircraft ... while turbines are still running. Helicopter on its side - we are taking shelter behind the embankment."
The cameraman was taken to Royal Perth Hospital with possible spinal injuries.
The pilot did not require hospital treatment.
Police and firefighters are at the scene.
Channel 10 news helicopter crashes in Perth | adelaidenow
Oz Tv showing final moment as C10 Jetranger, in level flight decends at moderate speed onto sloping ground perhaps 150 meters from the truck crash.
The 23 year old cameraman, (without helmet or flight suit) is pictured exiting from high side and running from craft, pilot then seen opening front passenger door and exiting.
Witnesses describing heli orbiting over scene then spinning.
Cameraman's report: Channel 10 news helicopter crashes in Perth | Perth Now
Comment:
Another filming accident in oz, the third in recent times all involving "open door" filming, a mode of operation which (worldwide) continues to be the most hazardous of tasks for cameramen/photographers outside of war zones.
Message to newsrooms forget hand help woobly scope, get a gimbal!
Message to CEO s of TV stations, at some point these statistics will be used to tan your executive hide, you could be found culpable! The precedent in law (in USA) has been set.
An open door, camera on lap or floating in cockpit or mechanical stabilised rigs that are not crash worthy, minimum or zero level of PPE, perhaps diagonal belt not in use... factors which exacerbate the potential for injury to cameraman in an aerial activity that usually calls for low and slow flight.
The result is very little time for a pilot to recover from pilot error or technical failure.
Mickjoebill
The 23 year old cameraman, (without helmet or flight suit) is pictured exiting from high side and running from craft, pilot then seen opening front passenger door and exiting.
Witnesses describing heli orbiting over scene then spinning.
Cameraman's report: Channel 10 news helicopter crashes in Perth | Perth Now
Comment:
Another filming accident in oz, the third in recent times all involving "open door" filming, a mode of operation which (worldwide) continues to be the most hazardous of tasks for cameramen/photographers outside of war zones.
Message to newsrooms forget hand help woobly scope, get a gimbal!
Message to CEO s of TV stations, at some point these statistics will be used to tan your executive hide, you could be found culpable! The precedent in law (in USA) has been set.
An open door, camera on lap or floating in cockpit or mechanical stabilised rigs that are not crash worthy, minimum or zero level of PPE, perhaps diagonal belt not in use... factors which exacerbate the potential for injury to cameraman in an aerial activity that usually calls for low and slow flight.
The result is very little time for a pilot to recover from pilot error or technical failure.
Mickjoebill
Last edited by mickjoebill; 19th Jan 2013 at 12:05.
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He quoted the engine quit / stopped !
"Everything you do at low level revolves around the engine not revolving."
Hundreds of ex mustering drivers around who will remember that being drummed into them. No excuse when doing namby pamdy filming work to be on the wrong side of the "curve".
Restraint.
Indeed in the film clip that I saw of the cameraman exiting, he was right outside the machine sitting or standing on skid and door sill, when he stopped - and then unclipped a lanyard.
I was sure that Australian regulations had sorted out this "restrained within the helicopter B 500' business" back after the court case involving a cameraman's death in Cairns Queensland in around 1993.
If I remember correctly the prosecution against the pilot concerned failed dismally when filmed evidence was presented that the local Department FOI (who was part of the prosecution team) who also flew for the local EMS had actively participated in allowing the same practice.
It was after and caused by that accident also that ALL harness had to be approved to a standard in OZ regs.
Looking at the video footage from the on board camera, it looks more like a loss of TR thrust - sudden and rapid yaw to the right that continues to impact.
The cameraman was shooting from right side door.
He may have been unclipping the camera lanyard, which yes, by design is clipped to his harness
In regard to the 23year old camera ops behavior, he said he didnt know if pilot was dead or if he should (have) stayed to check....maybe if pilots insisted that camera operators wore helmets and flight suits the operators may not run off like they were in a war zone under fire.
In this case potentially under a fire! Given that the last filming accident in oz involved the cabin flooding with fuel the "flight for life" is understandable
A school crossing supervisor has more PPE than a crew member hanging out of a jetranger at low level!
TV execs who are the paymasters of media flights are living on borrowed time, the saftey record needs to turn around.
On this occasion, Lady Luck has not added to the woes of recent spate of misfortunate filming flights, but whose life will next depend on the roll of dice?
Provision of a helmet and flight suit would improve the odds but best of all a stabilised gimbal seems to act as a lucky charm, reducing the occurance of fatalites or serious injuries of cameramen to nil (aside from the mid air collision in the states)
Having flow film jobs with Peter Barnes, Rusty and Gary Ticehurst I've sadly learnt that it is prudent to improve the odds anyway we can regardless of the experience of the pilot.
Mickjoebill
he was right outside the machine sitting or standing on skid and door sill, when he stopped - and then unclipped a lanyard.
In regard to the 23year old camera ops behavior, he said he didnt know if pilot was dead or if he should (have) stayed to check....maybe if pilots insisted that camera operators wore helmets and flight suits the operators may not run off like they were in a war zone under fire.
In this case potentially under a fire! Given that the last filming accident in oz involved the cabin flooding with fuel the "flight for life" is understandable
A school crossing supervisor has more PPE than a crew member hanging out of a jetranger at low level!
TV execs who are the paymasters of media flights are living on borrowed time, the saftey record needs to turn around.
On this occasion, Lady Luck has not added to the woes of recent spate of misfortunate filming flights, but whose life will next depend on the roll of dice?
Provision of a helmet and flight suit would improve the odds but best of all a stabilised gimbal seems to act as a lucky charm, reducing the occurance of fatalites or serious injuries of cameramen to nil (aside from the mid air collision in the states)
Having flow film jobs with Peter Barnes, Rusty and Gary Ticehurst I've sadly learnt that it is prudent to improve the odds anyway we can regardless of the experience of the pilot.
Mickjoebill
Last edited by mickjoebill; 20th Jan 2013 at 07:01.
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Reports of pitch down and rotating would suggest loss of tail rotor control. Recall way back in 1981 similar incident when Jayrow lost a B206 carrying news team. All killed when pilot lost control while trying to hover at 200' downwind on a 40deg day. The pilot was Canadian just arrived from a northern winter.
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I think Mick, if CASA do nothing about it, in this day and age and especially in WA you should be able to count on their OH&S people to take an exceedingly keen interest in it.
chopjock
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Get a gimbal, yes get a gimbal.
The cost?
Oh about the same as the helicopter.
Join Date: Nov 2008
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Get a gimbal, yes get a gimbal.
The cost?
Oh about the same as the helicopter.
Also there are two new manufacturers entering the market this year.
Once the capital cost is swallowed, high quality images that can be taken in all weather conditions are good for the viewer and the heli provider.
Mickjoebill
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Once the capital cost is swallowed, high quality images that can be taken in all weather conditions are good for the viewer and the heli provider.
Mickjoebill
Mickjoebill
topendtorque
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I think Mick, if CASA do nothing about it, in this day and age and especially in WA you should be able to count on their OH&S people to take an exceedingly keen interest in it.
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,540
I think Mick, if CASA do nothing about it, in this day and age and especially in WA you should be able to count on their OH&S people to take an exceedingly keen interest in it.
Their advice was to look to the coroners court which does examine and dig wider and make recommendations in the public arena.
I hope that truely positive improvements for aerial filming operations can be learnt by the coroners from the planning and management aspects of recent fatal accidents.
Mickjoebill
Last edited by mickjoebill; 19th Jan 2013 at 23:43.
Unlikely. With the budget cuts at CH10 Perth, more likely they'll down-size to an R44 for the job, or no helicopter at all....
Plus I'd add the news helicopters in Perth are all single-engine...what about in Sydney and Melbourne, do they mostly operate light twins in news gathering now?
Plus I'd add the news helicopters in Perth are all single-engine...what about in Sydney and Melbourne, do they mostly operate light twins in news gathering now?
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Funny that you should mentions the R44, there are a number of ENG R44 in Australia. Of course they all have externally mounted cameras. So other than not being a turbine, the problem is? Oh, and other than being a Robinson?
Factory fitted has to be a good idea.
Factory fitted has to be a good idea.
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chopjock
From a litigation and/or insurance point of view, the cost of a gimbal camera is negligable. The poor fellow with spinal injuries...someone will have to cough up the compensation.
Other helicopter service industries have adapted/changed to mitigate risk vs operational costs...why should the helicopter news/film industry be any different?
In any case it wont be too long when majority of aerial filming will be done by remote control UAV's.
Other helicopter service industries have adapted/changed to mitigate risk vs operational costs...why should the helicopter news/film industry be any different?
In any case it wont be too long when majority of aerial filming will be done by remote control UAV's.
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The poor fellow with spinal injuries...someone will have to cough up the compensation
No doubt he'll probably be showing the whites of his eyes for a few weeks when anyone suggests a chopper ride is part of the next film "scoop".
The truck driver was the bloke who was badly injured.
Cookies must be enabled | Herald Sun
Man 'flung from cabin' as news chopper crashes - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Last edited by onetrack; 20th Jan 2013 at 09:06.