Tail Rotor Strike
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 921
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From: Europe
Tail Rotor Strike
Once again a pilot has ignored markings, intended to keep the helicopter safe from obstacles, with the obvious consequences. Had the aircraft touched down with the pilot over the TDPC, an expensive incident might have been avoided.
https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/news-i...fer-operations
https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/news-i...fer-operations
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 768
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From: Montreal
Hope the pilot doesn't feel vindicated by the report, somewhere in his training and operational control, where to land on a marked offshore deck seems to have been missed.
Apart from all that, who would ever position the tail over steps leading up to the platform?
Apart from all that, who would ever position the tail over steps leading up to the platform?
Joined: Sep 2004
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL(H)
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From: Canada
Put your butt on the yellow circle!
A common error is for folks to focus upon and aim for the centre of the “H” which leads to both a too shallow approach at at bottom and the tail being too far back.
Focus on the opposite side of the helideck. This should lead to an approach and hover with rotor mast of the helicopter being over the H.
Much better to be a bit too far forward when you can see what obstacles are ahead of you than too far back where you can’t see any obstacles.
On take off folks sometimes focus on a point just in front of the nose. As the helicopter lifts off the point starts to disappear under the nose and they instinctively back up to keep it in sight. Especially at night.
Just my crackpot opinion.
A common error is for folks to focus upon and aim for the centre of the “H” which leads to both a too shallow approach at at bottom and the tail being too far back.
Focus on the opposite side of the helideck. This should lead to an approach and hover with rotor mast of the helicopter being over the H.
Much better to be a bit too far forward when you can see what obstacles are ahead of you than too far back where you can’t see any obstacles.
On take off folks sometimes focus on a point just in front of the nose. As the helicopter lifts off the point starts to disappear under the nose and they instinctively back up to keep it in sight. Especially at night.
Just my crackpot opinion.
Joined: Apr 2000
Aviation Qualifications: ATP+Mil
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From: EGDC
It looks like he put himself in the middle of the circle rather than the middle of the helicopter in the middle of the circle.
Presumably for cost reasons they don't have rearcrew?
Presumably for cost reasons they don't have rearcrew?
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 880
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From: Australia
It is worth trying to read the full ATSB report on this incident rather than only the summary. Seems lots of elements came into it. Pilots touchdown positioning may have been influenced by marked manholes in the landing zone. I am also left wondering if the stanchions on the side the helicopter approached had accidentally been left in place by the crew on this occassion (despite a request from the marine pilot) given the stanchions on other side had been removed for that landing? Or were stanchions regularly left in place on previous occassions? As for positioning of tail rotor, seems access to the deck hatch could be from either port or starboard side so with a transverse approach the tail rotor would invariably be over either one or the other access steps. Marine pilots would be trained to approach the helicopter from the front. I wonder how many helicopter pilots had been lucky with landing on this ship prior to this incident?
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 880
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From: Australia
Does that mean second time VH-RUA had landed on this particular ship? At first I thought you may have meant second time it had been involved in such an incident. ATSB only has this one accident report for the helicopter VH-RUA.
Joined: Jul 2002
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From: UK
Joined: Oct 1999
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
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From: Den Haag
I see the see the same registration was involved in an accident when on a Piper PA-28.
