Helicopter Crash Maitland NSW
 

Just heard that a Squirrel has crashed at Maitland Airstrip this afternoon, report unconfirmed as yet however it it beleived to be VH-BUK, not sure if it was a training excersise or not, or injuries to persons on board. i will let you know as details come to hand.

can confirm now that it is the above mentioned helicopter, lying on its right hand side at maitland airstrip....no details of pax though

Anyone got anymore info on this? I know the guys where this machine was based. Really would appreciate knowing if those involved are OK.

Thanks.

GP

the guys are all ok, however the machine is a bit bent, could even be a write off, tail boom is completely severed behind the horizontal stabs, blades are all bent, let alone engine and transmission etc, cabin didnt look that bad but hard to tell from the photos ive seen.

Mr Selfish,

Hi From the limited info i can obtain......(the grape vine is a bit slow growing here at the moment:{ )....the machine was doing practice emergencys prior to it being bent.



MAITLAND MERCURY

Men unhurt after copter crashes on side in field
Thursday, 23 March 2006

Two men crawled unhurt from the wreckage of a light Squirrel helicopter that spun over and crashed at the Royal Newcastle Aero Club in Rutherford yesterday.
The helicopter had just taken off when it spun over about 7m above the ground. It then toppled over and slammed into the ground, coming to rest on its side.

Ambulance officers examined the two men that were on board during the drama, one from Summerland point and one from Warners Bay, but they were not taken to hospital.

A police spokesman said the accident happened about 2.30pm.

"There were two males aboard the Squirrel helicopter - one in his mid-30s and one in his mid-50s," the spokesman said.

"Neither man was injured."

He said it appeared the helicopter was about 7m above the ground when it crashed but it was not known what had caused the machine to spin over.

Fire officers from Maitland and Telarah attended the scene.





if you PM me your email i can send you a photo from the paper.

I believe the cp of westpac newcastle was instructing at the time, carrying out hydraulic emergencies. No other details at hand.. Both drivers OK

Mr Selfish,

Howz NZ treating you?
U Like the 222?

From what I understand the Squirrel was a X-Navy one.Glad to hear everyone is OK. Was the Instructor M.D?

TMY:hmm:

Thats not a dream i would admit to!! :eek:

Mr Selfish - Congrats on the new job. When you come up Auckland Harbour towards Auckland Hospital have a looksee out the left window :ok:

Me lives on the corner of Kohi Road and Tamaki Drive, right along the flight path and believe me I can hear your ride coming a long time before you get here :) :)

Ned

Through another rumour mill ive heard the chief pilot of the Hunter Region Westpac Helicopter Rescue Service was on board

The cheif pilot from westpac newcastle was the instructor on board and he was conducting a cpl flight test with the owner of the squirrel.

The owner has told me it was while the instructor attemped to hover with hydrualics off the accident occured.

The westpac cp will definatly not be getting a christmas card form the owner this year.

I'm very surprised the chief pilot could not handle a 350 with the hydraulics off. Normally one does a run on but a hover is not that difficult & being an experienced pilot, he should have had no problem which suggests to me that maybe all was not well with that 350.

Hello Nigel,

Why are you surprised. It does not matter how experienced you are you can still screw up.

This chief pilot should maybe give up commercial testing if he is not up to handling something "that is not that difficult".

The helicopter was in perfect working order till it hit the ground but I am sure a good excuse will be found for this mishap.:rolleyes: :suspect:

Did the student pass or give up flying?

Good question ascj,
Recently in Central Queensland a pilot turned up at the local airport in his companies aeroplane to have a flight review carried out by the local charter companies ATO. Some different stuff happened during the flight test but lets get to the good bit.
On final nearing the end of the test the props made contact with the ground as the gear happened to be still up in the wings. The examiner managed to go around and a successful approach was carried out.
The examiner jumped out while the engines were still running and the tested one took off for home base. Nobody looked at anything.
The company engineer grounded the aircraft and both engines were bulk stripped.
The tested one passed the test. Can you believe it, I can assure you it is true.
So ascj, in answer to your question, maybe.:uhoh: :O

Are there any photos of the end result??
If this was one of the ex-military 350s the owner may find it hard to get major components repaired/overhauled!!
Also - isn't this the same CP who issued the instructor rating for another NSW based EMS CP who is seriously in the sh*t?
Flight testing on machines you have very little experience or currency - dangerous and expensive passtime.
No worries though - the industry will pick up the tab with higher insurance premiums and he can go back to his 'not for profit' little operation and forget all about it!!
MD

Max
 

No worries though - the industry will pick up the tab with higher insurance premiums""

Same old tune. and it bloody hurts!

Max Dover,
True, this machine was an ex Navy 350. however i doubt if they will be looking for spare parts as the machine will be probably written off:uhoh:, there may be recoverables such as good seats and instruments/radios etc:ok:
this is a rumour board:{ however i think all will be revealed with the subsequent reports. i am sticking my head out for the instructor (ATO) In saying that he has dealt with some major emergencys and handled them very well in the past ie the 412 combining gearbox mishap...however we dont know the full details yet do we?...what was said prior to the hydraulics off?..who was in controll at the time maybe the student in question made the situation unrecoverable....yes the instructor is PIC but who knows untill more facts roll in.
all things aside everyone is safe and well albeit a bit of a dent in pride.

Pilot did get his cpl however doesn't know when he will get back in the seat cause it scared him.

He's hopeful of salvaging a fair bit of gear. Being an exnavy chopper he spent a bit getting into a nice corporate machines, the plush leather seats were the best ive got to sit into.

Control handed be handed over to the instructor on the ground prior to the accident

CP who was in control is a very nice guy from my view with a wealth of knowledge and well respected.

It never ceases to amaze me how people are so quick to throw the **** without knowing all the facts.

I don't know any of the players involved however I am aware of their (good) reputataion in the industry and have often heard their names used in a positive way.

A pilot (perhaps) stuffs up and everyone's quick to shoot off their mouth........what about the countless thousand's of hours they did do it right, what about the lives they may have saved over the years and the experience he/she may have passed on?????

Remember it's human to err sometimes.

For those of you who want to bag this guy then pull your F#$^@#g head in. Just hope one day your not lying in a crumpled up machine somewhere around Maitland waiting for winch up from the very guy your been bagging!!

SMO.............