Longranger missing in PNG?
 

I hear that there is a B206L missing in or around the mountains near Port Moresby. Apparently missing 2 days now. Does anybody have anything further on this? :confused:

HNG To or from Tollokuma...nothing confirmed

Coffin charter, said to be pilot and 2 pax on board. Did not arrive at destination which is only 5nm away from departure point. Missing over 8/8th's jungle since last Friday afternoon, big effort launched to locate them. No ELT transmissions picked up, weather was thought to be good at the time. It is rumored the aircraft was fresh out of an overtorque inspection. All this info subject to confirmation, nothing yet on the PNG news wires.

Today's Post Courier

Helicopter wreckage sighted near mine

A HELI Niugini Limited helicopter has crashed in the remote highlands of Central Province. Alarms were raised on Friday at midday when it did not arrive at its destination on schedule. On board were six people and a dead man. The occupants were an expatriate pilot, three mine employees, a man from Karame village, and a corpse of a Karame elder who was a patient at the mine’s medical centre. The helicopter company said the aircraft crashed on the side of a steep mountain north of the Tolukuma Gold Mine in Goilala District. Heli Niugini’s general manager Grant Smith, in New Zealand, is aware of the crash. An officer at the Madang office said the Bell 206 long ranger was located with a global positioning system.

But there has not been any information on the occupants of the helicopter. It is understood the helicopter was on its first leg of the trip when it crashed. Patrick Bindon, director for corporate communications for Australian-based Emperor Mines, the mother company of Tolukuma Gold Mine Ltd, said from Brisbane yesterday a faint emergency location transponder was detected from what they believed was the helicopter. It was the first of any signals from the aircraft since it was reported missing at midday Friday after it did not return to the site by 11.30am as expected from a village in the area.

Mr Bindon said a full aerial and foot search started yesterday morning. Four helicopters from several companies including Heli Niugini were used. But the aerial search was called off early yesterday afternoon due the rugged terrain and heavy weather making visibility very poor. The foot patrol continued, and Heli Niugini’s Madang office said the search party was dropped off about half a mile from the location of the wreckage. And it would take some time for the team to actually close in on the helicopter.

the post courier report of 6+1 pob is not correct.
Condolences to the familys.

Paul, what is going on? Let me know via the normal channels PLS.

Can someone please PM me the pilot's name asap?

RH

RH, I assure you it is not Graham D, Steve B or Shawn F. Hope that is what you want to hear.
If someone has the initials that would be appreciated and respected. Very worried down here with the lack of communication out of HNG and PNG.

Can someone PM me the pilots name. Very difficult getting any info out of PNG right now.

Please PM me as well if anyone knows...I have a mate there..

Heard on the radio that no one on board survived. A sad day for many I'm sure so condolences to all those effected and HNG.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...0/s1771729.htm

Condolences to family and friends.

Thanks Chairman,

It's always tragic when someone loses their life, and for some reason we all seem to care a little more when we know them... My deepest condolences go out to Mr Hathaway's family and friends.

RH

Four dead in chopper crash
FOUR people have been confirmed dead — including an expatriate pilot — who were onboard the Heli Niugini Limited helicopter that crashed in the remote highlands of Central Province. The four people, including two Tolukuma mine employees, were last seen alive about 11.45am at the mine site before the helicopter left, about five nautical miles south to Kerame village to drop off the corpse of a man who had died at the company’s health centre after seeking medication. The pilot was a 60-year-old Australian man who was also an experienced helicopter pilot. The fourth person who died was a villager from Kerame. Their families are being informed of their deaths. Patrick Bindon, from Brisbane-based Emperor Mines, the mother company of Tolukuma Gold Mine Limited, confirmed yesterday that by early evening on Sunday a foot patrol from the mine was sent to investigate a site to the south of the mine after an emergency location transponder was detected there. “The search and rescue personnel from Tolukuma mine reached the wreckage late in the afternoon and confirmed there were no survivors,” Mr Bindon said. Acting chief executive officer of Civil Aviation Authority Joseph Kintau, whose search and rescue division was also involved, said investigations into the crash would be conducted by the air safety investigation bureau of the Transport Department. He said the helicopter left the mine on normal weather conditions when it was on its way to Kerame. The Bell 206 helicopter was located north of the mine site after it was located on the global positioning satellite. Emperor Mines chief executive officer Brad Gordon said the staff at the mine were in shock following the incident. “My thoughts are with the families of those who were on board the flight, and to those who have lost friends and colleagues in this shocking event.”

Source: http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20061024/tuhome.htm

Ces was abeaut guy. I had the pleasure of knowing him and his family. He was a true professional with a HUGE heart and a zest for life. A top bloke who just adored his family. My heart goes out to them.

RIP Ces. It was my honour to have known you.

PA

Many thanks Paul, unable to call you now but can skype. Another tragic day.

Thank you Paul. I have just heard the news about Ces and you say what I feel in my heart.
I did Ces's CPL and Insructor rating here in NZ many years ago and although we havent met in person for over 15 years, have remained in touch through letters and emails. His last mail was to say he was heading up to PNG and how pleased he was to be flying again.
Always the optomist. Always that silly grin.
Miss you mate.

Rex

Can anyone provide anymore information as to the cause or suspected cause of this accident. Was it maintenance as mentioned or pilot error?

G'day CoTB,
Bad weather suspected over copter crash
By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
BAD weather was suspected to have caused the helicopter to crash at Tolukuma in the mountainous Goilala district, Central province on Oct 20, Civil Aviation Authority general manager Clement Kapapal said last weekend.
“The helicopter had crashed when the area was covered heavily by cloud. But then this was just an informal report as the investigation is still going on,” he said.
“We will disclose the formal report after completing the investigation.”
The B206 Long Ranger owned by Heli Niugini was chartered by the Emperor mines to fly a coffin to the Kerame village about five nautical miles from the mine site for burial. It crashed on Oct 20 at 3pm, five minutes after taking off from the mine site.
Four people including the pilot died in the crash. They were pilot Cecil Hathaway, 59, from Port Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia, Lawrence Aua, who worked in the logistic and supply department and Linus Kopa, who worked with the community relations department with the Emperor Mines. The other man was Jeffery Aeda, a Kerame villager who was accompanying the coffin to the village for burial.
Meanwhile, the body of the pilot is believed to have been flown home to Australia, while the rest are at the funeral home in Port Moresby.
Source: http://www.thenational.com.pg/110206/nation30.htm
Cheers,
MPT

What is it with the flying conditions in PNG that experienced pilots are being caught out by the weather and ending up as another CFIT statistic. There was the Hevilift accident earlier this year where it is reported that the pilot flew into bad weather close to last light, entered cloud, lost control and crashed. And now it seems from the source above that the weather may have been a factor in this tragic accident. Are the operators or clients placing undue pressure on the pilots to get the job done, or are otherwise experienced pilots but with little PNG experience being caught out in unfamiliar conditions, or are these unfortunate accidents with no common underlying causes? We seldom hear of findings from accident investigations in PNG. Speculation doesn't help, but can some experienced PNG guys hedge a hunch on what's going wrong here?