Helicopter onboard research vessel "Polarstern" crashed - two dead
 

Pilot and Scientist died in a crash in the antcartic. Three passengers suffered severe injuries - the survivors are treated at the hospital ward onboard the ship.

Weather was reported good, cause of crash undetermined.

The crashed aircraft was the onboard helicopter of the "Polarstern" - a german research and supply vessel assigned to support year round research facilities like the "Neumayer Station" in antarctica.

On earlier missions the aircraft was a BO105 - don't know if it was a same aircraft on this mission.

For all of you who can read german:

http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/n...538886,00.html

Website "Polarstern" (english):
http://www.awi.de/en/infrastructure/ships/polarstern/


R.I.P. :sad:

Hi,
:-( bad news.
As far as I know, there were two German BO105 based on the ship "Polarstern". D-HAWI and D-HLSZ

best wishes
G203

Sad news.

Spencer17 posted some wonderful pictures of heli ops from the RV Polarstern in the South Atlantic and Antarctica here: http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...rn#post3543555
Posts 2967 onwards.

Heliport, Spencer17 wasn't the pilot was he? I just hope not as it really brings these accidents home when one of the pprune 'rotorheads' community dies.

R.I.P those who lost their lives.

International Herald Tribune:

R.I.P. :(

Aser

I think that Spencer17 now works for PDG.

Anyway, he was on the forum today: Last Activity: Today 16:54


RIP to those involved.

No, it wasn't me luckily.
But what a terrible accident. May the injured recover well and the dead rest in peace.
I know the medical crew of the "Polarstern" the injured will get the best care.
They can deal with nearly everything except Heart problems and Brain injuries.

Spencer17
P.S. If someone nows the name of the pilot pls PM me.

Thx for the PM's.

Spencer17

R.I.P.

My thoughts go out to everyone involved.

Stephan Winter - RIP.
 

Any details on the accident that happened in the Antarctic two months ago that resulted in the death of Stephan and crew?
He was flying a helicopter supporting the New Zealand Exploration team when they went down, RIP all aboard. CFIT reported.
CMW

Hey cmwangs,
Stephan worked for the helitransair, i do my cpl training with them, but I've never met him. Lots of our employees talked to the copilot who survived the accident. He cant remember anything from the crash. He said they woke up some time after impact and the next thing he remembers was the BO105 coming for rescue. As you can imagine he wasnt really happy to talk about the accident, so we are all still waiting that he starts to talk about it by himself. Helitransair flys operations from the ship Polarstern with two BO105. Ive been told that the wreckage had been lifted to the polarstern and will be analised when the ship returns from its journey. The injured and bodies where brought to a hospital in the south of africa...my information is not quite up to date, it is second hand knowledge and as i said, i havent met stephan myself. The ship might have been returned by now. I could try to get additional information tomorrow in the company.

Maybe you could share how you came to know stephan and where you guys worked together. I will tell the pilots who worked with him at helitransair about this thread, maybe we can create a requiem.

greetings eivissa

This accident was discussed here before:

http://www.pprune.org/forums/rotorhe...-two-dead.html

The first report of the german BFU was released a month ago ( only in german )

http://www.bfu-web.de/cln_005/nn_223...tin2008-03.pdf

skadi

A great Pilot
 

I recieved the bad news on this tragic accident. Stephan Winter used to work for us in Saudi Aramco as a contract pilot. He was superb by all means. Depspite of our attempts to upgrade him and hire him as regular; he had to leave due to family location and other comittment in Newzeland. RIP, Stephan and the other person. It really hurts. My condolesense go to his family and relatives.

Friend and co-worker
 

I have flown with Stephan here in Arabia, as a crewmember and as an evaluator. I have done training flights with many pilots and Stephan was in the top two percent. The thing that I take from this tragedy is that if it can happen to him, it can happen to me or you. Keep the radar up and expect the unexpected.

I miss him as a friend and feel we have lost a real stand up guy.

Steve

Stephan.
 

I had the opportunity and pleasure to work with Stephan here in Arabia. Stephan was a great pilot, - and an gentleman of the first order.

He will always be missed and serves as a reminder that we are never beyond finality.

Murphy has to be kept at bay!

CMW.

anyone got this report in english please?

Hi gafa,

don´t have time to translate it in total.
Short version:
There have been witnesses and videoevidence from inside the helicopter.
Pilot did some steep turns, sharp decends and pull ups to the ship and to the shelf-ice-border.
Seemed to do a negative g manover pull up and putting nose down with decent afterwards and impacted shortly afterwars on a great snowarea with high speed, left skid first (was torn off).
Both occupants in the front died, passengers in the back were injured.

Don´t say anymore....

Greetings Flying Bull

I concur with Flying Bull, but I'd like to add that they are discussing in the report if whiteout conditions could be to blame.
It is not quite clear how the fun flight ("everybody on-board was in high spirits") actually ended: "the pullup in front of the ice followed by a push-over and a steep descent that had been terminated - here ended the memory of all eye witnesses" (interesting how the human brain shuts off, or omits the memory after an accident) - probably caught the steep descent, and didn't realize his close proximity to the ground and dug a skid in.

The ride the pilot gave his pax was obviously a little rough though, considering that the mast-moment light came on on the pullup.

BFU_ Report
 

Some corrections to FlyingBulls translation.

The report says they did som fun flying after the departure from the ship.
But the accident itself happend on the approach to land (1.5NM east of the arctic station Neumeyer 2).
Looks like a CFIT in whiteout-conditions. Nothing to do with steep turns on the departure.

Joe