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Grand Canyon Accident: Pilot killed in AS350 rollover
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Grand Canyon Accident: Pilot killed in AS350 rollover
Sorry to hear, heart goes out to the family.
The AS350 is a bit of a handful to land when out of wind. Also any attempts at a quick landing could trigger ground resonance. I'm speaking from personal experience. |
Dying from a roll over seems very unlucky R.I.P eurocopters suck in anything other than a vertical impact
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Dying from a roll over seems very unlucky R.I.P eurocopters suck in anything other than a vertical impact skadi |
And not all Eurocopters. EC120 I have seen the results of 2x dynamic roll; one first-hand and the other on YouTube where the resilience of the passenger cell and fuel tanks was demonstrably 'more than adequate'.
The 350 airframe is a much older design, and I don't yet have any information on what happened here.. |
A very sad event, and so unexplained.
I have been chewing for a while how those who, 'have slipped the surly bonds', can more easily be remembered or referenced. I note in Ned's thread (the second post here) on the top of his thread you will see memorial thread or words to that effect. May I humbly suggest that it could be a way to find, -- , for those who knew and cared and could be looking, later here, a similar scenario? Just a suggestion.tet. |
NTSB Identification: WPR14FA195 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation Accident occurred Sunday, May 18, 2014 in Peach Springs, AZ Aircraft: AMERICAN EUROCOPTER CORP AS350B3, registration: N840PA Injuries: 1 Fatal. This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report. On May 18, 2014, about 1600 mountain standard time (MST), an American Eurocopter Corp, AS 350B3, N840PA, rolled over after landing at the Ramada landing site located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon near Grand Canyon West Airport (1G4), Peach Springs, Arizona. Papillon Airways Inc., DBA Grand Canyon Helicopters, was operating the helicopter under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The commercial pilot with a certified flight instructor (CFI) certificate was fatally injured; the helicopter sustained substantial damage. The local repositioning flight departed 1G4, about 1555. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company flight plan had been filed. The accident site was 1.75 nm east of 1G4, located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, approximately 380 feet west of the Colorado River (west shore). The wreckage was found resting on its right side located at the subject landing pad. Witnesses reported that the pilot landed and was planning on exiting the helicopter to perform a "fluid level check." After landing, the pilot exited the running helicopter; shortly thereafter the helicopter became airborne without the pilot at the flight controls. The helicopter subsequently impacted the ground and rolled over. The pilot was struck by one or more of the main rotor blades and was fatally injured. The helicopter was examined on site by the investigation team. No abnormalities with the helicopter airframe or engine systems were noted. The helicopter was recovered for further examination. The helicopter was equipped with an Appareo Vision 1000 cockpit imaging and flight data monitoring device. The Appareo device was undamaged and shipped to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory in Washington, DC, for data extraction. The helicopter was equipped with a 406-mhz Emergency Location Transmitter (ELT). The Armed Forces Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) received the ELT activation at 2300z (1600 hours mountain standard time.) The first activation did not have any latitude or longitude information. However, the second activation was received at 2329z, which was 29 minutes after the accident with lat/lon data that was 1,500 yards north of the accident site. The ELT did not assist in locating the accident site due to on scene witnesses. Mars |
A great shame, and condolences to friends and family.
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After landing, the pilot exited the running helicopter; shortly thereafter the helicopter became airborne without the pilot at the flight controls. |
Ag, I did actually mean a great shame when things like this end in this way. I used to operate the old Westland Scout which at the time could be left running without pilot at the controls in certain circumstances, I don't know about the 350 RFM and ops manual for that company so can't comment. Is there any problem with shutting down in remote sites for instance like this one in the GC?
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Another pilot and I were talking about this one last night and regardless of the mechanical locks that some helicopters may have to fix the controls in position. With the A-Star being called the "squirrel" for good reason, getting out of it while running would be to me like leaving your car in neutral on a hill while revving the engine at 6000RPM and hoping nothing went wrong. Not trying to armchair quarterback, it may be the done thing there and for the most part completely safe. Just not my first choice in healthy decision making.
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Any pilot that leaves his aircraft with the rotors running is eventually going to get his head examined.
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Aussiecop,
are you suggesting that other manufacturers designs will hover politely if the pilot is stupid enough to get out of them while the a/c is at full throttle and no frictions/locks applied to the controls? this is not the aircraft's fault. and who does a "fluid level check" on a running helicopter? it must mean something else... A of F; there is no problem with shutting down at remote locations in a 350. cool downs are 30 seconds, however i have exited an idling helicopter with frictions and locks applied. i would never do it without rolling the throttle to idle (B3) or retarding the fuel flow lever to an idle speed of 67-70% (B2) and locking the collective in the full down position. FP |
FP, all good points.
Perhaps someone who operates the 350 in the GC can enlighten us as to wether this site is a no-shutdown site for some reason. I seem to remember a bit of a gotcha with the battery overheat drill with the 135 some time back...corrected in later years. Of course sometimes people just do odd things routinely that in the cold light of day are obviously accidents waiting to happen. Once worked alongside a guy who did his 'A' Check after first flight each day just to get another 30 minutes in bed, he thought I was spoiling the show by doing as I had been taught. Sadly he's no longer around, but that was CFIT so not A Check related. |
Another candidate for the Darwin Award.:ugh:
One less in the gene pool. |
Bush Flying for at over Forty Years has involved Rotors Turning operations like refueling, hooking up external loads, loading cargo, and other chores.
It has been done quite safely over that time period. Like any other procedure with Helicopters, One must do it "Right" to be Safe. Judging from some of the comments, there are some very inexperienced Pilots waxing not so eloquently about this tragedy. |
Obviously, a tragic mistake was made here.
Doing this is illegal in UK. The rule is there to prevent "own goal" accidents like this. I've never heard of a fluid levels check being done rotors running on any type of helicopter. Maybe it was a personal "fluids relief" stop? |
ST - wondered the same - pumping ship
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Art of Flight;
I was told by an engineer recently (within the last 10 days) that an A check should be carried out after flight as all fluids are warm and will be at the levels required for flight and any leaks will be more pronounced. If he's right then I've lost thousands of hours of lie-ins over my career. No wonder I look so sodding old............... SND |
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