EC135 missing in NSW
 

I hope that this turns out OK, but the EC135 has been missing since Saturday evening. Unsure why it has taken until Monday to start looking :hmm: Richard Green is well known amongst the Australian helicopter community and is already reported as the owner of the missing 135, so no breaking of confidence to name him here.


SEARCH UNDERWAY TO FIND MISSING HELICOPTER

Search underway for helicopter missing between Sydney and north-west NSW

Doesn't look good. Reports that phone signal reported from Acadia-Berowra.

Some big country in the southern end of the route.

Ooh dear.
There's a fair bit of tiger country along that route.
Here's hoping.

Latest report: 3 POB including pilot Richard Green and his wife.
Destination Terrey Hills.
Apparently, no Sartime was lodged.

Unfortunately three deceased including my climbing friend from Balls Pyramid

Damn and blast.

Wreckage located, three people killed in helicopter crash at Watagans National Park

RIP. Carolyn was such a sweet lady.

RIP to all.

Question for Dick Smith

Wouldn't that Helo be very well equipped for IFR? Glass cockpit, Garmin GNS 530 Autopilot etc?

What the hell happened?

RIP.

Was not good weather Saturday pm.

I have no idea what could have happened .

I am happy to wait for the investigation to be completed.

So sad.

From the sound of it, no lives would have been saved here, but for such a small cost, everybody should have spidertracks or something equivalent.

SARTIME would have helped find the accident site earlier.

Terrible outcome, hopefully we all can learn from this tragic event.

RIP to all involved.

RIP
and condolences to all related.
His photos are the heritage...

I am incredibly shocked & saddened to learn of this. I knew Richard & Carolyn very well, they often used to come through YLEC. I can even remember when Carolyn started learning to fly the chopper. It was only a few weeks ago that I located some photos that Richard had given me of places they'd been.

DF.

Information and footage, already shown to police, suggests that the helicopter landed about 6kms from crash site, was on the ground for 40 mins or so, and then took off again heading east in bad weather.

The TV news are showing excellent footage of the accident site, definitely tiger area & difficult terrain for the investigators.

Pretty damning report in the SMH this morning, hope they're not true.

Dick Smith was reported by the ABC as saying thus:

"It could be that the regulator is not doing its job because in some of the things I've read, it really worries me that Richard was flying."

I agree with Dick.

RIP to all three and I'm thinking of their families and friends at such a sad time.

Sad news :(
RiP


Seems to me that Dick has said something that most were thinking.
Strange that on different threads, I've noticed that anti regulation behaviour is applauded down under :confused:

Errr - like what?

DF.

I have been barraged by the media all day about a list of alleged quite serious safety incidents that Richard was alleged to be involved in,

If the claims are true I wished I had known about them beforehand .

I would the have spoken to Richard with a suggestion he change his ways otherwise he would most likely end up with serious accident .

Helicopters are complex machines and can operate in risky environments They need pilots with commonsense and an ability to at least comply with the regulations that are necessary to result in a acceptable level of safety.

By the look of it no flight note and no spider tracks .

I was in a similar weather predicament in the same location a couple of years ago so I landed the Agusta in a friendly persons backyard and caught a train back to Sydney Picked up the chopper a few days later

Did he really try to maintain such a complex aircraft himself ? I hope that is a media beat up.

What has Roger got to do with it Dick???

DF.

A mere curious question: Is it legal in Austraila to matintan/repair your own a/c?

Over here in Austria (EASA colony) as a pilot you might be granted a permit to do ridiculously simple repairs to a helicopter, among them not(!) including oil change, let alone oil filter change. I'm positive that even then, you won't(!) be allowed to pluck out the bee the got stuck in your pitot.
I'm not sure but I think you may change the battery, but then, if it's secured by something with a screw, you might not. Anything else has to be done by an official workshop (CAMO).
E.g. not even the qualified mechanic working at such CAMO is allowed to "help" you with your chopper in his spare time over the weekend.

Thus importing the first EC135 to Australia would have one grounded at the next 100h (400h) inspection, would it not?

Maybe you could actually learn the ropes and be certified as qualified EC135 maintennance personnel, and assuming you'd purchase all tooling necessary (to repair damaged EC135 rotor blades, as Mr. Green did) would you be allowed to wrench on your ship and sign off maintennance slips?
Would EC be required to provide you with all maintennance documentation?


I think he did choose an a/c not suitable for his planned country of operation. He should have gotten himself a 109, if it had to be a twin.:E

Thanks. Name has been corrected. Not thinking rationally after losing the three ,

EC135 Crash
 

Further reports in the media from local property owners in the vicinity of the accident have report hearing and sighting the EC135 landing and then minutes later departing into very nasty weather and approaching thunderstorms...surely this wouldn't be the case.

Without pre-empting anything, it appears that weather appreciation and decision making - human factors will play a leading part in the investigation.

Not for all the Tea in China .....would force me to fly into any conditions either VFR or IFR for that matter!

Surely what the papers report about him repairing a main rotor blade with absolutely no qualifications whatsoever - are simply headline grabbing - no?

IF true however, this man has taken two innocent victims to the grave with complete and utter disregard for safety or life?

Wonders never cease?

WX Radar archive for day in question.

Richard Green's submission to the Senate

Dick, you need to investigate and satisfy for yourself. Keep an open mind and not take the sensationalist view.

Sadly in OZ having a basic ppl with no instrument or navaid training can end in disaster so easily as the weather can be so fickle. Doing 5 hours or less a month may mean you are legal in terms of recency but not in real life when you are up against it. I've lost count how many searches I've had to do for missing pilots, bush walkers & fishermen over the last 45 years. Just a bit more planning & thought would make a huge difference in reducing these tragedies.

Notwithstanding last two posts. It is simply gobsmacking that Richard had landed out of weather. He was on the ground for considerable time and then relaunched back into the weather. This is the single issue that asks the question regarding Richard's airmanship!

The suspension is a side story, the issue is poor airmanship.

Both are linked.

Airmanship covers a whole host of activities. The type of activities leading up to the suspension give an insight into the attitudes of the person

Unless mechanical failure can be determined as the primary cause of the crash, then the attitude of Richard Green towards aviation activities repeatedly represents the activities of the boldest of the "bold pilots" brigade.
If no mechanical reason for the crash is found, CASA will be then be gloating, and utilising his prime example, as a reason for increased repression.

Yes, airmanship is the primary argument. However, the suspension issue is in dispute. CASA says and Green says are opposite. This site is replete with stories of CASA integrity. I say just look at the accident and see what comes out of it.

If mechanical issues are found, the next question will be whether they are related to maintenance carried out (or not carried out) by suitably licensed engineers.

Other experienced pilots after decades of flying dangerous missions only come unstuck when a film crew are in the back seat.

I dont know if filming of an interview with the pilot or air to ground shooting was taking place during this flight but it should be explored.

Two witnesses indicate that, after leaving the festival, the crew had planned to recce local sites of interest to the filmmaker.

The cellphone video doesnt show high winds through the foreground trees.

We dont know why they landed.

Bom radar archive (correct me if Im wrong) has them taking off after the band of storms had moved through.

The combination of owner operator pilot, no oversight of the days flight plan, no oversight of day to day operation, a cameraman onboard and hand held filming is in my view as a cameraman, a scenario to be avoided.

They took off at around 1500hrs and crashed after 19.30hrs.


All onboard this flight were passionate about the subject of the documentary, quite possibly it became a contributing force in this accident.


Mickjoebill.

A passionate environmentalist and conservationist with a private helicopter?
Oh the irony!

A number of the quotes attributed to me in the media are incorrect. I was interviewed for this Sunday nights Chan 7 Sunday show so this may give some greater accuracy. Of course this depends on how they edit it!

I did comment about how hard it is to get and keep a helicopter IFR rating in Aus.

I don't think any private pilots currently holds one.

In the USA you can do your IFR in an R22 or Jetranger and it is everlasting. Not even a requirement for a specific helicopter bi annual review- do it in a VFR Cessna 150 if you want to.

If some of the claims made to me by fellow helicopter pilots about Richards actions are true it shows that he was quite a risk taker. This may not have had anything to do with the accident of course.

wait for the report, but...
 

I agree it is necessary to await the investigation; however, Richard seems to have had quite a time of it.
From the Administrative Tribunal Transcript:

"I have noted that CASA has given details of earlier incidents, but that it provided details in the reviewable decision of incidents which occurred in 2012, in particular at paragraph 28 of CASA’s written submissions as follows:
During the period 4 May - 15 May 2012, the applicant was involved in 4 incidents during which there was a risk of a collision with other aircraft;

During the first incident, on or around 9 May 2012, the applicant was the pilot in command of aircraft VH-GKK when he flew directly over another helicopter, registration VH-RPQ, at approximately 30 feet or less. The down wash from the applicant's helicopter caused the main rotor on helicopter VH-RPQ to bounce. The pilot in command of aircraft VH-RPQ had to operate the rotor brake harder to prevent a tail boom strike;

During a second incident, on or about 10 May 2012, the applicant was pilot in command of aircraft VH-GKK when he flew the aircraft sufficiently close to another aircraft, registration VH-JIF, that the tail rotor wash generated by VH-GKK moved aircraft VH-JIF causing it to turn through approximately 30 to 40 degrees. The pilots of aircraft VH-JIF had to physically hold the aircraft down in fear of it being blown into the fuel bowser;

During a third incident, on or about 10 May 2012, the applicant was the pilot in command of aircraft VH-GKK when he operated the aircraft in close proximity to a Cessna Caravan aircraft, causing a very real risk of a collision with that aircraft;

During a fourth incident, on or about 15 May 2012, the applicant was the pilot in command of aircraft VH-GKK when he operated it close to two Airvan aircraft in an unnecessary manoeuvre, creating risk of damage to those aircraft, or injury to persons in the vicinity of the aircraft, generated by his downdraft;
On 28 November 2012, the applicant was pilot in command of aircraft VH-GKK when it struck overhead power lines approximately 105m from the point of take off. The power line snagged on the fenestron of the helicopter and pulled the power line until it tore the top portion of the fenestron off VH-GKK, The applicant flew the aircraft a further 200m across the gully before landing and inspecting the damage. The damage was significant, and the aircraft was unsafe for further flight, however, despite this, the applicant then proceeded to fly the aircraft approximately 250 metres in breach of subsection 20AA(4) of the CAAct;

The applicant has previously, in 2007, been subject to Counselling (sic) by CASA, following an incident where the applicant was pilot in command of VH-GKK when the main rotor blades struck a tree while landing. The four main rotor blades sustained extensive damage, however, the damage was not recorded on the maintenance release, the applicant carried out unauthorised repairs, and the applicant undertook flights in the aircraft after carrying out the unauthorised repairs.[ [I]comment: he repaired the blades with glue, flew to Cairns from the boonies, but rather than get the helicopter repaired in Cairns at Eurocopter, he decided to fly all the way back to Terry Hills in the Sydney suburbs!]

The applicant has been involved in the past in 6 incidents which have resulted in Airservices Australia advising CASA of safety incidents."

The AAT was not very sympathetic. Oh well, we will see. Terribly, terribly sad: RIP.
....