So the aircraft flas flying uphill in a +45º slope. Crashed and turned around perfectly 180º to point with the nose where he was coming from? Or it was flying backwards?
What flying path you suggest he wes flying to leave that trace in the snow? Upslope?

Why is everyone so confrontational on here? Been taking steroids?

Did you actually look at the photos I showed? Having re-checked the accident report (https://assets.publishing.service.go...LBAL_10-15.pdf), I see that it hit the ground at 90 kts and 25 degrees nose down - so, similar to flying level into a slope. Yes, the wreckage has ended up pointing in the opposite direction to the travel at impact. The fuselage absorbs most of the energy and the tail boom 'flops' over with insufficient energy to cause much damage.

Sorry I do not think the dynamics and forces that apply to crashing into a +45º slope are the same as flying into a flat field no matter what was the helicopter attitude at the moment. For me those are different scenarios.
I do not agree with your theory that after the impact the full helicopter rotated 180º. Cockpit remains are properly aligned facing front. Gearbox is in the proximity of its natural location and the tail is fairly in good condition.
It is not the same to make a 180º turn into a flat field than into a steep slope.
In any case I have already said, what I have said is pure speculation. Hopefully having both FDR and CVR recovered we will know for certain what happened soon.
Just watching a picture and a video is not the way to analyze and accident. There is a ton of relevant data missing in order to elaborate a serious conclusion. However this is a rummors forum ;)

Does anyone happen to know whether this aircraft was fitted with LIDAR?

FURIA
 

Granted you have AW139 time then.

Hope you didn't personally pay for the 2 courses?

True this is a rumour network. I'll go with henra and 212 on this...impact down slope from final resting place with fwd speed. The vertical survival ability of a 139 is better than than.

Furia, that is not a 45 deg slope or the people wou;dn't be walking up it. 20, perhaps 25. CFIT into a mountain at speed looks exactly like this. Impact point in the snow at the bottom, debris field extending upslope.
Extensive crushing/impact damage to the front and minimal damage to the back.
Main Rotor contact with the snow would spin the aircraft around as the blades destroy themselves.
Not flying upslope at all. Flying straight and level, hence the extensive crushing.
Being a very early aircraft I'm not sure if this would have EGPWS/TAWS or not, it came out a bit later so might have had to have been a retrofit. Aser, do you know if it had EGPWS?
FDR will quickly give them the flight path of the aircraft.
Condolences to all those involved and their families. A sad day for SAR/EMS.

The tail, unlike the remains of the front part of the fuselage, is still intact and not restrained by friction with the ground. Therefore of course it's momentum is going to carry it ahead of rest of the fuselage.

Essentially, this is the same effect that you get when lifting off the throttle in a front-drive car when going down a steep icy hill. The front is restrained and the tail wants to over take it.

Attachment 1672

Still from the video downslope. The rescue team on scene are recovering some of the the poor crews remains from the impact point. I haven't done any accident course, just regrettably attended too many crashes.

White sky, white terrain no visible horizon...

Jesus.......

Always easy to comment on something knowing the outcome...but that was crap all over the place....

Take-Off is crap-something you can do when you are in good conditions, but this is neither a Cat-A departure nor a departure for white-out scenarios...

Then-difficult to see from the video (but again-knowing the outcome)-it looks like the weather is really crap...so maybe they were going to pull into the clouds on an "IFR"departure?
But then again-especially flying into IMC (if that´s what they intended to do) OR if you are flying in extreme weather, you set yourself up for a straight departure to avoid any vertigo and/or disorientation....

just my 2 ct

noooby, I don't remember about the egpws/taws in that aircraft, too many years ago since I flew it... I am getting old and they could have installed it afterwards.
I am with 212man about the accident in U.K., it was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the picture of this accident.
Sadly it seems "just another" CFIT. :-(

40 isn't old! ;)

Absolutely (but not in the US). Need the SPIFR Kit (which is essentially a map holder)

Is there technical or operational reasons to have a virtually all white livery for a mountain rescue helicopter?


Mickjoebill

It was probably painted in the SASEMAR colours so a quick white respray to get it out of that before a proper job on it in the future.

Isn't this EMS, not SAR?


And yes, white is not clever in land SAR conditions. I can also tell you that finding white aircraft wreckage in mist and snow (or mountains with quartz outcrops) is not easy.

Looked like it was on flotation skis at least. The standard AW139 avionics wouldn't be my choice for VFR mountain weather flying, just an iPad with a map and elevation information is already an improvement. Might have had something better installed but generally public service helicopters cinched by budgets rarely do. I see EGPWS mentioned, but would be of little value unless IMC - in mountain VFR weather you already know you are close to the ground, slow, eyes out and the EGPWS is just an irritation unless you are using it like a second rate map trying to find a valley route.

Takeoff looked ok, didn't linger to try create a snowball, didn't go off in a direction he didn't need to trying to comply with some performance standard. Got away downwind without any performance problems. Weather was what you get in the mountains in winter, like 212man said "blameless".

Don't know the experience of the pilots, if they had done winter mountain stuff before like Swiss/Austrian/Italian operators in the Alps. That becomes an operational control issue - matching the equipment and crews to a challenging environment.

Tragic loss of life. Why so many people on board for a skier with a bum leg?

also...and why launch in those conditions for a skier with a bum leg. Dunno. I better shut.t.f.up before I get told to shut.t.f.up

1 pilot, 1 doctor, 1 winch operator, 1 injured, 2 rescuers that were working on the hotel avalanche going back down.