ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 181525
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Friday 20 November 2015 |
| Time: | 11:27 UTC |
| Type: |  Schweizer 269C |
| Owner/operator: | Sôr Air Sociedade de Aeronáutica |
| Registration: | G-STEP |
| MSN: | S1494 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Ponte de Sor -
 Portugal
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Ponte de Sôr (LPSO) |
| Ponte de Sôr (LPSO) | |
| Investigating agency: | GPIAAF |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter crashed 2 kilometers fom the Ponte de Sor airfield, on an open area when flying at low altitude, during the atempt of an emergency landing, after a colision with electric wires; a 22 year Angolan woman, taking lessons, was flying alone and was taken to hospital seriously injured, after leaving the aircraft by her own.
CAUSE:
The investigation understands that the probable cause for this accident are definitely related with human factors, leaving the technical failure of the aircraft or any of it system parts without any support.
The student pilot reported to have heard or felt a “click” (something getting loose) in the cyclic lever but, for a student pilot with the proper profile, this is not reason to enter in panic having in consideration that a helicopter was designed to land at any site, including the ground position just below it, when the click was felt if the procedures say so.
The poor preparation of the flying student to fly solo is the main reason why this accident occurred. In spite of being the third flight solo the fact is that she was not prepared either under the technical or the psychological point of view to fly solo. The student pilot had a difficult learning curve, mainly due to her inability to pilot role job, but also due to the ATO follow-up. Furthermore, considering the learning difficulties of the student during the long period of training until the accident, and her low potential to become a professional pilot, she should either have been dismissed from the course or assisted by a flight instructor in the ground until the first take off for taxi. This procedure could have served as a safety barrier to prevent the development of stress in a person whose lack of natural ability to fly has been already proved and in facto didn’t respect any procedure for an emergency landing, showing that she was not prepared for.
Contributing factors:
A fact which has strongly contributed for this accident was the occurrence, less than one year ago, of another accident in the same type of helicopter in which a student of the same course and his flight instructor were killed. The colleagues of the same course feel, with a high intensity, this kind of fatalities and this feeling has a variable duration of time. After a fatality like this, for the most of the students of the same course, any small noise, vibration or even a smell (odor), real or only in their imagination, when flying, can become a reason for alarm. If the student pilot has not, at that moment, enough force to oppose a psychological barrier to the development of the fear, he/she can lose the control of him/herself.
The flight school has reviewed the selection process, as shown on the training manual, section A.2.4 the application policy by adding specific tests on the selection process regarding candidates perceptive, cognitive and psychomotor abilities.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
http://www.cmjornal.xl.pt/cm_ao_minuto/detalhe/queda_de_helicoptero_em_ponte_de_sor_causa_um_ferido_grave___bombeiros.html
http://www.caa.co.uk/aircraft-registration/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Nov-2015 18:20 | Fusko | Added |
| 20-Nov-2015 18:26 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Source] |
| 21-Nov-2015 07:12 | Fusko | Updated [Narrative] |
| 19-May-2018 17:08 | harro | Updated [Time, Cn, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation