Accident Bell 204 (UH-1F) ZK-HVY,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 46297
 
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Date:Monday 15 January 2001
Time:09:51 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic UH1 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Bell 204 (UH-1F)
Owner/operator:Helipro
Registration: ZK-HVY
MSN: 7095
Year of manufacture:1966
Fatalities:Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Category:Accident
Location:Mt Victoria, Wellington 1 -   New Zealand
Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:External load operation
Departure airport:
Destination airport:
Investigating agency: CAA NZ
Confidence Rating: Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities
Narrative:
The helicopter was shifting skips of earth from a construction site on Mt Victoria to a carpark at the summit, where the skips were emptied into waiting trucks. Approaching the carpark on the fifth load, the helicopter was observed to be flying erratically. The pilot placed the skip on the ground and jettisoned the longline. The helicopter yawed and rolled to the left, striking the ground near the summit lookout in a semi-inverted attitude. The investigation found that the helicopter had had a hydraulic system failure, leading to a loss of control. A considerable quantity of hydraulic fluid was found on the road at the drop-off point, and a pressure line was later found with a fatigue crack in the vicinity of the tube end. The MS flareless fitting at the tube end had been grossly over tightened at some stage in its life, and this, combined with in-service flexing and reverse bending, had led to the failure. When and by whom the tube was overtightened could not be established, but it appeared that it may have been done before the helicopter arrived in New Zealand in 1995. It is also unlikely that it was performed by a licensed aircraft engineer, given that the characteristics of flareless fittings should be part of an engineer's basic training.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: CAA NZ
Report number: 
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

http://www.caa.govt.nz/Accidents_and_Incidents/Accident_Reports/ZK-HVY_Fatal_15Jun2001.pdf
Air International March 2001, p141

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
04-Nov-2008 10:35 ASN archive Added
16-Aug-2014 13:31 Aerossurance Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Location, Phase, Nature, Source]
04-Jan-2018 08:35 TB Updated [Operator, Location, Source]
02-Feb-2022 02:32 Ron Averes Updated [Location]
13-Feb-2022 01:32 Ron Averes Updated [Location]

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