ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 221120
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| Date: | Friday 25 January 2019 |
| Time: | c. 13:30 UTC |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350B3 Ecureuil |
| Owner/operator: | GMH Helicopter Services |
| Registration: | I-EDIC |
| MSN: | 4458 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 6 |
| Other fatalities: | 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Rutor Glacier, La Thuile on the border between Val d'Aosta and France -
 Italy
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Lago dei Seracchi-Cascate |
| Investigating agency: | ANSV |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A Jodel D.140E Mousquetaire IV (F-PMGV) and a Eurocopter AS 350B3 Ecureuil helicopter (I-EDIC) experienced a mid-air collision in an area close to the Rutor glacier, at an altitude of about 2700 m.
The first contact occurred between the airplane lower right side and the helicopter main rotor. After the first contact between the two aircraft, the airplane broke up in flight, separating in at least 4 sections: the engine, the wings, the canopy and the tail. After the first contact, the helicopter suffered serious damages to the main rotor blades, which likely prevented the helicopter from maintaining control in flight.
The pilot and 4 out of the 5 passengers on board of the helicopter and 2 out of the 3 pilots on board of the airplane died. The French instructor pilot on board the Jodel and a German skier on board of the helicopter survived the crash.
At the time of the collision the helicopter was on climbing towards a heliski release area while the ski-equipped Jodel was on approach to a glacier landing area.
CAUSES
The accident, which consisted of an in-flight collision between the two aircraft, was caused by insufficient look-out activity by both crews, which should have been carried out it in a more incisive manner considering the restricted area and the critical flight phases in which both aircraft were operating.
The following factors contributed to the occurrence of the accident.
- The probable absence of bilateral radio communications between the crews of the two aircraft in the flight phases proceeding the collision.
- The limited or no visibility available to both crews towards the sector occupied by the other aircraft, resulting from the design shape of the respective aircraft and, in the case of the helicopter, also from the captain position on board.
- The sun position, in front of both aircraft, which could have significantly affected the crews capabilities in terms of visual perception of the respective positions.
- The critical aspects of AIP Italy, which do not make it easy for aeronautical operators, including foreign ones, to understand the relevant regulations/procedures, obliging those who consult it to carry out researches that are not always easy, not to mention the fact that the sources referred to are written in Italian and therefore not necessarily understandable by foreigners.
- The organizational behaviour of the Megève Aeroclub; it can be assumed that the latter was aware, at least since 2004 (when it was fined for an infringement of Italian law), of the existence of flight restrictions on Italian territory, but that its pilots continued to land indifferently on both sides of the border, in particular, as far as we are concerned, on Italian territory, in violation of Italian national law.
The investigation has not been able to determine with incontrovertible certainty, in the light of the evidence gathered, whether the crews of the two aircraft had transmitted their respective positions by means of self-information radio calls during the flight which ended in the collision.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1077872/alps-plane-crash-rutor-glacier-italy-latest
https://www.thelocal.it/20190125/plane-crash-helicopter-aosta-valley-italy-alps
https://www.corriereadriatico.it/attualita/rutor_incidente_elicottero_aereo-4255645.html
http://www.ansv.it/It/Detail_relazioni.asp?ID=2150
http://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/topnews/2019/01/25/morto-pilota-e-guida-in-scontro-v.-aosta_4972bf80-7547-49f1-9e63-2bef1eb43019.html
https://starworksky.com/
https://www.france24.com/en/20190126-death-toll-italy-helicopter-plane-crash-rises-7
http://aerossurance.com/safety-management/alpine-mac/
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/9036317
http://www.ansa.it/valledaosta/notizie/2019/07/05/tragedia-rutor-spuntano-gopro-con-video_b1ace4bc-85e8-4f55-8c83-9380cc97b691.html
Images:
Photo: Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (CNSAS)
Figure: ANSV
Media:
A Mid Air Collision, caught dramatically on video, that highlights the difficulty of visually detecting other aircraft in Class G airspace. https://t.co/5Myf5pWiiC #helicopter #accident #flightsafety #aviationsafety #humanfactor pic.twitter.com/rNTZVhuvos
— Aerossurance (@Aerossurance) August 14, 2021
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Jan-2019 17:08 | gerard57 | Added |
| 25-Jan-2019 17:43 | gerard57 | Updated [Narrative] |
| 25-Jan-2019 17:50 | gerard57 | Updated [Aircraft type, Source] |
| 25-Jan-2019 19:03 | JordyN | Updated [Registration, Cn, Source] |
| 25-Jan-2019 19:06 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 25-Jan-2019 19:13 | harro | Updated [Narrative] |
| 25-Jan-2019 19:16 | harro | Updated [Photo] |
| 25-Jan-2019 19:47 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Total occupants] |
| 25-Jan-2019 20:55 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 25-Jan-2019 21:00 | RobertMB | Updated [Source] |
| 25-Jan-2019 22:00 | Aerossurance | Updated [Narrative] |
| 26-Jan-2019 01:17 | Geno | Updated [Time, Phase, Source] |
| 26-Jan-2019 08:22 | harro | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 26-Jan-2019 11:02 | gerard57 | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Jan-2019 17:25 | Aerossurance | Updated [Other fatalities, Narrative] |
| 06-Mar-2019 10:57 | harro | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Narrative] |
| 11-Jul-2019 17:09 | MKAPPE | Updated [Source] |
| 16-Feb-2020 20:34 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
| 11-Jun-2021 17:52 | harro | Updated [Narrative, Accident report] |
| 11-Jun-2021 18:02 | harro | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 11-Jun-2021 18:24 | harro | Updated [Category, Photo] |
| 14-Aug-2021 11:07 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 14-Aug-2021 11:15 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code] |
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