ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 39396
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| Date: | Monday 9 March 1998 |
| Time: | 11:36 |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 Beta |
| Owner/operator: | Findon Air Services |
| Registration: | G-BUIW |
| MSN: | 2049 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1992 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 1 mile South East of Amport, near Andover, Hampshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Thruxton Airfield, Andover, Hampshire (EGHO) |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (destroyed) 9-3-1998 when crashed one mile south east of Amport, near Andover, Hampshire. The pilot (the sole person on board) was killed. Contemporary local newspaper reports suggest that the pilot was flying under the influence of illegal narcotics ("Aberdeen Evening Express" - Thursday 12 November 1998)
"'Copter crash pilot 'took cannabis'
A PILOT killed when his helicopter crashed had "recently" taken cannabis, an official accident report said today.
Traces of the drug were discovered in the urine and blood of 39-year-old Dean Woods, who was on his first flight since receiving his private pilot's licence.
Witnesses reported the engine of the Robinson R 22 appeared to stop before it crashed to the ground on the morning of March 9 this year, killing the pilot instantly.
The accident happened at Amport near Andover in Hampshire. Mr Woods was from Kingsworthy, Hants.
The report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said the levels of cannabis found were "indicative of recent ingestion, although probably not on the day of the accident." The report went on: "Although the immediate effects of the ingestion of cannabis would result in a decrement in piloting performance, it has not yet been possible to quantify the longer term effects. Work is continuing."
The AAIB said the pilot, who had taken off from Thruxton airfield in Hampshire, had not flown in the previous 30 days and, consequently, would normally have been given a check flight by a qualified instructor. This would have entailed flying a visual circuit and a normal powered landing. But the report added: "The chief pilot elected to waive this requirement."
Mr Woods, who was not named in the report, had started his flying course at Thruxton in January 1997 and passed his general flying test on December 5. 1997. He had flown 40 minutes with another pilot on December 12 and 40 minutes solo on January 19, 1998. Poor weather had then frustrated attempts to fly again before March 9".
According to the following excerpt from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"It is believed that the pilot intended to fly from Thruxton Airfield to an area to the north west of Andover, before returning to the airfield for some circuit flying practice. Radio transmissions were not recorded, however, the AFISO recalled that, at 11:30 hours, the helicopter, call sign 'Findon 33', requested a radio check and airfield instructions for a "local flight" with 1 person on board.
The helicopter hover taxied from the hangar area on the north west of the airfield, across active Runway 25, to the helicopter square to the south. It was seen in the hover over the square for a short time before it departed on runway heading and turned left. It is standard practice for the transit to be flown at 1,000 feet amsl.
Several witnesses in the villages of Amport and Monxton saw the helicopter shortly before impact. In general they observed that the engine appeared to stop, some reporting spluttering or misfiring. The helicopter descended with the main rotor turning slowly or stopped during the latter stage, with the blades bent upwards. The fuselage appeared to be rotating or turning slowly probably in a clockwise direction.
One witness, an experienced pilot with a BCPL/IR, reported that the helicopter passed over his house and garden. When first seen, it was flying normally at what he estimated was 800 feet agl and 80 knots. He looked away but his attention was drawn to it again when the engine noise stopped suddenly; he likened it to what he had heard on many occasions, when at an airfield where simulated power failure training in R22 helicopters was in progress.
When he looked up the helicopter was about 300 feet agl, turning relatively slowly in a clockwise direction with the main rotor stopped and the blades "folded". He recalled a "snapshot" view of it pointing directly towards him shortly before it disappeared from view and struck the ground; he was about 1/3 nautical mile south of the accident site. He then made an emergency call to the police, the first they received, which was logged at 11:36 hours.
A 1 to 2 second transmission was heard on the Thruxton radio frequency which, at the time, the AFISO thought was from an aircraft stall warning device. The R-22 has a low rotor RPM warning horn, which could sound similar to a stall warning horn over the radio and, with the benefit of hindsight, he thought it was possible this was what he heard. Very shortly afterwards a PA 38 Tomahawk called finals and its landing time was logged as 11:37 hours."
Damage sustained to airframe: Per the AAIB report "helicopter destroyed". As a result, the registration G-BUIW was cancelled by the CAA on 17-6-1999 (over a year later) as "destroyed"
The crash location of Amport is a village and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England, a few miles west of Andover. It incorporates the small hamlet of East Cholderton
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB Final Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f0ad40f0b613420002d7/dft_avsafety_pdf_501951.pdf
2. AAIB Addendum: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/542302c5ed915d1371000be3/Robinson_R22_Beta__G-BUIW_-_Addendum__8-99.pdf
3. Aberdeen Evening Express - Tuesday 10 March 1998 and Thursday 12 November 1998
4. Daily Mirror - Tuesday 10 March 1998
5. http://www.helicoptersafety.org/genericaccident.asp?ACType=R22&Fatal=on
6. http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.aspx?accidentkey=1889
7. https://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=17822.0
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amport
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 06-Jan-2012 14:08 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Mar-2015 20:19 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Jun-2016 16:06 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 04-Aug-2022 21:21 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 04-Aug-2022 21:22 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
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