ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 78943
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| Date: | Thursday 28 October 2010 |
| Time: | 18:15 |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350B3 Ecureuil |
| Owner/operator: | SAF Helicopters |
| Registration: | F-GJFJ |
| MSN: | 4312 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2007 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Terre Adélie -
 Antarctica
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | French research vessel L'Astrolabe |
| Dumont d'Urville Station | |
| Investigating agency: | BEA |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A French helicopter has crashed in Antarctica during rough weather conditions. The helicopter was flying on behalf of the French Polar Institute (IPEV) and operated in Antarctica from the French research vessel, L'Astrolabe, which is currently icebound about 230 miles (370 kilometers) northeast of the Dumont-d'Urville station.
On 28 October 2010, the pilots of two helicopters operated by SAF HELICOPTERES were flying passengers and equipment from the Astrolabe ship to the Dumont d’Urville base in Adélie Land (Terre Adélie). These flights were undertaken following damage to the ship’s propeller, which caused the ship to halt its progress towards Dumont d’Urville. When the decision was made to undertake the flights, the meteorological conditions at the ship and at the base 207 NM away were good. The flying autonomy and performance of the helicopters were compatible with the flights planned.
The pilot of the two helicopters took off about 20 minutes apart. The pilot of the first helicopter encountered poor weather conditions when in cruise, which led him to decide to continue the flight at low altitude, sometimes below 200 ft, to remain under the cloud layer. The pilot of the second helicopter, registered F-GJFJ, initially decided to fly above this cloud layer, but then decided to turn around and also fly below the cloud layer. The pilot made two 360° turns at low speed and at a low height once below the cloud layer.
The helicopter collided with the surface of the pack ice. The last flight path data points recorded indicated a height of about 30 ft.
The investigation showed that the accident was caused by the pilot likely losing all external visual references, following his decision to undertake and continue the flight in unfavourable meteorological conditions, in a hostile environment that offered no or few alternatives to the plan of action. The specific context of the mission, the absence of operational documentation relating to operations in Adélie Land and SAF HELICOPTERES failure to submit part C of its operations manual to the oversight authority were factors contributing to the accident. The pilot having taken medication with sedative effect may have contributed to the accident.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. http://www.bea.aero/docspa/2010/f-fj101028/pdf/f-fj101028.pdf
2. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2010/oct/29/as-antarctica-helicopter/
3. http://blogs.nature.com/news/2010/10/fatal_helicopter_crash_at_fren_1.html
4. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39922498/ns/world_news/
5. https://www.flightglobal.com/2011/01/ascend-accident-alerts.html
6. https://www.flugzeugbilder.de/v3/show_en.php?id=973524
7. http://www.pictaero.com/en/pictures/picture,73142
8. http://www.southpolestation.com/trivia/10s/map1.jpg
9. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11654604
10. http://aerossurance.com/helicopters/antarctic-helicopter-accidents/
Media:
%2C_Luxembourg_PP1283013606.jpg)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Oct-2010 15:04 | gerard57 | Added |
| 29-Oct-2010 15:14 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 30-Oct-2010 03:03 | chullian1819 | Updated [Departure airport, Source] |
| 30-Oct-2010 14:21 | gerard57 | Updated [Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 14-Jan-2011 00:02 | Topaz | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source] |
| 11-Jun-2012 12:27 | harro | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Aug-2014 22:29 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 25-May-2015 20:38 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Location, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Dec-2016 11:35 | Aerossurance | Updated [Aircraft type, Location] |
| 12-Dec-2016 11:35 | Aerossurance | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 28-Oct-2018 09:57 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
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