ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 83544
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| Date: | Wednesday 2 September 2009 |
| Time: | 11:30 LT |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350B3 Ecureuil |
| Owner/operator: | Air Glaciers SA |
| Registration: | HB-XQJ |
| MSN: | 3093 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1998 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Location: | Fully, VS -
 Switzerland
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Cargo |
| Departure airport: | Euloz - offshore |
| Euloz - offshore | |
| Investigating agency: | BFU Switz. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
The helicopter lifts the south facade element weighing approximately 400 kg and makes the trip to the construction site. The pilot works by means of the so-called “vertical reference” technique, i.e. in direct visual contact with the load.
The façade element is placed in its location and held in place by ground personnel. After a few adjustments, the site manager judges that the wall is in place and signals to the chief assistants that the helicopter can lighten the load in order to allow the release of the two securing straps. The wall is then held in a vertical position by five people.
The site manager gives the order to his worker located inside the building on the west side to unhook the first strap. A V-shaped stepladder is used for this purpose and does not lean against the wall.
The worker announces aloud that the first strap is unhooked. The worker descends from his stepladder, moves towards the east, installs the stepladder which allows him to unhook the second strap.
When the second strap is unhooked, the site manager sees the assistant manager moving on the downstream side of the wall from the west corner in an easterly direction. The site manager hears the assistant manager talking about his surprise on the radio when the transport equipment is taken back. At this time, only three people hold the wall in a vertical position.
Several steel strops as well as some previously used guide ropes are stored in the center of the site. The chief assistant guides the pilot by radio, the helicopter is positioned directly above this equipment and a flight assistant secures it to the hook of a transport strap. The helicopter moves away from the construction site in a southerly direction towards the starting place to perform a new rotation. At this moment, all the personnel of the construction company felt the blast produced by the helicopter. The southern facade element tilts towards the downstream of the site. The people who maintain it try in vain to hold it back.
One of the bosses of the construction company, then located outside the site, seeing the wall fall, took refuge to the west of the site. The head assistant located at this precise moment downstream of the wall tries to take shelter but cannot escape in time. He was fatally injured by the tilting of the facade element.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
http://www.bfu.admin.ch/common/pdf/HB-XQJ.pdf
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Dec-2010 12:00 | Alpine Flight | Added |
| 09-Nov-2022 07:22 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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