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| Date: | Wednesday 16 March 2016 |
| Time: | 16:18 LT |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350BA Ecureuil |
| Owner/operator: | TRK Helicopters Ltd. |
| Registration: | C-FBLW |
| MSN: | 2955 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1996 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming LTS-101-700D-2 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 82 nm NW of Smithers, BC -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | 82 nm NW of Smithers, BC |
| base camp | |
| Investigating agency: | TSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On 16 March 2016, at 1618 Pacific Daylight Time, the TRK Helicopters Ltd. Airbus Helicopters AS 350 FX2 helicopter departed from the base of a ski run approximately 82 nautical miles northwest of Smithers, British Columbia, on a day visual flight rules flight to the base camp (located approximately 7 nautical miles south-southeast of the ski run), with the pilot and 6 passengers on board. Approximately 1 minute after takeoff, while operating at low altitude, the pilot initiated a descent into a ravine. During the descent, the helicopter's airspeed increased rapidly. Moments later, the helicopter abruptly rolled to the right, pitched up, and collided with terrain on a steep snow-covered slope. There were no injuries, and all 7 occupants egressed the aircraft. The helicopter was substantially damaged. There was no post-impact fire and the emergency locator transmitter did not activate.
Findings as to causes and contributing factors:
1. The AS 350 hydraulic system experienced servo transparency due to the combination of a high-power descent near the never-exceed speed and a 1.5g to 1.8g vertical acceleration near maximum gross weight.
2. The pilot placed the helicopter in a flight regime that resulted in servo transparency at a height from which the pilot was unable to recover before the impact with the snow-covered terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
TSB
Location
Images:
Photo: TSB
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Mar-2018 17:52 | harro | Added |
| 29-Mar-2018 17:53 | harro | Updated [Photo, ] |
| 24-Nov-2023 15:58 | Aerossurance | Updated [Phase, Embed code, ] |
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