You can contribute by submitting additional or updated information.
| Date: | Tuesday 10 November 1987 |
| Time: | 10:55 |
| Type: |  Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | VH-AZH |
| MSN: | 3075 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1980 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 78km S of Mount Magnet, WA -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Survey |
| Departure airport: | 79km S of Mount Magnet, WA |
| 78km S of Mount Magnet, WA | |
| Investigating agency: | BASI |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Due to a loose seat belt banging against the fuselage of the helicopter, the pilot slowed the aircraft and commenced an approach to land as soon as possible. The chosen approach path had a tailwind of between 15 and 20 knots. Shortly after commencing the approach, the rate of descent increased rapidly and the pilot's application of collective pitch to correct the situation further increased the descent rate. During the approach, both the audio and visual annunciators indicated that the engine had failed. The pilot lowered collective but then had to flare as the aircraft was about to impact a small mulga tree. The aircraft cleared that tree but was damaged as a result of a collision with a nearby tree. The rapid rate of descent experienced whilst descending downwind with a low forward speed is typical of an aircraft which has settled in its own main rotor downwash, i.e in a Vortex Ring State. No defect was found in the engine which might have explained the reported engine failure. It is possible that the pilot inadvertently selected the throttle to the engine shut-off position as he commenced autorotative flight.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/1987/aair/aair198700112/
https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/32111/aair198700112.pdf
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 28 November 1997 | VH-AZH | 0 | Colo River, NSW | |
min | |
| 13 January 2003 | VH-AZH | Heli-Muster | 0 | Bendora Dam, ACT | |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Nov-2018 08:22 | Pineapple | Added |
| 22-Jul-2023 05:59 | Ron Averes | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2025 Flight Safety Foundation