ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 218452
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| Date: | Saturday 24 November 2018 |
| Time: | 07:57 LT |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 BETA |
| Owner/operator: | Hewitt Cattle Australia Pty Ltd |
| Registration: | VH-KZV |
| MSN: | 4454 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2010 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 125 km NE of Alice Springs, NT -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Albalindum Station, NT |
| Quartz Hill, NT | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On 24 November 2018, at about 08:00 ACST (Australian Central Standard Time), a Robinson R22 helicopter, registered VH-KZV, collided with terrain about 125 km east-north-east of Alice Springs Airport. The pilot was fatally injured and the passenger was seriously injured. The helicopter was substantially damaged.
The pilot held a private helicopter pilot licence and was employed by a cattle station for general flying duties, which included cattle mustering. On the morning of the accident, the pilot and passenger were tasked to assist with the recovery of a motor vehicle, located about 63 km east-north-east of Ambalindum Station (departure point). A station hand assisted them with preparing the helicopter for departure. The station hand could not recall the actual time of departure, but estimated it was between 07:30 and 07:45.
At about 08:11, the pilot’s Spot Tracker device transmitted its location in SOS mode. A local helicopter company in Alice Springs was subsequently tasked by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre to transport a paramedic to the reported location and conduct a search and rescue. In addition, Ambalindum Station dispatched two employees by road to investigate. The search helicopter pilot located the wreckage of the R22 at the reported location, and the paramedic subsequently attended to the accident pilot and passenger. At about 10:45 the paramedic found the pilot deceased and the passenger in a serious condition. The rescue helicopter departed to collect the two station employees who were en route to assist with the emergency response. The rescue helicopter pilot and the paramedic, with the assistance of the two station employees, retrieved the passenger and transported him to Ambalindum Station for treatment by a retrieval doctor, before transporting him to Alice Springs Hospital for further medical attention.
The ATSB attended the accident site on 26 and 27 November 2018. The helicopter’s clock had stopped at about 0756. The helicopter had impacted the ground on a downslope, in an easterly direction, and continued down the slope, producing debris as it struck rocks and trees, before crossing a dry creek bed. The helicopter came to rest on the far side of the creek bed, in a southerly direction, with the port side of the helicopter resting against the up slope of the far bank. The main rotor disc struck and separated the rear section of tail cone as a consequence of the accident sequence. Significant torsional deflection of the tail rotor driveshaft intermediate flexible coupling indicated that it was rotating when the strike occurred.
Contributing factors:
• It was very likely that the pilot was operating the helicopter at low-level when it encountered a downdraft with insufficient height to recover, resulting in a collision with terrain.
Other factors that increased risk:
• The pilot did not consult any weather forecast data before departure, which increased the risk of him selecting a flight path through the MacDonnell Ranges that was not appropriate for the forecast wind conditions and turbulence.
• It was very likely that the helicopter was overweight on departure and the centre-of-gravity was beyond the forward limit for the entire flight, which increased the risk of the pilot experiencing reduced control authority over the helicopter.
• It was very likely the pilot's blood alcohol content was capable of impairing his performance, which increased the likelihood of risk-taking behaviour and mishandling the helicopter in an emergency.
• The impact-activated emergency locator transmitter fitted to the helicopter was selected off, which increased the risk of a delayed emergency response.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2018/aair/ao-2018-077/
2. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-24/helicopter-crash-northern-territory-man-killed/10551914
3. https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/man-dead-in-helicopter-crash-near-alice-springs/news-story/9f113a0dc7fe17c60cf74e0b6ebba079
NTSB
Images:
Photo: ATSB
Media:
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating a fatal accident invoving a two-seat Robinson R22 helicopter, which occurred north-east of Alice Springs today. Read more: https://t.co/8re27Aq4Pr pic.twitter.com/XtXW1djRJT
— ATSB (@atsbinfo) 24 novembre 2018
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Nov-2018 06:41 | gerard57 | Added |
| 24-Nov-2018 07:35 | gerard57 | Updated [Source] |
| 24-Nov-2018 08:06 | Aerossurance | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 24-Nov-2018 08:28 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 25-Nov-2018 11:45 | Aerossurance | Updated [Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 25-Nov-2018 12:20 | Chieftain | Updated [Time] |
| 27-Nov-2018 10:19 | Pineapple | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Departure airport, Source] |
| 20-Mar-2019 16:17 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-May-2020 11:27 | harro | Updated [Time, Destination airport, Narrative, Photo, Accident report, ] |
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