ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 223229
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Wednesday 20 March 2019 |
| Time: | 10:48 |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350B3 Ecureuil |
| Owner/operator: | Aeropower Holdings Pty Ltd |
| Registration: | VH-SZS |
| MSN: | 7421 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Carrapateena Mine 66km east of Woomera, SA -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | External load operation |
| Departure airport: | Carrapateena Airport, SA |
| Carrapateena Airport, SA | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On 20 March 2019, the pilot of an Airbus Helicopters AS350B3e, registered VH-SZS was performing aerial work on Pernatty Station, South Australia, approximately 60 km east of Woomera Airfield.
The helicopter operator (Aeropower) had been contracted to conduct powerline stringing operations for a new 132 kV electrical transmission line from the Mount Gunson South substation to the Carrapateena mine site (operated by OZ Minerals), a total distance of 51 km.
Aeropower had been contracted by Powerlines Plus (PLP), which was in turn sub-contracted by Ventia to build the powerline.
The stage being conducted on the morning of 20 March was from pole 159 to pole 179, a distance of 4.8 km. Stringing operations continued normally for poles 161, 162 and 163. However, while approaching pole 164, at about 10:17, witnesses reported seeing the helicopter collide with the pole and impact terrain near the base of the pole. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, received fatal injuries.
The ATSB found that shortly after the pilot was trained in powerline stringing, for unknown reasons they modified the taught stringing methodology. The new methodology placed the helicopter at low level in the vicinity of the powerline poles, increasing the risk of a collision. It also exacerbated the uptake of dust which, in combination with the position of the sun and the rearward attitude of the aircraft likely reduced the pilots’ visibility of pole 164 and their situational awareness of it.
These factors, combined with the short distance and large elevation gain between pole 163 and 164, led to the pilot inadvertently colliding with pole 164. It was also found that the indirect supervision provided to the newly trained pilot was ineffective in identifying that a modified stringing method was being used.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.9news.com.au/2019/03/20/14/46/south-australia-helicopter-crash-pilot-killed-near-woomera
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/emergency-services-rushing-to-the-scene-of-serious-helicopter-crash-in-far-north/news-story/dd8f98cb323ddc314c3be1bae1f46526
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2019/aair/ao-2019-015/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/coghilla/22816248228 (photo)
Location
Images:
Photo: ATSB
Media:
FIRST IMAGE from chopper crash at Carrapateena Mine in SA’s Far North. A 45yo pilot has died.
— Elspeth Hussey (@ElspethHussey7) March 20, 2019
ATSB investigators are travelling to the scene. @7NewsAdelaide pic.twitter.com/wAC1SzRRMj
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Mar-2019 07:03 | gerard57 | Added |
| 20-Mar-2019 07:38 | ctyone | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 20-Mar-2019 07:39 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 20-Mar-2019 11:46 | Aerossurance | Updated [Location, Source] |
| 20-Mar-2019 11:49 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
| 20-Mar-2019 11:51 | Aerossurance | Updated [Narrative] |
| 20-Mar-2019 11:51 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Embed code] |
| 21-Mar-2019 00:04 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Nov-2020 06:44 | Aerossurance | Updated [Nature, Narrative] |
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:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation