ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 23177
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| Date: | Monday 23 July 2007 |
| Time: | 20:00 |
| Type: |  Aérospatiale AS 350BA |
| Owner/operator: | Phoenix Heli-Flight |
| Registration: | C-FHLF |
| MSN: | 1074 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1979 |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca ARRIEL 1B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 35 nm NE of Fort McMurray, Alberta -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Fire fighting |
| Departure airport: | Johnson Lake, Alberta |
| Fort McMurray Airport, AB (YMM/CYMM) | |
| Investigating agency: | TSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The Phoenix Heli-Flight Aerospatiale AS 350BA (registration C-FHLF, serial number 1074) was en route from a staging site at Johnson Lake to Fort McMurray, Alberta, with the pilot and four heli-tack firefighters on board. About 20 minutes into the flight, as the helicopter was cruising at about 1,500 feet above the ground, the pilot initiated a rapid descent to just above the tree tops, and lost control of the helicopter when he attempted to level off.
The helicopter rolled right, nosed down, struck the marshy terrain, and rolled over onto its left side. One passenger was fatally injured, and the other occupants were seriously injured. One of the passengers manually switched on the emergency locator transmitter, while another passenger contacted the forestry radio dispatcher on his radio.
Rescue helicopters were dispatched immediately and arrived at the accident site within an hour. The time of occurrence was about 20:00 mountain daylight time.
Findings as to Causes and Contributing Factors
1. The pilot initiated a sudden high-speed descent, and experienced a loss of control due to servo transparency when he attempted to level off at the bottom of the descent.
2. The pilot did not initiate the correct recovery procedure when servo transparency was experienced and, due to the proximity to the trees, insufficient time remained for the pilot to correct his initial reaction.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. CADORS 2007C2046
2. http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2007/a07w0138/a07w0138.pdf
3. http://www.regosearch.com/aircraft/ca/FHLF
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 29-Jun-2014 23:56 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 25-Jul-2023 14:36 | harro | Updated [[Time, Registration, Cn, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]] |
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