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| Date: | Monday 16 May 2022 |
| Time: | 15:30 |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 |
| Owner/operator: | Wellspring Rural Services Pty Ltd |
| Registration: | VH-KOV |
| MSN: | 1762 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2007 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-540-F1B5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Nathan River Station, NT -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Lorella Springs Homestead, NT |
| Lorella Springs Homestead, NT | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During sight seeing operations, the engine ran rough and failed. The pilot conducted an autorotation where the helicopter collided with terrain and was destroyed. The pilot and two passengers sustained minor injuries and one passenger sustained serious injuries.
Contributing factors:
• During cruise flight, the clutch actuator lower bearing seized resulting in a total loss of drive from the engine to the rotor system. The subsequent autorotation and collision with terrain over an inhospitable area, resulted in serious injuries to 2 passengers and minor injuries to the pilot and remaining passenger.
• The clutch actuator lower bearing was not being maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s maintenance procedures, which likely resulted in the bearing failure.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2022/aair/ao-2022-030/
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-May-2022 16:09 | harro | Added |
| 03-Aug-2023 06:02 | harro | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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