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| Date: | Saturday 18 February 2023 |
| Time: | 12:29 |
| Type: |  Bell 407 |
| Owner/operator: | Heli Solutions Ltd |
| Registration: | P2-HSM |
| MSN: | 53791 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2007 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4805 hours |
| Cycles: | 13861 flights |
| Engine model: | Rolls-Royce 250-C47B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 9 miles east of Wapenamanda Airport (WBM/AYWD), Enga -
 Papua New Guinea
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Mount Hagen-Kagamuga Airport (HGU/AYMH) |
| Wapenamanda Airport (WBM/AYWD) | |
| Investigating agency: | AIC PNG |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter was reportedly operating on a Charter flight from Malamaunda Airstrip, Enga Province, for Mt Hagen Airport, Western Highlands Province, then amended destination to Wapenamanda Airport. According to the pilot, he heard a loud noise from the tail of the helicopter, and subsequently experienced a loss of tail rotor effectiveness. He immediately carried out an emergency landing in a nearby garden. It was identified through images provided by the Operator to the AIC that the helicopter sustained substantial damage to its tail rotor assembly. It is reported that there were 2 persons onboard; one Pilot and one Loadmaster. There were no injuries reported.
Causes [Contributing factors]
The complete loss of tail rotor thrust during the descent phase was attributed to the snapping of the four mounting studs. This was caused by the failure of the mounting stud assembly. The damage sustained on the studs and bores indicate that they sustained cyclic stress and vibrations above normal levels. The AIC concluded that there were several factors that contributed to the accelerated wear and tear of the component, including the helicopter vibrations that were reported on numerous occasions throughout the year. Maintenance records showed that these reported issues were partially resolved. It is likely that some underlying issues may not have been detected and resolved because the vibration analyser was not used during maintenance action as required by the Manufacturer’s Maintenance Manual. As such, the vibrations continued, and specified limits may have persevered causing accelerated wear leading to failure
in the tail rotor gearbox mounting.
Furthermore, because the excessive wear was found to have initiated and grown in a part of the stud assembly that is not visible during inspection, any damage, or signs of wear and/or fatigue would have been impossible to detect, allowing the undesired issue to manifest and eventually cause a failure of the stud assembly without detection.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://news.pngfacts.com/2023/02/helicopter-crash-lands-in-pngs-enga.html
PNG AIC
https://helisolutions.com.pg/our-fleets/
History of this aircraft
Ex N406TR, C-FPQJ
Location
Media:
Helicopter crash lands in PNG's Enga Province - Papua New Guinea Today - PNG Facts https://t.co/PX21Lx6KhK ... to Heli Solutions, crash landed at Kuimimanda, in the Kaikin Pausa area of the Wapenamanda District of Enga Province, Papua New Guinea today. #PNG #Wantok #TruplaPNG #…
— Trupla PNG (@truplapng) February 19, 2023
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Aug-2024 09:48 | ASN | Updated [Total occupants, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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