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| Date: | Tuesday 1 July 1997 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Aérospatiale A S332L Super Puma |
| Owner/operator: | Cougar Helicopters |
| Registration: | C-GQCH |
| MSN: | 2139 |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca Makila |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 13 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Location: | St John's, NFL -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Offshore |
| Departure airport: | |
| St John's, NFL | |
| Investigating agency: | TSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The crew of the Super Puma helicopter, serial number 2139, were conducting an instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 29 in St. John's, Newfoundland. As the helicopter was about to touch down, the crew realized that the helicopter was lower than normal and that the landing gear was still retracted. The crew began to bring the helicopter into a hover; however, as collective pitch was applied, the nose of the helicopter contacted the runway surface. Once the hover was established, the landing gear was lowered and the helicopter landed without further incident. Damage was confined to two communications antennae, and the supporting fuselage structure of the aircraft. There were no injuries to the 2 crew members or 11 passengers.
The aural warnings for the radar altimeter and landing gear warning systems were close in frequency and both were non-pulsating constant frequency tones. It was discovered that these tones could easily be misinterpreted as one tone should they activate concurrently or in overlapping succession,
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
TSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Aug-2025 11:13 | Aerossurance | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Phase, Nature, Destination airport, Damage, ] |
| 16-Aug-2025 11:15 | Aerossurance | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source, Narrative, ] |
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