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| Date: | Wednesday 16 March 2011 |
| Time: | 20:58 |
| Type: |  Aérospatiale AS 332L1 Super Puma |
| Owner/operator: | Bundespolizei |
| Registration: | D-HEGM |
| MSN: | 2774 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Aerial patrol |
| Departure airport: | Augsburg Airport (AGB/EDMA) |
| Augsburg Airport (AGB/EDMA) | |
| Investigating agency: | BFU |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
During a night flight under instrument flight rules (IFR), both engines failed. After restarting the engines, the helicopter landed at Augsburg airfield.
According to the CVR recording, the copilot wanted to perform a sand filter test because a failure had occurred during the initial engine start-up. To do this, he switched both engine air intakes to the anti-ice "OFF" position in quick succession, i.e., the engine air intakes were opened. Approximately five seconds later, at approximately 20:58, both engines failed.
An autorotation was initiated and an airborne emergency was declared. During the autorotation, the crew managed to restart the left engine after several attempts. The helicopter was intercepted at an altitude of approximately 300 ft AGND. After restarting the second engine, the right one, the crew noticed an unusual noise and vibration. Since the main gearbox's chip warning light was also illuminated, they assumed a gearbox failure and intended to land immediately at a nearby illuminated sports field. During the approach to the sports field, the main rotor speed increased each time the collective pitch lever was lowered. The crew then decided to continue to Augsburg Airfield, approximately 5 NM away.
After noticing that the engine control lever for engine number one (left engine) had been pushed forward beyond the "Flight" position and correcting this, the main rotor speed was automatically controlled again and the helicopter was able to land in Augsburg.
Due to the serious incident, Eurocopter issued Safety Information Notice No. 2317-S-30 on 14 April 2011. This notice warns of possible engine failure and damage due to ice ingestion and explicitly emphasizes the need to follow the procedures in the flight manual.
Sources:
BFU 7X004-11
https://www.bfu-web.de/DE/Publikationen/Bulletins/2011/Bulletin2011-03.pdf?__blob=publicationFile
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Mar-2025 07:05 | ASN | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Phase, Source, ] |
| 16-Aug-2025 11:11 | Aerossurance | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
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