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| Date: | Friday 21 October 2016 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Eurocopter EC 145 (BK 117C-2) |
| Owner/operator: | CHC Australia |
| Registration: | VH-SYB |
| MSN: | 9203 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Location: | near Crookwell, NSW -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ambulance |
| Departure airport: | Crookwell, NSW |
| Orange, NSW | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
On the evening of 21 October 2016, a Eurocopter BK 117 C-2 helicopter, registered VH-SYB, departed Crookwell Medical helicopter landing site, New South Wales. The crew were returning to their home base at Orange, New South Wales, after conducting an emergency medical service (EMS) task. The flight was conducted as a night visual imaging system (NVIS) operation under night visual flight rules (NVFR), with the pilot and aircrew member (ACM) both wearing night vision goggles (NVG).
Shortly after take-off, the helicopter unexpectedly encountered low cloud, and the pilot initiated the operator’s inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) procedure. As the momentum of the helicopter’s climb reduced, the pilot lowered the helicopter’s nose to regain airspeed, but she inadvertently over corrected the pitch angle to 15° nose-down, as well as allowing a slight roll to the left. The resulting unusual attitude triggered a caution alert from the helicopter’s enhanced ground proximity warning system.
Sources:
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2016/aair/ao-2016-160
https://aerossurance.com/helicopters/night-hems-bk117-loss-of-control/
Media:
CHC Australia BK117 LOC-I after disorientation in deteriorating weather after an EGPWS terrain warning during a night HEMS positioning flight in 2016. https://t.co/wIvHYjyqPv #airanbulance #hems #helicopter #flightsafety #aviationsafety #humanfactors pic.twitter.com/I9gGjjagfy
— Aerossurance (@Aerossurance) July 20, 2024
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Jul-2024 22:39 | Aerossurance | Added |
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