Date:	Saturday 15 December 2018
Time:	00:26
Type:	Eurocopter EC-145
Owner/operator:	East Anglian Air Ambulance
Registration:	G-HEMC
MSN:	20012
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	None
Category:	Serious incident
Location:	Near Hollesley, Suffolk -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Taxi
Nature:	Ambulance
Departure airport:	Field near Hollesley, Suffolk
Destination airport:	Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich, Norfolk
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
AAIB investigation to MBB-BK 117 D-2 EC145, G-HEMC: Sustained nil-to-minor damage when aircraft struck a wire whilst hover taxiing, near Hollesley, Suffolk, 15 December 2018. The incident was the subject of an AAIB Investigation, published on 11 April 2019, and the following is an extract from the AAIB Report:

"Synopsis
Whilst repositioning to land during a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) operation at night, the aircraft struck a wire. No damage was caused. Despite a reconnaissance from the air and on foot, the presence of the wire was not known to the crew.

History of the flight
The aircraft was operating a HEMS flight in a rural area at night to collect and transfer a patient to hospital. It was crewed by two pilots. The weather at the time was good, with visibility reported to be in excess of 10 km and a broken cloud base of 3,500 ft. The crew identified a large field in which to land. After carrying out an airborne check of its suitability, they made an uneventful approach to the field, then hover taxied across to their selected landing site.

There was then a request by the medical team on the ground to reposition the aircraft to a different landing site, in the same field, to assist in loading the patient. The medical team reported there were some wires running along a road near the new landing site, so a check was carried out by one of the pilots on foot with the aid of a powerful torch. The wires were located, but there was no evidence of any further wires in the vicinity. The crew also checked an electronic map carried on the aircraft which had the position of powerlines (but not telegraph lines) overlaid on it, which again showed no other wires in the field The helicopter was then re-positioned to the new landing site, using the steerable landing light to check for obstacles as it taxied. The pilot reported the aircraft felt slightly unstable as he attempted to touchdown at the new landing site, so he repositioned the aircraft a short distance before landing and shutting down the engines.

The aircraft commander reported that on exiting the aircraft a single telegraph wire was found hooked over the radio antenna on the rear of the aircraft’s tail. A check of the aircraft with the torch found no evidence of any damage. The telegraph wire was still intact and had no obvious damage from its contact with the aircraft. It had been pulled from a post positioned in the field which had not been seen, either during the obstacle check on foot, or whilst the aircraft was being taxied across the field.

As a precaution, the patient was transferred by road and the helicopter flown back to its base for a further inspection to be carried out. Again, no damage was found and there was no sign of any impact point with the wire.

Comment
The incident highlights the difficulty in seeing wires during such operations, despite careful reconnaissance both from the air and on the ground. Several technical solutions have been developed to assist in locating wires, but the issue remains a technical challenge. The operator is re-examining the suitability of some of these systems and is planning to develop an overlay map containing telegraph wires, for their area of operation, as such a system does not currently exist."

Damage Sustained to Airframe
Per the AAIB Report "None"

Hollesley is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk east of Ipswich in eastern England

1. AAIB Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f58d2fd8fa8f5106a31dff8/MBB-BK_117_D-2_EC145_G-HEMC_04-19.pdf
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Anglian_Air_Ambulance#Aircraft
3. https://www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/Registration/G-HEMC/821743
4. https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/G-HEMC.html
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollesley

G-HEMC Airbus Helicopters EC145T2 of EAAS (East Anglian Air Ambulance) at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich, Norfolk 28 January 2017 G-HEMC, an Airbus Helicopters H145 (formerly EC145T2) operated by Bond Air Services for the East Anglian Air Ambulance, photographed at Cambridge Airport. Completed its first HEMS mission on 2nd April 2015.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
13-Aug-2024 05:43	Dr. John Smith	Added
13-Aug-2024 05:43	ASN	Updated [Embed code, Accident report, ]