ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 516
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| Date: | Thursday 27 November 1997 |
| Time: | 11:50 CSuT |
| Type: |  Hughes 269C |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | VH-UOS |
| MSN: | 500927 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 7.5 km SW of Orroroo, SA -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Orroroo, SA |
| Orroroo, SA | |
| Investigating agency: | BASI |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter operator was hired by a government organisation to assist with locust plague control. The helicopter pilot was required to fly at low level to assess locust numbers in areas identified by ground personnel. When the pilot or his observer reported adequate densities of locusts, the area locust plague controller would dispatch a fixed wing agricultural aircraft to spray the locusts with insecticide.
The accident occurred on the pilot's second day on task. Flying commenced at about 10:00 CSuT. The pilot ferried his helicopter from Quorn to Orroroo, a distance of 42 km, and landed. Then he flew a solo reconnaissance flight for approximately 35 minutes, before returning to Orroroo airstrip.
There, an observer boarded for a flight expected to last about 10 minutes. When the helicopter had not returned to the airstrip after about 20 minutes and there was no radio contact, the pilot of an agricultural aeroplane commenced an airborne search. He soon found the helicopter, crashed and on fire in an oat crop.
Evidence at the crash site showed that the helicopter had been tracking approximately south when it collided at about 90 degrees with a single power line, 27 ft above the ground. The wire snagged on the forward crossbeam of the skid landing gear. The wire stretched but did not break as it pulled the helicopter to the ground in a nose low attitude.
At impact the main rotors struck the ground and the instrument console shattered the forward portion of the perspex windshield. The still unbroken powerline then flipped the helicopter backwards along its flight path where it impacted the ground inverted. During the impact sequence the muffler was dislodged and the fuel system ruptured.
A nearby farmer reported that she heard the helicopter's engine continue to run for a short time after the unexpected loss of her household electrical power. Aviation gasoline (AVGAS) was ignited and the aircraft was consumed by fire
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/1997/aair/aair199703877.aspx
2. http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.aspx?accidentkey=50748
3. https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/24887/ASOR199703877.pdf
Media:
Hughes 269C VH-UOS at Parafield, SA (YPPF) 23 October 1995
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Jan-2008 10:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 05-May-2014 20:05 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative] |
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