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| Date: | Wednesday 2 October 2024 |
| Time: | 09:08 |
| Type: |  AgustaWestland AW139 |
| Owner/operator: | Esso Australia |
| Registration: | VH-EXK |
| MSN: | 31886 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2019 |
| Engine model: | P&W Canada PT6C-67C |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Location: | 19 km E of Longford Heliport, VIC -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Offshore |
| Departure airport: | Longford Heliport (YUOF), VIC |
| Longford Heliport (YUOF), VIC | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
During a SAR training exercise the instructor pilot became spatially disorientated when their AW139 helicopter inadvertently entered fog, resulting in a ground proximity alert where the helicopter descended below 150 ft above sea level
Sources:
https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/news-items/2025/aw139-helicopter-pilot-became-spatially-disorientated-after-losing-visual-reference-during-winch-training-exercise
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2025/report/ao-2024-045
https://aerossurance.com/helicopters/sar-aw139-loci-exercise/
Media:
Spatial disorientation, intermittent collective FTR use & impaired SA culminated in descending to <150 ft while trying to climb away. aerossurance.com/helicopters/... #sar #searchandrescue #helicopter #flightsafety #aviationsafety #humanfactors
— Aerossurance (@aerossurance.bsky.social) August 2, 2025 at 3:14 PM
[image or embed]
Spatial disorientation, intermittent collective FTR use & impaired SA culminated in descending to <150 ft while trying to climb away. aerossurance.com/helicopters/... #sar #searchandrescue #helicopter #flightsafety #aviationsafety #humanfactors
— Aerossurance (@aerossurance.bsky.social) August 2, 2025 at 3:14 PM
[image or embed]
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Jul-2025 11:34 | Aerossurance | Added |
| 02-Aug-2025 14:18 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code, ] |
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