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| Date: | Saturday 3 October 1987 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Aérospatiale AS 332C Super Puma |
| Owner/operator: | Hydra Management |
| Registration: | C-GQRL |
| MSN: | 2012 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1983 |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca Makila |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Price Channel, Quatam River, BC -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | External load operation |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | TSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
Crashed during logging operation. Loss of power from both engines.
The helicopter had lifted a log and had begun to move forward when the main gearbox flexible mounting plate failed. This caused the Bendix drive shafts to fail, interrupting the transmission of engine power to the rotor system. The pilot
jettisoned the log, but was unable to enter autorotation. The helicopter fell to the mountainside and was destroyed by impact and fire; the pilot and co-pilot were fatally injured.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada determined that the flexible mounting plate failed in fatigue because the true number of high-load cycles applied to the plate during heli-logging operations were not taken into account in the manufacturer‘s determination of the service life of the plate. The operator did not detect cracks in the flexible mounting plate during inspections the night before and morning of the accident.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
WAAS
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Feb-2010 12:32 | TB | Added |
| 09-Apr-2010 00:01 | G. Foster | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, ] |
| 05-May-2016 17:14 | Aerossurance | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 25-Feb-2025 10:40 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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