ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 212079
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| Date: | Wednesday 13 June 2018 |
| Time: | 10:15 LT |
| Type: |  Aerospatiale AS 350B2 Ecureuil |
| Owner/operator: | PDG Aviation Services |
| Registration: | G-PLMH |
| MSN: | 2156 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1989 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Loch Scadavay, S of Lochmaddy, North Uist, Western Isles -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | External load operation |
| Departure airport: | Benbecula Airport (BEB/EGPL) |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter which was conducted fish farm support work impacted a loch with one POB. Police Scotland confirm one fatality, the pilot, aged 58. A PDG spokesman said: "It was out working at the time for the Scottish Salmon Company, but it was not carrying salmon."
Whilst the helicopter was performing an underslung load operation at Loch Scadavay the boat it was carrying became unstable and flew upwards, causing the lifting line to strike the helicopter’s tail rotor. The helicopter became uncontrollable and descended rapidly into the loch, fatally injuring the pilot.
The physical characteristics of the boat and the method by which it was carried increased the probability of it becoming unstable.
The helicopter operator has taken a number of safety actions mainly relating to its operational procedures and training. It has also temporarily curtailed the carriage of selected types of unstable or potentially unstable loads.
Sources:
1. https://stv.tv/news/north/1418643-helicopter-ditches-into-loch-on-outer-hebridies
2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-44468318
3. https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/973838/helicopter-crash-western-isles-scotland-north-uist
4. https://news.sky.com/story/helicopter-ditches-into-loch-in-western-isles-11403908
5. http://www.pdgaviationservices.com/news/helicopter-incident-north-uist
6. https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/1498209/pilot-killed-in-western-isles-helicopter-crash-named-as-aberdeenshire-man/
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Sgadabhagh
8. https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aaib-investigation-to-as350b2-ecureuil-g-plmh
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 17 June 1992 | HB-XTE | Heli Linth AG | 0 | Flumserberge, SG |  |
sub |
| 23 May 1995 | G-PLMH | PLM Helicopters Ltd | 0 | Gair Loch, near Stornoway, Scotland | |
sub |
Media:
Police have confirmed the 58-year-old pilot of a helicopter has died on North Uist after it came down in a loch. Next of kin have been informed. Air accident investigators are on their way to the area. pic.twitter.com/5FS5vC2uW2
— Colin Wight (@CWightSTV) June 13, 2018
Fatal accident to AS350B2 Ecureuil helicopter at Loch Scadavay, North Uist, Western Isles https://t.co/yqm23lRBfd pic.twitter.com/1cDYyNfLOv
— AAIB (@aaibgovuk) July 18, 2019
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Jun-2018 11:02 | gerard57 | Added |
| 13-Jun-2018 11:03 | gerard57 | Updated [Source] |
| 13-Jun-2018 11:52 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 13-Jun-2018 17:18 | Aerossurance | Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 13-Jun-2018 17:22 | Aerossurance | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source, Narrative, Plane category] |
| 13-Jun-2018 17:25 | Aerossurance | Updated [Total occupants, Narrative] |
| 13-Jun-2018 17:41 | Aerossurance | Updated [Location] |
| 13-Jun-2018 17:44 | Aerossurance | Updated [Narrative] |
| 13-Jun-2018 17:45 | Aerossurance | Updated [Damage] |
| 13-Jun-2018 19:16 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 13-Jun-2018 19:26 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 13-Jun-2018 20:54 | Aerossurance | Updated [Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 13-Jun-2018 20:58 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
| 13-Jun-2018 22:42 | Aerossurance | Updated [Registration, Cn, Source, Narrative] |
| 14-Jun-2018 15:37 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 18-Oct-2018 17:09 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Jul-2019 09:48 | Aerossurance | Updated [Phase, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 18-Jul-2019 19:48 | harro | Updated [Embed code, Accident report, ] |
| 12-Nov-2023 20:20 | harro | Updated [Other fatalities, Accident report] |
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