Helicopter Flight Information
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Helicopter Flight Information |
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Helicopter Accident Study and AnalysisIn the process of this study which is detailed through the links on the left, I noticed that there was a significant number of quite foolish accidents. The fifteen accidents below represent 11 percent of the total accidents in 2009, that is far to many easily prevented accidents. The accidents mentioned below demonstrate a clear lack of something, maybe common sense and/or complacency; in some cases purely negligent violations of FAR's and/or the lack of compliance with the POH. What were they thinking? Flying Over Gross Aircraft... One: Max Gross don't really mean anything does it? That is just a token number with a built in fudge factor right? NOT!!! I can't believe people don't take weight and balance seriously. The pilot tells the investigators that the Robinson R22 Beta he was flying weighed approximately 1370 at the time of the crash. I wonder if he knows that the max gross weight on the R22 Beta is 1370 pounds which means that he took off and was flying over-gross prior to the crash. The R22 burns just about 1 pound of fuel per minute, so you can easily do the math on this type of accident. Two: Over gross also! Weight and balance is for those who don't know that all you have to do is pull more collective, right? This pilot was flying 219 pounds over-gross. Was weight and balance of a part of his flight training and/or check ride? Another issue of importance with regard to over gross flight is the fatigue that it causes with regard to all components including main rotor blades as is pointed out in Robinson publications. Weight and Balance limitations are just that, limitations. Just like the limitations on the instruments, but what can you expect when pilots are taught right from the beginning that you can just pull more power. Again, I blame the FAA; if schools and instructors don't police themselves, and teach the right thing, then the FAA should be doing ramp checks right where this stuff begins, during active flight training. Really, it is easy since fuel ticket histories are readily available as is all other flight information. Won't happen though because why? That's right, the FAA won't work that hard, maybe they can't compute weight and balance themselves. Running an Aircraft out of Fuel... Three: How long does it take to run out of fuel if your aircraft holds 30 gallons of usable fuel and your burn rate is 16.6 to 18.5 gallons per hour? Well the engine in this aircraft mysteriously quit after flying for two hours. Dah! Do you think it might have ran out of fuel? He knew is numbers, he just couldn't do math. To top it off, there was an instructor on board who obviously didn't watch his fuel time any better. Four: It doesn't just happen to low-time pilots or those doing menial jobs... This EMS pilot runs an Augusta 109 out of fuel which results in an accident as running out of fuel usually does. Obviously common sense does not reside in this pilot. Would it not be a better option to land, when you have the ability to land anywhere, and have someone bring you fuel as opposed to complete fuel exhaustion? Exiting a Running Aircraft... Five: How many mistakes can one make in a single day; but hey, I bet he looked cool and felt cocky landing on that semi-trailer. The pilot lands on a semi-trailer to pay for a load of hay. He doesn't land on the ground, and he doesn't shut down the aircraft. I wonder why it ended up on the ground in a pile of rubbish? I am betting that he still didn't learn his lesson, what do you think? Six: The pilot gets out of the aircraft to inspect for a warning light but does not shut down the aircraft. How can you reasonably inspect anything like that with the aircraft running? The helicopter takes off of its own accord and crashes into the water. Have these pilots not been trained to NOT leave the controls unattended in a running aircraft? I guess this is what his flight instructor taught him from the beginning, or did the subject just not come up? Seven: Auto departure not auto pilot. Another case of a pilot exiting a running aircraft and the aircraft departs of its own accord. What is so important that we can't shut the aircraft off? Eight: A destroyed Bell 206, see it doesn't just happen to Robinson's. If you leave the controls unattended with the aircraft running, bad things can and will happen. Instrument Flight in a helicopter NOT certified for instrument flight... Nine: This was an R22; who in their right mind would file and fly on an instrument flight plan and in IMC in this aircraft? It is not certified for instrument flight. Just having instruments installed meeting the requirements of 91.205 does not necessarily make any aircraft legal to fly in IMC, much less an R22. Really the FAA is partially at fault in these accidents as they do not have clear and obvious direction on this matter even though it is clear in the Aircraft Flight Manual. Ten: Can you believe it? This one in an R44 which crashed after entering IMC conditions demonstrating that the pilots were not skillful enough to handle the situation even if the helicopter was properly equipped. The instructor stated that he was not actively instructing on the return flight and was just a passenger. I call cop-out! If a flight begins an instructional flight, it remains an instructional flight. Another example of the blind leading the blind; the hand-me-down effect of poor quality flight instruction. The paragraph below is from the Robinson Helicopter Company regarding instrument flight in the R44: Although the R44 IFR Trainer was designed for instrument flight training, it is not approved for actual IFR operations. While student pilots are flying on instruments, the instructor must act as the safety pilot and operate only under VFR conditions. Rotor Blade Strike with another helicopter... Eleven: Rotor blade strikes are an accident that really gets me riled. What is so important that these pilots think they have to land so close to something else. In this case another helicopter damaging approximately $125,000 worth of rotor blades. Using Incorrect Procedures... Twelve: Wrong procedure for the circumstance. This pilot gets into settling with power and clearly does the wrong thing. Never apply additional collective when you get into settling with power. But tell that to your arm when you are at low altitude to begin with, and the ground comes rushing up! Thirteen: Wrong procedure again. This pilot pulled the mixture control in flight when what he wanted to do was to pull was the trim button. Robinson doubly addressed this; they issued a bulletin stating to reach around the left side of the cyclic which is easy to do, but they also issued a guard device that slips over the mixture control so you don't accidently pull the button. No Robinson should be flown without this guard device in place. To Hover or Not to Hover... Fourteen: To be in a stabilized hover or not? This pilot was in a 3-foot hover when suddenly the ground jumped up and slapped the helicopter causing dynamic rollover. Well, that is what the report sounds like, but we all know that this pilot was simply bouncing up and down a little more than he thought. This is an example of what is wrong with solo to early. What is a torque wrench... Fifteen: During the inspection of this aircraft after the accident, they discovered that several critical lines had not been properly torqued. How many times have you actually seen a mechanic using a torque wrench? That's what I thought, me neither! Guess what, it is required. The next time you see a mechanic working on your aircraft and a torque wrench is no where to be found, say something about it!
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