BEA were unable to establish the reason for Loss of Control in the hover. The pilot was suffering from an unreported back condition and the HESLO technique required an awkward body position. BEA make recommendations about wellbeing and personal readiness.
Investigators point to missed opportunities to prevent accidents by collaboratively acting on past safety reports. “The aim should be to process the reports in a coordinated manner so that lessons could be learned…” including sharing between organisations.
An Uncoordinated Fall from an A320 at Helsinki: How Just Reporting is Not Enough Read Post »
We look how a defence contractor was killed during weapons training on a New Mexico range. We also critique the USAF AIB HFACS human factors analysis. A case of ‘What-You-Look-For-Is-What-You-Find’ (WYLFIWYF)?
Friendly Fire: Civilian Shot in the Head During USAF F-16 Training Read Post »
During a mountain rescue a Sécurité Civile EC145 was damaged by loose foliage being recirculated into the main rotor. Afterwards the crew hoist up 4 people and fly two short sectors back to base, exposing 6 people to heightened risk say BEA-E investigators.
Sécurité Civile EC145 Mountain Rescue Blade Strike Read Post »
The AAIB identify weaknesses in maintenance practices relating to flying control cables, an unrelated anomaly that has occurred on a number of Q400s and a weakness in how the Q400 FDR processes data that has been solved only for US operators.
Dash 8 Q400 Control Anomalies: 1 Worn Cable and 1 Mystery Read Post »
After a power loss, this air tour helicopter force landed on a beach. Everyone on board survived a 40 ft/s (12.2 m/s) impact, saved by helicopter design features, but the severity of some injuries may have been less if harnesses were correctly worn.
Hawaiian Air Tour EC130T2 Hard Landing after Power Loss (Part 2 – Survivability) Read Post »
The instructor, confident in his student’s ability, let an exercise proceed outside of RFM recommendations. The aircraft contacted the ground with a 6.1 m/s vertical velocity (20 ft/s).
Swedish SAR AW139 Damaged in Aborted Take-off Training Exercise Read Post »
The AAIB highlight safety lessons after an incident that occurred when an aircraft that had been in storage was being prepared for a ferry flight by personnel from 4 different organisations. This is topical at a time when many aircraft are entering and leaving storage due to COVID-19.
Runaway Dash 8 Q400 at Aberdeen after Miscommunication Over Chocks Read Post »
A confused response to an engine issue earlier in the day, a sudden power loss and a failed autorotation…but crashing into trees was decisive in the two occupants’ survival say NSIA.
Latent Engine Defect Downs R44: NR Dropped to Zero During Autorotation Read Post »
NTSB say that improper maintenance practices resulted in a lack of lubrication and excessive wear on an MLG uplock actuator.
Frozen Dash 8-100 Landing Gear After ‘Improper Maintenance Practices’ Say NTSB Read Post »
Failure to perform the Descent Check during the approach was a key factor for a loss of direction control after landing. This had “become a fairly common practice among crews”.
An offshore helicopter was caught on deck in a thunderstorm. A helideck lightning strike was suspected but the helicopter damage was not spotted until ashore.
Helideck Lightning Strike: Damage Missed Read Post »
