ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 169421
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Thursday 3 April 1997 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Aerospatiale AS 350B2 |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | C-FCFM |
| MSN: | 2721 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: / Occupants: |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | Gjoa Haven, N.W.T. -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | External load operation |
| Departure airport: | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
During a slinging operation, the AStar lost all hydraulic pressure. The pilot elected to land at a site near Gjoa Haven (approximately 0.5 mi. from the airport) and, during the landing, lost control and crashed, heavily damaging the helicopter. Both the pilot and his crewman sustained minor injuries.
The crew of the AStar was conducting a geophysical mapping survey near Gjoa Haven. The survey equipment being used was a 950-lb. "bird," connected by a cable to the helicopter's belly hook. While operating approximately 10 mi. south of the airport, the helicopter experienced a total loss of hydraulic pressure. The pilot didn't consider the pressure loss to be a major emergency and elected to return to Gjoa Haven survey base rather than the nearby airport. No problems were encountered until he set the "bird" on the ground. As the weight came off the hook, the nose of the helicopter began to rise. The pilot turned the helicopter around to land behind the "bird", but the tension came back onto the cable and the "bird" was jerked through a snowdrift. The pilot momentarily lost control of the helicopter and it began to descend. The tail stinger struck the ground and the helicopter rebounded into the air, bringing tension back onto the cable and causing the helicopter to nose down over an embankment. The main rotor blades struck the ground, the tail boom separated and, after the parts stopped moving, the helicopter sat upright in the snow.
The pilot chose not to jettison the "bird" because the equipment was very valuable and because he thought that he could land the helicopter safely from a high hover. He had experienced a loss of hydraulic pressure during a similar operation two years previously and had been able to land with no problems. The pilot stated that, after he set the "bird" on the ground and subsequently felt the tension on the cable, he had no opportunity to release the load because he was too busy trying to regain control of the machine.
The loss of hydraulic pressure was traced to a broken hydraulic-pump drive belt, with the break occurring at a seam. The belt, which the manufacturer says has a life of 600 hrs, had accumulated approximately 250 hrs in service. The company had reduced the life of the belt to 500 hrs to correspond with the manufacturer's 500-hr "T" inspection schedule, and had been inspecting the belt daily for condition and tension. It submitted a service difficulty report to Transport Canada regarding the broken belt.
Sources:
http://web.archive.org/web/20151014192805/http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/publications/tp202-3-97-397-3395.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Sep-2014 12:16 | Aerossurance | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation