ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 173709
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| Date: | Monday 21 August 2000 |
| Time: | 09:30 LT |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas MD 500E (369E) |
| Owner/operator: | Davron Aviation |
| Registration: | G-SIVA |
| MSN: | 0372E |
| Year of manufacture: | 1989 |
| Engine model: | Allison 250-C20B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Dartford Marshes, Kent -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Private Helipad, Smarden, Kent |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft took off from a private helipad at Smarden in Kent. When passing north of Dartford at 1,500 feet, without prior warning, there was a sudden loss of engine power. The pilot established an auto-rotative descent and transmitted a 'MAYDAY' call. He does not recall hearing the 'Low Rotor RPM' warning at any time and noted that the rotor RPM stabilised at the correct auto-rotation speed.
The rate of descent was about 2,000 feet/min and the engine-off landing was heavy. Both occupants received serious injuries but the aircraft remained upright and there was no fire. The impact splayed the landing skids and crushed the underside of the fuselage, rupturing the fuel tanks.
The engine on this type is mounted in the aft fuselage at an angle of 45 degrees and the engine bay doors and combustion casing were crushed in the impact.
The Thames Radar controller heard the "MAYDAY" call and the response to his request for the number of souls on board was, "Standby". No further call was received from the aircraft. No transponder response had been received from the aircraft but a primary radar return had been seen near Dartford and this position was confirmed by the pilot before the emergency developed.
Valuable assistance in locating the helicopter was provided by the crews of two light aircraft and it was located at about 09:35 hrs. The police, fire and ambulance services were quickly on the scene. A helicopter air ambulance arrived at 0950 hrs and the crew attended to the occupants, who were then taken by road to a nearby hospital which had accident and emergency facilities. The pilot reports that his survival would have been unlikely without this prompt emergency response.
G-SIVA was "destroyed" in this accident (per the official AAIB report). As a result, the registration was cancelled by the CAA on 17 May 2001 as aircraft "destroyed".
G-SIVA was originally registered G-MATB (although this registration was not taken up); it became G-TBIX from 2 February 1990 (when it was owned by Weetabix Breakfast Cereals). It was sold on and re-registered as G-SIVA from 21 January 1994 until cancelled 17 May 2001 as per the above
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/hughes-369e-g-siva-21-august-2000
2. CAA: http://www.caa.co.uk/aircraft-registration/
3. http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.aspx?accidentkey=3473
4. Earlier crash on 21-8-1999: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422efc0e5274a13170002b7/dft_avsafety_pdf_501467.pdf
5. http://www.rotorspot.nl/product/h369e.php
6. https://www.mdhelicopters.com/files/Publications/Destroyed%20Aircraft%20Report.pdf
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Feb-2015 20:23 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 10-Feb-2015 20:26 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Total fatalities] |
| 03-Aug-2022 23:43 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative, Category] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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