ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 188897
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| Date: | Monday 21 July 2003 |
| Time: | 11:32 |
| Type: |  Westland SA 341G Gazelle |
| Owner/operator: | Foremans Aviation Ltd |
| Registration: | G-BAGL |
| MSN: | 1067 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1973 |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca Astazou IIIA |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Street Farm, Street, Essex -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Street Farm, Street, Essex |
| Wymeswold, Leicestershire | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Substantially damaged 21-7-2003 when collided with power lines while climbing away from a field on Street Farm, Street, Essex. The pilot (the sole person on board) was uninjured. According to the following excerpt from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"The aircraft was departing from a private helicopter site, which the pilot had flown into earlier that morning, to fly to Wymeswold in Leicestershire. The landing site consisted of a field measuring approximately 230 yards (east-west) by 170 yards (north-south), bordered by a mixture of fencing, hedges and trees to the north and south. On the western side of the field was a set of three power cables, suspended at a height of approximately 30 feet, running north-south and immediately beyond were some farm buildings.
In good weather and with a surface wind from the south-south-west of 12 to 15 knots, the pilot planned to depart to the south-west to avoid the farm buildings and remain clear of Stansted Airport, which was three nautical miles to the north-west. As the aircraft climbed away from a low hover and transitioned into forward flight on a westerly heading it struck the power cables with its front canopy.
The aircraft started to pitch forward and the pilot responded by applying aft cyclic and pulling up on the collective. In the process, the main rotor blades struck the tips of the left and right lateral fins and the fairing at the aft end of the tail cone, where it joins the fenestron fin, severing one of the hydraulic pipes serving the fenestron controls. The pilot also reported that the power cables snapped.
He was able to retain control of the aircraft and flew it south for about 100 metres, away from the farm buildings, before turning left and manoeuvring to land in a field immediately to the north of the landing site without further incident and under normal control. The pilot shut the aircraft down and exited out of the right front door, uninjured.
The pilot commented that the poles supporting the power cables were obscured by trees in full leaf and that the cables, which were at the same height as each other in a horizontal arrangement, were green in colour and difficult to see. Notwithstanding that, he realised that if he had included an assessment of the obstacles in the direction of his intended take-off path during his pre-flight walk-round the incident would have been avoided.
It is probable that it was more difficult for the pilot to see the power cables once he was airborne because they were suspended at the same level, rather than one above the other, and were set against the background of the farm buildings"
Nature of Damage to airframe: Per the AAIB report "Damage to cabin front canopy and lower frame, left and right windshields, main rotor blades, main rotor head, tail boom assembly and left and right lateral fins". The CAA records indicate that the registration G-BAGL was cancelled on 08-08-2006 (over three years later) as "Transferred to another country or authority > SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO". Believed to have become YU-HHS. Despite the Serbian registration, the helicopter is based at Stapleford, Essex (see link #4)
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422ee6ded915d13710001ef/dft_avsafety_pdf_026658.pdf
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/rk=BAGL
3. http://www.rotorspot.nl/historic/yu.php
4, http://www.laasdata.com/fra/fra-by-country.php?c=YU
5. YU-HHS Aerospatiale SA.341 Gazelle c/n 1067 at Coventry 24.06.2013: https://www.flickr.com/photos/23464792@N04/9134319252
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Jul-2016 20:11 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
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