ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 193715
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| Date: | Sunday 19 February 2017 |
| Time: | 09:30 |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas MD 500E (369E) |
| Owner/operator: | Precision Helicopters Ltd |
| Registration: | ZK-HRK |
| MSN: | 0267E |
| Year of manufacture: | 1988 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Waimarino Forest, Whanganui -
 New Zealand
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | External load operation |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA NZ |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
The helicopter was conducting external load operations moving beehives. For this operation, two company helicopters were engaged, with both pilots electing to use a 'bee-wing', attached to the belly hook of the aircraft with a short 10 m cable, to lift th e pallets of beehives. At approximately 0920 hours NZDT, the aircraft was on a return flight from the drop off location when the cable, weighted only with the bee-wing, came into contact with the tail rotor. This resulted in the cable wrapping around the tail rotor hub and gearbox, causing the tail rotor assembly and cable with the bee-wing attached, to depart from the aircraft. The aircraft yawed to the right and the pilot was unable to maintain directional control. After several rotations, the aircraft struck the side of a ridge, rolled approximately 35 m down the slope and came to rest on its right side. The pilot, and sole occupant of the helicopter, sustained significant injuries and was subsequently airlifted to hospital. The safety investigation was unable to determine conclusively why the cable contacted the tail rotor. It is most likely that the short strop, low mass configuration increased the risk of contact with the tail, particularly when combined with an airspeed at which the load may have become unstable.
Sources:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/324825/bee-pilot-injured-in-helicopter-crash
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11803623
NTSB WPR17WA069
http://www.flydw.org.uk/DWZKHQU.htm
http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/001007075.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Feb-2017 09:57 | gerard57 | Added |
| 20-Feb-2017 08:45 | gerard57 | Updated [Operator] |
| 20-Feb-2017 11:01 | Anon. | Updated [Source] |
| 20-Feb-2017 11:07 | harro | Updated [Operator, Source] |
| 20-Feb-2017 15:23 | harro | Updated [Source] |
| 23-Mar-2017 15:44 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Source, Damage] |
| 23-Sep-2021 20:44 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location, Source] |
| 30-Sep-2021 20:49 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 12-Feb-2022 02:44 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 07-Aug-2023 08:47 | harro | Updated [[Location]] |
| 14-Nov-2023 09:54 | harro | Updated [Other fatalities, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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