ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 216932
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: | Tuesday 15 January 1957 |
| Time: | am |
| Type: | Bristol 171 Sycamore Mk 4 |
| Owner/operator: | Ansett-ANA |
| Registration: | VH-INO |
| MSN: | 13403 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | near Mt Sorrel, 19mi from Queenstown, TAS -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | |
| Queenstown, TAS | |
| Investigating agency: | BASI |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A Bristol Sycamore helicopter, working under charter to a mining company in Western Tasmania, left Queenstown one morning to carry out a camp shift in a survey area 40 miles to the south. Lyell- E.Z.-Explorations, an organisation formed by the Mt. Lyell Mining and Railway Company Ltd., and the E.Z. Company was exploring for mineral deposits within an area of several thousand square miles in South Western Tasmania.
It had been refuelled to full tanks before departure and when the task was completed, late in the same morning, the aircraft set course back to Queenstown with the pilot and one passenger aboard. About halfway along the route and at a height of 2000 feet, the pilot decided to transfer fuel from the auxiliary to the main tank preparatory to landing. Soon after the transfer pump was switched on, the main engine power failed and the pilot had to carry out an autorotation landing in rugged mountainous country. He did this very successfully, but unfortunately, the front wheel sank into marshy ground soon after touchdown and the helicopter slowly tilted onto its port side, damaging the rotors and the rotor head.
The pilot and passenger escaped injury and were eventually reached by a ground party 29 hours later. After the helicopter had been lifted back onto its undercarriage, two litres of water were drained from the fuel tank.
A thorough fuel check had been carried out by an engineer prior to the flight, who saw no line of demarcation when he carried out a fuel drain and so believed that the fuel was uncontaminated with water. In fact, he probably drained a full container of water from the tank. The contamination was subsequently tracked down to a fuel drum which was found to contain a substantial quantity of water.
Believed to be the first civil helicopter accident in Australia.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
http://www.adastra.adastron.com/aircraft/misc/vh-ino.htm
http://www.adastra.adastron.com/projects/tas-1957.htm
https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/5774709/asd_12_dec_57.pdf
https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/704905/aust_helicopter_accidents.pdf
http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austa2/ANA%20Fleet/VH-INO.html
"The Forgotten Giant of Australian Aviation" (pp.270-272)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 11 January 1960 | VH-INO | Ansett-ANA | 0 | Nundle State Forest, NSW | |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 31-Oct-2018 10:52 | Aerossurance | Added |
| 31-Oct-2018 10:59 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 31-Oct-2018 10:59 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 31-Oct-2018 11:00 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 31-Oct-2018 11:01 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 31-Oct-2018 11:02 | Aerossurance | Updated [Narrative] |
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