ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 223826
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| Date: | Thursday 4 January 2018 |
| Time: | 09:00 |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 38km SW of Tindal, NT -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Survey |
| Departure airport: | Katherine, NT |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
On 4 January 2018, at about 09:00 Central Daylight-saving Time, a Robinson R22 helicopter departed from a private property in Katherine, Northern Territory. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was conducting a private flight to obtain GPS coordinates of structures on a property 38 km south-west of Tindal, NT.
The pilot landed the helicopter alongside a fence line in long grass. The pilot remained in the helicopter, with the engine running and obtained coordinates as required. The pilot then manoeuvred the helicopter into a low hover and with the breeze coming from the north-east, commenced to move out of the hover and felt the helicopter move to translational lift. The pilot lifted the power to maximum takeoff while easing the cyclic forward to take advantage of the headwind.
As the helicopter straightened, about 3 feet above ground level, it dipped suddenly, pivoting on the front left-hand skid. The pilot attempted to pull the cyclic back but the helicopter rolled to the left and the main rotor blades contacted the ground at full power, almost severing them at the blade roots. The main rotor blades cut the tail boom into three pieces, lodging the tail rotor and assembly into the ground about 5m in front of the fuselage. The fuselage came to rest on the left side.
Although hanging from his seat belt, the pilot was able to shut off the master; however, was unable to reach the fuel shut off valve. The pilot’s seat base dislodged and fell off once the pilot released himself from the seat belt.
Sources:
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/occurrence-briefs/2018/aviation/ab-2018-001/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Apr-2019 10:20 | Pineapple | Added |
| 12-Nov-2023 15:48 | harro | Updated [Other fatalities] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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