ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 318396
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| Date: | Wednesday 22 August 1984 |
| Time: | 11:17 |
| Type: |  Bell 206B JetRanger III |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Round Top Mountain Heliport, ID -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Fire fighting |
| Departure airport: | Round Top Mountain Heliport, ID |
| Round Top Mountain Heliport, ID | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
On the morning of August 22nd, a second helitorch was placed perpendicular to the landing pad at the Round Top Mountain Heliport, Idaho; it was to be the active helitorch that day. The four pre-mixed barrels were placed beside the active helitorch and the inactive helitorch was located beside the last barrel in the row of four. Locating the extra barrels so close to the operating area was to minimize the amount of time and effort needed to replenish the torch. A decision was made to keep the Assistant Helitack Foreman close to the active helitorch during its lift-off to alleviate any cable entanglements.
A contract Bell 206B JetRanger III was used for the helitorch operations.
At 11:17 PDT, the helitorch suspension cables became entangled about the torch itself. The Assistant Foreman was correcting the entanglement when the helicopter started a right hand spin while hovering over the helitorch. The Assistant Foreman attempted to move away. The helicopter spun approximately 180 degrees. The tail rotor fatally struck the Assistant Foreman.
When the strike occurred, the Marshaller was approximately 20 feet in front of the helicopter. The Helitack Foreman and the Technical Advisor were standing behind a one and a half ton stake truck, watching activities through the windshield of the truck.
Reportedly, the primary cause of this mishap was that the helitorch cables became entangled about itself. The asymmetric center of gravity which caused the helicopter to roll right and yaw right would not have occurred if the cables had not become entangled as they did.
There were several contributing factors that added to the severity of this mishap: 1) The fatally injured Assistant Foreman was underneath the helicopter and moving about the helitorch attempting to untangle the cables before the helicopter was in a stable hover, 2) There were extra barrels of jellied gasoline and other miscellaneous equipment in the immediate operating area. They provided stumbling blocks for the Assistant Foreman during his attempt to escape the area and provided a psychological deterrent to the pilot, 3) Communications, visual and verbal, between the pilot and signalman, were inadequate. The pilot could not fully assess the extent of cable tangles, and 4) Placing the helitroch at the side of and perpendicular to the helicopter promoted the probability of a cable entanglement because of the multiple movements required to get the helicopter centered over the helitorch, particularly in gusting wind conditions.
Sources:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/2840945_United_States_Department_of_Agriculture_Forest_Service
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Jul-2023 13:23 | harro | Added |
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