ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 46295
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| Date: | Monday 12 February 2001 |
| Time: | 07:40 LT |
| Type: |  Westland Wessex HU Mk 5C (S-58T) |
| Owner/operator: | Metro Air (NZ) |
| Registration: | ZK-HVK |
| MSN: | WAL29 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1964 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 15 km SW of Motueka, Nelson -
 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 |
During heli-logging operations, the helicopter picked up a log and almost immediately placed it back on the ground. The helicopter then adopted a steep nose-down attitude and descended parallel to the terrain, colliding with the ground some 400 feet below the pickup site. The pilot was fatally injured and the helicopter destroyed by impact and fire.
Examination of the engines, however, yielded conclusive evidence that at the time of the accident, the number 1 engine was operating at high rotational speed, and therefore developing significant power; and the number 2 engine was not developing power.
It is therefore likely that the number 2 engine stopped even before the pilot’s attempt to lift the log. With his external focus, and the relatively light weight of the helicopter before the log was attached to the longline strop, the engine
governing system could have compensated for the stoppage without the pilot’s noticing. Any aural cues (such as the sound of the engine actually running down) could have been masked by the exhaust noise from number 1 engine; leaning out of the left side of the cockpit placed the pilot in close proximity to the exhaust outlet.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
http://www.caa.govt.nz/Accidents_and_Incidents/Accident_Reports/ZK-HVK_Fatal_12Feb2001.pdf
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Nov-2008 10:35 | ASN archive | Added |
| 11-Nov-2009 23:21 | Anon. | Updated |
| 12-Nov-2009 02:19 | Anon. | Updated |
| 31-May-2010 08:30 | Alpine Flight | Updated [Other fatalities, Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Jul-2010 11:01 | TB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Location, Nature] |
| 26-Oct-2012 08:37 | TB | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 26-Mar-2018 10:27 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Nature, Narrative] |
| 23-Jan-2022 03:35 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 25-Jan-2022 07:16 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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