ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 76022
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| Date: | Saturday 31 July 2010 |
| Time: | 10:51 LT |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350B3 Ecureuil |
| Owner/operator: | SKYCAM Hélicoptères |
| Registration: | F-GKBF |
| MSN: | 3305 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2000 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Bormes les Mimosas, Var Region -
 France
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Saint Tropez-La Môle Airport (LTT/LFTZ) |
| Private Helipad, Bormes-les-Mimosas | |
| Investigating agency: | BEA |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Helicopter contacted the top of trees on landing in a private restaurant and rolled over in the field.
Five of the occupants received injuries and one escaped unhurt. One died later in hospital. According to a rough translation from French into English, of the official accident report:
"The pilot took off from the airfield of La Mole with five passengers to a helipad in Bormes-les-Mimosas. After about ten minutes of flight, the pilot is in the final approach to the helipad from the east, under a high angle and low speed. At a height about fifteen meters, there is a lack of power, strong vibrations and abnormal descent. The main rotor blades encounter a cypress tree. The pilot lowers the collective to maintain rotor rpm. About three meters high, he pulls on the collective pitch control to cushion the impact with the ground. The passenger sitting in the rear central line is ejected by the right of the helicopter during the impact. The helicopter came down on the right side above the passenger ejected. One passenger died, pilot seriously injured, helicopter destroyed. The other four passengers escaped."
According to a rough translation of a contemporary newspaper report:
"Five people were injured, one seriously, late this morning in a helicopter crash in Bormes-les Mimosas, after the aircraft had touched the head of a cypress tree on landing. A sixth person has
escaped unscathed from this accident that has mobilized substantial backup.
The aircraft, an AS350 B3 operated by the company Skycam helicopters, was piloted by Gilbert
Schweitzer, 52, CEO of the company based in Geneva (Switzerland). The aircraft was on a
connection flight between the airport of La Mole (St. Tropez) and a restaurant, La Ferme des Janets, located in the heart of the Maures forest.
The most serious injury is temporary owner of the restaurant La Ferme des Janets, Irene Desplat,
aged 65, who was ejected and found herself trapped under one of the skids of the helicopter. She
was evacuated by an air ambulance helicopter to St. Anne military hospital in Toulon. On board was
also her son Cedric, aged 36, who was unhurt in the accident."
BEA FINAL REPORT CONCLUSION
The accident was due to the entry into Vortex during the final approach.
The choice by the pilot of the helipad whose topography requires an approach with a steep slope and low speed may have favored the entry into the Vortex.
The passenger seated at the rear of the helicopter on the right inner seat could not buckle up for the flight due to a mounting of the seat belt on the seat, which did not comply with the manufacturer's documentation.
The following may have contributed to the passenger's injuries:
- the installation of two different models of non-compatible and non-interchangeable seat belts;
- the absence of checks on the seat belts after fitting;
- the lack of verification by the pilot that all the passengers were correctly attached;
- the failure of the passenger to report the problem to the pilot
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. http://www.varmatin.com/article/faits-divers/crash-d%E2%80%99helico-l%E2%80%99etat-de-la-passagere-grievement-blessee-s%E2%80%99ameliore
2. http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/accident-d-helicoptere-cinq-blesses-dans-le-var-31-07-2010-1018302.php
3. http://www.varmatin.com/article/actualites/crash-d%E2%80%99helicoptere-a-bormes-six-blesses-dont-un-grievement
4. http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2010/07/31/97001-20100731FILWWW00370-accident-d-helicoptere-dans-le-var.php
5. http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/accident-d-helicoptere-cinq-blesses-dans-le-var-31-07-2010-1018302.php
6. https://www.laprovence.com/article/actualites/626189/var-lhelicoptere-heurte-un-cypres-et-tombe-a-terre.html
7. http://francerotors.free.fr/f-gkbf.htm
8. http://www.bea.aero/docspa/2010/f-bf100731/pdf/f-bf100731.pdf
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Aug-2010 07:42 | dens69 | Added |
| 03-Aug-2010 09:50 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 30-Jul-2014 20:56 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 31-Jul-2014 00:06 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Nov-2022 13:21 | EUGENIO GRIGORJEV | Updated [Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 17-Nov-2022 13:21 | harro | Updated [[Departure airport, Narrative]] |
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