ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 191837
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| Date: | Friday 2 December 2016 |
| Time: | 12:00 |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 Beta |
| Owner/operator: | Bering Pacific Ranches Ltd. |
| Registration: | N7085K |
| MSN: | 2923 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1999 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3726 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-360-J2A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | Unalaska Island, 9 sm SW of Dutch Harbor Airport, Alaska -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Survey |
| Departure airport: | Unalaska Airport, Dutch Harbor, Alaska (DUT/PADU |
| Unalaska Airport, Dutch Harbor, Alaska (DUT/PADU | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On December 2, 2016, about 12:00 AST (Alaska Standard Time), a Robinson R-22 Beta helicopter, N7085K, collided with remote snow-covered terrain while landing, about 10 miles southwest of Unalaska, Alaska. The commercial pilot sustained no injury, the passenger sustained minor injuries, and the helicopter sustained substantial damage. The helicopter was registered to, and operated by, Bering Pacific Ranches Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada, as a visual flight rules (VFR) flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Deteriorating visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from the Unalaska Airport, Unalaska, about 11:00 AST
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on December 7, the pilot stated that the purpose of the flight was to transport a telecommunications technician to the Fort Glenn cattle ranch on Umnak Island. After departing from the Unalaska Airport, while flying over water past Makushin Bay near Cape Starichkof, he observed a snow squall with near zero visibility. The pilot decided to return to Unalaska. On the return trip, while flying in a mountainous valley, a snow squall moved into the area. He stated that due to the deteriorating flight conditions, he conducted a precautionary landing to remote snow-covered terrain to wait for improved flight conditions. Once the snow squall passed, he departed to head back to Unalaska. Several minutes later, he encountered a second snow squall and decided to conduct another precautionary landing. During the precautionary landing sequence, whiteout conditions were present from the main rotor system downwash from the previous snow squall, and the pilot was unable to recognise any topographical features. The main rotor blades impacted terrain and the helicopter rolled onto its left side. Both occupants egressed from the wreckage, a personal locator beacon was activated, and the occupants were extracted from the accident site via a U.S. Coast Guard MH-65D helicopter.
The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, main rotor system, tail boom, and tail rotor system.
The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate clearance from terrain during a precautionary landing in whiteout conditions, which resulted in an in-flight collision with terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
2. FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N7085K
3. http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2016/12/robinson-r22-incident-occurred-december.html
4. http://www.kucb.org/post/two-survive-helicopter-crash-unalaska-island
5. http://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Two-rescued-after-helicopter-crash-404391936.html
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Dec-2016 09:26 | gerard57 | Added |
| 04-Dec-2016 09:27 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Location] |
| 04-Dec-2016 11:07 | Aerossurance | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Dec-2016 19:01 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Jan-2017 17:39 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Operator, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 16-Nov-2017 07:45 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 14-Aug-2018 19:43 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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