ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 151007
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| Date: | Sunday 22 January 1978 |
| Time: | 13:00 |
| Type: |  Aérospatiale SA 319B Alouette III |
| Owner/operator: | Heliflight |
| Registration: | OO-PCB |
| MSN: | 2151 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Bruges, West Flanders -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Ambulance |
| Departure airport: | Brugge AZ Sint-Jan Heliport (EBSJ) |
| Grand Hôpital de Charleroi Heliport (EBGE) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Little or no information is available |
The accident helicopter was called upon for transport of a severely burnt patient from an accident site in Wenduine to the AZ Sint-Jan hospital in Brugge. Taking off from its base in Beernem, the helicopter flew to the AZ Sint-Jan to pick up medical personnel, and flew to the accident site where the patient was picked up. It then returned to the AZ Sint-Jan where the patient and medical personnel were disembarked.
The condition of the patient deteriorated, and the decision was taken to transport the patient to a specialised burns unit in Loverval near Charleroi. The pilot returned to his base in Beernem to refuel the helicopter for the flight and to get meteo updates for the flight to Loverval.
As the condition of the patient was critical, the medical staff requested for the helicopter to be placed as close as possible to the exit of the Accident and Emergency unit. The helicopter was pushed to the ward's exit, the pilot ensuring that the rotors were clear of the building.
After the patient, a doctor and a nurse were taken aboard, the helicopter's location was not ideal for taxying it to the helipad. The pilot took the decision to take off instead, and hover it to the helipad at an altitude of about a foot. However on taking off, the helicopter was gusted into the concrete canopy of the A&E unit, causing the rotor to disintegrate. The pilot managed to set the helicopter down controlled with no injuries to those aboard.
Damage to the helicopter was severe, with damage to both the main rotor and the airframe. Additionally, a number of windows of the emergency unit were fractured, and three nearby parked cars and an ambulance were damaged by debris.
It was noted that the shape of the building, combined with the wind direction on the day of the accident, generated local wind vortices which would have pushed the helicopter into the building from its take-off position. However the accident could have been prevented if the pilot had abided to official safety standards, and had not accepted the request of the medical staff to park the helicopter as close to the emergency unit's exit as possible.
Sources:
World Directory of Airliner Crashes/Terry Denham
https://www.helispot.be/hs/documents/ongevallen/oo-pcb2.pdf
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 29 April 1975 | OO-PCB | Belgian civil protection | 5 | Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Antwerp | |
non |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Dec-2012 10:56 | TB | Added |
| 09-Nov-2022 07:22 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 15-Jul-2023 16:13 | Anon | Updated [[Location]] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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