ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 153
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| Date: | Wednesday 29 August 2001 |
| Time: | 15:15 |
| Type: |  Agusta-Bell 47G-2A-1 |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | VH-SHP |
| MSN: | 1619 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Mount Archer, QLD -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Maroochydore, QLD |
| Maroochydore, QLD | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
The Agusta/Bell 47G-2A1 helicopter departed from Maroochydore Airport at about 1420 Eastern Standard Time (EST) on a solo navigation exercise. The pilot intended to track via Somerset Dam, Kenilworth, Nambour and return to Maroochydore under the Visual Flight Rules (VFR), with an expected enroute flight time of about 1.9 hours.
Air Traffic Services (ATS) primary radar intermittently tracked the helicopter at a position 7 NM northeast of the accident location about 40 minutes after departure. The primary "paint" ceased about that time and location. A witness reported seeing the helicopter near the northern side of Mount Archer at about 1515 EST and flying in a manner consistent with the pilot experiencing controllability difficulties. A subsequent aerial search located the wreckage at a position about 1 NM right of the direct track from Maroochydore to Somerset Dam and on the north-north-eastern slope of Mount Archer. The helicopter sustained severe impact damage. The pilot, famous Austrialian singer Strachan, received fatal injuries.
Initial video and photographic evidence indicated that the helicopter probably encountered severe turbulence from mountain waves or rotors in flight while approaching the lee of Mount Archer. The evidence suggested that the main rotor blades may have severed the tailboom approximately 1 m forward of the tail rotor assembly. This accident signature is consistent with excessive blade flapping. The evidence indicated that a divergence of the main rotor blade from its normal plane of rotation probably occurred as a result of severe turbulence generated by mountain wave or rotor activity, and a main rotor blade contact with the tailboom and cockpit area ensued, resulting in a loss of control of the helicopter.
It is also possible that the collective lever friction may have been overcome by the severe turbulence that caused the non-powered collective lever to suddenly drop. The collective lever drop would have induced a sudden nose down attitude and this may have caught the pilot by surprise. The pilot may have instinctively and rapidly applied aft cyclic to correct the aircraft's attitude. The rapid application of aft cyclic in this situation may have been sufficient to induce main rotor blade contact with the tailboom.
Sources:
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2001/aair/aair200104092
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 21 January 1976 | D-HAGL | 0 | Bad Friedrichsheim |  |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Jan-2008 10:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 14-Aug-2009 22:52 | capmagn | Updated |
| 17-Aug-2010 16:21 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Other fatalities, Phase, Nature, Damage] |
| 19-Oct-2011 16:26 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 09-Jun-2022 11:18 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 25-Oct-2023 10:21 | harro | Updated [[Location]] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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