ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 188898
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Wednesday 30 July 2003 |
| Time: | 10:04 |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 |
| Owner/operator: | Universal Energy Ltd |
| Registration: | G-OUEL |
| MSN: | 1235 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2002 |
| Engine model: | Textron Lycoming O-540-F1B5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Carlenrig, Teviothead, near Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Hawick, Borders, Scotland |
| Barton Airport, Lancashire (EGCB) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (destroyed) 30-07-2003 when crashed at Carlenrig, Teviothead, near Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland. The pilot - named in contemporary media reports as multiple times "Superbike" motorcycle racing champion Steve Hislop - was killed. Unusually, the AAIB report as not released until 04-05-2008, almost five years after the accident. According to the following excerpt from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"The helicopter departed on a VFR flight from a private site near Hawick in Scotland to route to Barton Airfield in Manchester. Initially it flew southwards at 1,500 feet amsl but as it approached hills, whose tops were reportedly covered by an area of low cloud, it turned away from the planned route and probably entered cloud. As the turn continued the helicopter accelerated, entered a rapid descent and the main rotor blades struck the tail boom.
Most of the tail boom detached, the rotors virtually stopped and the helicopter impacted the ground at the bottom of a valley, fatally injuring the pilot. A number of military aircraft were operating in the area at the time of the accident but none of these could have influenced the safe progress of the flight.
No signs of pre-accident malfunction of the helicopter were found, but full determination of its pre-impact serviceability was prevented by extensive post-crash fire damage. The available evidence indicated that the accident followed a main rotor blade strike on the tail boom, probably caused by excessively low rotor RPM.
The control loss and low rotor RPM may have resulted from spatial disorientation and mishandling of the controls but the possibility that aircraft malfunction had contributed to the accident could not be eliminated."
Nature of Damage to Airframe: Per the AAIB report "Helicopter destroyed". As a result, the registration G-OUEL was cancelled by the CAA on 23-02-2004 as "Destroyed"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/54230420ed915d1371000c93/G-OUEL_5-05.pdf
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/rk=OUEL
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Hislop#Personal_life
4. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2003/jul/31/motorcycling
5. https://www.scotsman.com/news/bike-champ-s-family-attack-report-on-copter-crash-1-711881
6. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4538431.stm
7. http://www.hawick-news.co.uk/news/local-headlines/bike-ace-flew-very-very-well-inquiry-told-1-171554
8. https://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/97772-steve-hislop-killed-helicopter-accident-threads-merged.html
9. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/fatal-accident-inquiry-finds-motorcycle-979517
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Jul-2016 20:54 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation