ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 212531
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| Date: | Sunday 9 December 2012 |
| Time: | 17:00 |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 Beta II |
| Owner/operator: | GBR Helicopters Pty Ltd |
| Registration: | VH-HTD |
| MSN: | 3122 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Princess Charlotte Bay, QLD -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Normandy River, Queensland |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
On 9 December 2012 at about 17:00 EST (Eastern Standard Time), a Robinson R22 helicopter, registered VH-HTD, departed a fishing camp situated on the mouth of the Normandy River, Queensland, on a private flight. The pilot was the only person on board.
The pilot was tracking north-west along the coastline at about 600 feet above ground level when he sighted an object in the water, about 100 metres from the coast. The pilot turned the helicopter towards the object and descended to have a closer look.
As the pilot approached the object, he initiated a flare to reduce the airspeed and rate of descent. During the flare, the tail rotor contacted the water and the helicopter began to rotate to the right about the yaw axis. The pilot closed the throttle and the helicopter settled into the water and rolled over to the right. Aircraft came down at Latitude: 14°26’36 Longitude:144°06’.03. The pilot exited through the passenger door without injury and swam to shore.
The pilot then walked towards the mouth of the Normandy River, to the fishing camp that he had departed from. After reaching the fishing camp, the pilot and two fishermen walked about 6 km across a clay pan in search of water and towards a base camp from which they had been conducting mustering operations earlier that day.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) was alerted to the accident by the aircraft’s Emergency Locater Transmitter (ELT), which had activated during the accident sequence. A rescue helicopter was dispatched from Cairns and the pilot and two fishermen were located, at about 06:00 the following day, 1.8 km from the accident site
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. ATSB: https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2012/aair/ao-2012-167/
2. https://www.regosearch.com/aircraft/au/HTD
3. https://my.pinkfroot.com/photo/vh-htd-robinson-r22-beta-ii
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Jun-2018 22:18 | Pineapple | Added |
| 25-Aug-2018 00:19 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 25-Aug-2018 00:25 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative] |
| 09-Jun-2022 11:29 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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