ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 22277
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| Date: | Tuesday 5 August 2008 |
| Time: | 19:41 |
| Type: |  Sikorsky S-61N |
| Owner/operator: | Carson Helicopters |
| Registration: | N612AZ |
| MSN: | 61297 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1965 |
| Engine model: | General Electric CT58-140 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 13 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Weaverville, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Fire fighting |
| Departure airport: | Weaverville, CA (H-44) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On August 5, 2008, about 1941 LT, a Sikorsky S-61N helicopter, N612AZ, impacted trees and terrain during the initial climb after takeoff from Helispot 44 (H-44), located at an elevation of about 6,000 feet in mountainous terrain near Weaverville, California. The pilot-in-command, the safety crewmember, and seven firefighters were fatally injured; the copilot and three firefighters were seriously injured. Impact forces and a postcrash fire destroyed the helicopter, which was being operated by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) as a public flight to transport firefighters from H-44 to another helispot. The USFS had contracted with Carson Helicopters, Inc. (CHI) of Grants Pass, Oregon, for the services of the helicopter, which was registered to CHI and leased to Carson Helicopter Services, Inc. of Grants Pass. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a company visual flight rules flight plan had been filed.
Probable Cause: The following actions by Carson Helicopters: 1) the intentional understatement of the helicopter's empty weight, 2) the alteration of the power available chart to exaggerate the helicopter's lift capability, and 3) the practice of using unapproved above-minimum specification torque in performance calculations that, collectively, resulted in the pilots relying on performance calculations that significantly overestimated the helicopter's load-carrying capacity and did not provide an adequate performance margin for a successful takeoff; and insufficient oversight by the U.S. Forest Service and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Contributing to the accident was the failure of the flight crewmembers to address the fact that the helicopter had approached its maximum performance capability on their two prior departures from the accident site because they were accustomed to operating at the limit of the helicopter’s performance.
Contributing to the fatalities were the immediate, intense fire that resulted from the spillage of fuel upon impact from the fuel tanks that were not crash resistant, the separation from the floor of the cabin seats that were not crash resistant, and the use of an inappropriate release mechanism on the cabin seat restraints.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 30 April 1970 | CF-OKP | Okanagan | 0 | Shelburne, NS |  |
sub |
Location
Images:
(c) NTSB
(c) NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Aug-2008 08:54 | agentfazexx | Added |
| 06-Aug-2008 08:56 | harro | Updated |
| 06-Aug-2008 23:25 | harro | Updated |
| 19-Jul-2009 10:57 | Anon. | Updated |
| 16-Sep-2009 10:39 | harro | Updated |
| 16-Sep-2009 10:39 | harro | Updated |
| 25-Nov-2014 21:54 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 06-Mar-2016 09:35 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:14 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:16 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:20 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 03-Dec-2017 11:57 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 30-Jul-2019 07:02 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Nature] |
| 30-Jan-2020 07:06 | Anon. | Updated [Departure airport] |
| 30-Jan-2020 18:45 | Anon. | Updated [Phase] |
| 30-Jan-2020 18:47 | harro | Updated [Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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