Accident NHIndustries NH90 NFH N-324,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 238389
 
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Date:Sunday 19 July 2020
Time:c. 14:30 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic NH90 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
NHIndustries NH90 NFH
Owner/operator:Royal Netherlands Navy
Registration: N-324
MSN: 1324/NNLN17
Fatalities:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 4
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Category:Accident
Location:about 12 km off Aruba -   Aruba
Phase: Approach
Nature:Military
Departure airport:Zr. Ms. Groningen (P843)
Destination airport:Zr. Ms. Groningen (P843)
Investigating agency: Dutch Safety Board
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
An NH90 NFH helicopter of the Royal Netherlands Air Force crashed into sea, about 12km off Aruba, killing a pilot and a tactical coordinator. Two other crew members were rescued.
The helicopter was stationed on the offshore patrol vessel Zr. Ms. Groningen (P843) of the Royal Netherlands Navy, which is based at Curaçao and it was engaged in a patrol mission over the Caribbean.
The accident took place while practicing deck landings on the vessel. The Dutch Safety Board's investigation shows that the helicopter got into trouble when performing a downwind turn. The helicopter's Indicated Airspeed dropped to zero.
Under these circumstances a lot of extra power is needed to keep the helicopter in the air. The pilot added power, but because of the low altitude it was impossible to correct the initiated descent in time. The helicopter quickly lost altitude and hit the water within seconds.

The helicopter had floated inverted but subsequently sank when the two forward Emergency Flotation System bags deflated.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: Dutch Safety Board
Report number: 
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/nederland/artikel/5172274/ongeluk-helikopter-ministerie-van-defensie-nederland
https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/1057651291/helikopter-defensie-neergestort-bij-aruba-twee-doden
https://curacao.nu/neergestorten-helikopter-defensie/
https://marineschepen.nl/nieuws/NH-90-helikopter-Zr-Ms-Groningen-neergestort-200720.html
https://www.defensie.nl/actueel/nieuws/2020/07/20/vliegprogramma-nh90-helikopters-opgeschort
https://nltimes.nl/2020/07/20/defense-nh90-helicopters-grounded-fatal-accident
https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/crashed-dutch-helicopter-sinks
https://www.ivd.nl/actueel/nieuws/2020/08/03/index-technisch-nh90
https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/no-technical-failure-in-helicopter-crash
https://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/nl/page/18001/ongeval-nh90-helikopter-aruba
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/rov-utilised-to-salvage-crashed-dutch-nh90-helicopter-in-the-caribbean
http://aerossurance.com/helicopters/nh90-water-impact-survival
http://aerossurance.com/helicopters/nh90-caribbean-survivability/
https://www.ivd.nl/actueel/nieuws/2021/12/02/index

http://denhelderaviationphotos.weebly.com/uploads/2/5/3/0/25302800/4294192_orig.jpg (photo)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HNLMS_Groningen_(P843)
https://twitter.com/PCazador2021/status/1285057098510929920

Media:

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
20-Jul-2020 03:10 RobertMB Added
20-Jul-2020 03:33 RobertMB Updated [Time, Total occupants, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
20-Jul-2020 05:46 harro Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source]
20-Jul-2020 05:58 harro Updated [Destination airport, Narrative]
20-Jul-2020 06:12 harro Updated [Location]
20-Jul-2020 06:26 Leroy Updated [Registration, Cn]
20-Jul-2020 06:26 harro Updated [Registration, Source, Narrative]
20-Jul-2020 06:32 Aerossurance Updated [Source, Narrative]
20-Jul-2020 07:42 RobertMB Updated [Registration, Cn, Location, Source, Narrative]
20-Jul-2020 12:31 Aerossurance Updated [Source, Narrative]
20-Jul-2020 12:33 Aerossurance Updated [Source]
20-Jul-2020 17:39 RobertMB Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
20-Jul-2020 17:43 Aerossurance Updated [Embed code, Narrative]
21-Jul-2020 06:34 Anon. Updated [Embed code]
27-Jul-2020 08:07 Aerossurance Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative]
10-Aug-2020 21:27 Aerossurance Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative]
09-Dec-2020 09:22 Aerossurance Updated [Operator, Phase, Source, Narrative]
09-Dec-2020 10:28 harro Updated [Narrative, Accident report]
12-Dec-2020 18:29 Aerossurance Updated [Source, Accident report]
13-Dec-2020 09:31 Aerossurance Updated [Embed code, Accident report]
19-Dec-2021 14:56 Aerossurance Updated [Source, Embed code]

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