ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 262219
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| Date: | Tuesday 11 May 2021 |
| Time: | 10:33 LT |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350B2 Ecureuil |
| Owner/operator: | Héli-Express Inc |
| Registration: | C-GHEX |
| MSN: | 2867 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1995 |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca ARRIEL 1D1 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Les Escoumins, QC -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | External load operation |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | TSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
An AS350 B2 helicopter operated by Héli-Express Inc. was conducting a slinging flight along a high voltage line 1.7 NM north of Les Escoumins, QC.
The tail rotor gearbox and tail rotor separated from the helicopter while in flight.
The pilot dropped the load and headed for a dirt runway not far from his position to make an emergency landing.
During the approach, there was a deceleration and the helicopter began to spin to the left. The pilot was unable to regain control of the helicopter and decided to cut off the fuel supply to stop the spinning motion and attempt a non-powered landing. The aircraft struck the ground hard in an upright position without tipping onto its side. The emergency locator transmitter was activated.
A second helicopter landed shortly thereafter with rescue personnel and the injured pilot was pilot was transported to the hospital.
Findings as to causes and contributing factors
1. The work site’s fixed deadlines and the associated contractual impacts of not meeting those deadlines put time pressures on the site workers, and indirectly on the pilots. Faced with these pressures, the pilots preferred to transport the loads without a sling to save time.
2. Given that the risks associated with transporting a light load without a sling were not fully understood by the pilots and the operations manager, and given that no concerns were raised, the pilot concluded that the platform could be safely carried horizontally without a sling.
3. Based on experience from previous flights, the pilot expected the load to stabilize as the helicopter accelerated; however, the platform continued to oscillate and struck the tail boom.
4. The nose-up pitch initiated by the pilot to slow the helicopter brought the tail rotor into close proximity with the platform that had just been jettisoned, and it came into contact with the platform, causing the tail rotor and gearbox to be torn out in flight, unbeknownst to the pilot.
5. The pilot took action to reduce speed to a minimum and descend as low as possible before shutting down the engine to stop the spin. When power was cut, the helicopter was likely at a height that could not sufficiently dampen the autorotational descent, resulting in substantial damage to the helicopter and severe injuries to the pilot during the hard landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/deploiement-deployment/aviation/2021/20210517.html
https://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2021/a21q0024/a21q0024.html
https://aerossurance.com/helicopters/poor-contracting-practices-and-a-canadian-helicopter-heslo-accident/
Location
Media:
A HESLO accident case study that highlights how poor contracting practices drive up risk and how to avoid that.https://t.co/w62LWgzco6 #helicopter #procurement #heslo #flightsafety #aviationsafety #safetymanagement #safeyculture pic.twitter.com/cr3VZg5ZlG
— Aerossurance (@Aerossurance) April 16, 2023
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-May-2021 22:38 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 23-May-2021 09:37 | harro | Updated [Registration, Cn, Operator, Phase, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
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