ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 275488
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| Date: | Monday 14 February 2022 |
| Time: | c 15:15 |
| Type: |  Bell-Garlick UH-1H Iroquois |
| Owner/operator: | Richmond Valley Aviation |
| Registration: | VH-UHX |
| MSN: | 4572 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1965 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming T53-L-703 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Pipers Brook, Lebrina, TAS -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Fire fighting |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A UH-1H helicopter was supporting the Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) by providing aerial firebombing support to the Lebrina bushfire, in northern Tasmania. The pilot was requested by TFS to provide firebombing assistance to combat a spot fire that had flared up on the western flank of the fireground and at 15:09 local time the pilot departed the TFS staging area. After transiting to a nearby dam and loading water into the underslung bucket, the pilot tracked toward the spot fire.
Witnesses observed the unexpected early release of water from the underslung bucket prior to reaching the target, before the helicopter tracked away from the location of the spot fire toward an open paddock. As the helicopter approached the paddock, the helicopter was observed to rotate rapidly before pitching steeply nose-down and descending. The helicopter collided heavily with terrain in a tail low, upright orientation before coming to rest on its left side. A post‑impact fire started in the engine bay, destroying the helicopter. The pilot received fatal injuries.
Contributing factors
- During the conduct of firebombing operations, the helicopter’s engine-to-transmission main KAflex drive shaft partially failed due to fracture of a flex frame attaching bolt, or a flex frame element and entered fail-safe mode. It is probable this resulted in the pilot jettisoning the water load from the underslung bucket and diverting toward clear ground.
- As the helicopter was slowed during a descent over clear ground, the main drive shaft decoupled, probably at about the time the longline and underslung bucket were released. The failure resulted in an instantaneous loss of drive to the rotor system.
- Following loss of drive to the main rotor system, the pilot was unable to complete a survivable autorotative descent and landing, probably due to a critical reduction in main rotor speed.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-14/aircraft-lebrina-paddock-crash-northern-tasmania/100829148
https://www.theage.com.au/national/pilot-dies-in-helicopter-crash-while-fighting-tasmanian-bushfires-20220214-p59wf6.html
https://www.police.tas.gov.au/news-events/media-releases/man-dies-following-helicopter-crash-in-northern-tasmania/
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/7620234/helicopter-crashes-near-lebrina-bushfire-emergency-services-responding/
https://www.news.com.au/national/helicopter-fighting-bushfires-crashes-in-tasmania/news-story/b2d006e28b36dfe453b5d7f936e9f438
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/VHUHX/history/20220213/2138Z
http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2022/aair/ao-2022-006/
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/5/42962_1573720050.jpg (photo)
ex 64-13865, AMARC-XA0459, N454BB, N2777W.
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 15 November 2019 | VH-UHX | GBR - Great Barrier Reef Helicopters | near Tully Aerodrome, QLD | |
unk |
Media:
Emergency services are on the scene of a helicopter crash near Lebrina @7tasnews pic.twitter.com/CgNmdfojGK
— Garth Burley (@garthburley1) February 14, 2022
The ATSB has launched an investigation into a fatal helicopter accident involving a UH-1H helicopter near Pipers Brook, Tasmania, on 14 February.
— ATSB (@atsbgovau) February 15, 2022
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Feb-2022 06:45 | gerard57 | Added |
| 14-Feb-2022 07:56 | gerard57 | Updated [Total fatalities, Source, Narrative] |
| 14-Feb-2022 08:28 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Location, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 14-Feb-2022 08:30 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
| 14-Feb-2022 08:31 | Aerossurance | Updated [Narrative] |
| 14-Feb-2022 09:35 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 14-Feb-2022 18:18 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 15-Feb-2022 06:41 | Aerossurance | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 15-Feb-2022 06:41 | Aerossurance | Updated [[Aircraft type, Registration, Location, Source, Narrative]] |
| 15-Feb-2022 07:31 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 15-Feb-2022 08:41 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
| 15-Feb-2022 09:27 | A.J.Scholten | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 15-Feb-2022 13:19 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Source] |
| 16-Feb-2022 13:38 | Captain Adam | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Feb-2022 20:37 | harro | Updated [Source] |
| 16-May-2022 06:11 | harro | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Mar-2024 07:04 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, Accident report] |
| 12-Mar-2024 07:38 | ASN | Updated [Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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