ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 280195
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| Date: | Saturday 9 July 2022 |
| Time: | 11:43 |
| Type: |  Bell 206L-1 LongRanger II |
| Owner/operator: | NSW Helicopters Pty Ltd |
| Registration: | VH-ZMF |
| MSN: | 45285 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1979 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near South Maroota, NSW -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Cattai, NSW |
| Upper MacDonald, NSW | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
At about 11:35 the Bell 206L-1 LongRanger II VH-ZMF departed Cattai for a private flight. At about 11:43, the helicopter broke-up in-flight and impacted terrain about 10 km to the north of the departure point.
The sole pilot, chief pilot of NSW Helicopters, died and the helicopter was destroyed by fire.
Contributing factors
- Sun position and pilot workload at the control zone boundary likely resulted in the pilot not identifying a potential airborne collision risk.
- While cruising at about 700 ft AMSL, the aircraft struck a wedgetail eagle just below the left windscreen.
- The pilot was likely startled by the birdstrike resulting in an abrupt control input, which led to the main rotor blades contacting the tail boom and subsequent in-flight break-up.
ex VH-MFF, N96HC
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-09/clouds-of-black-smoke-issue-from-helicopter-crash/101223952
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/emergency-services-respond-to-helicopter-crash-in-sydney-s-north-west-20220709-p5b0db.html
https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/helicopter-crashes-in-thick-bushland-near-south-maroota-north-of-sydney/news-story/eed65654e1587ce16715d7ecd300f7e7
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10997503/Helicopter-pilot-Carl-Hearps-killed-horror-crash-remote-NSW-bushland-beloved-hero-dad.html
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2022/aair/ao-2022-034/
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/6/81108_1541577577.jpg (photo)
Media:
🇦🇺 Australia : One dead after Bell 206L-1 LongRanger II helicopter crash in remote bushland into a riverbank at South Maroota in north-west Sydney.
— PLANES OF LEGEND (@PlanesOfLegend) July 10, 2022
ASN: https://t.co/2AyeK8kZBn
Press: https://t.co/fxfE2OivXy
📷 JetPhotos / Luke Priestley pic.twitter.com/gZTfVt7nNk
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Jul-2022 06:03 | gerard57 | Added |
| 09-Jul-2022 07:12 | harro | Updated [Location, Phase, Nature, Category] |
| 09-Jul-2022 07:14 | harro | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source] |
| 09-Jul-2022 07:45 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 09-Jul-2022 07:47 | RobertMB | Updated [Narrative] |
| 09-Jul-2022 13:50 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 10-Jul-2022 19:29 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 15-Jul-2022 06:14 | harro | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 12-May-2023 06:39 | harro | Updated [[Time, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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