Date:	Monday 11 July 2016
Time:	16:42 UTC
Type:	Eurocopter AS 350B2 Ecureuil
Owner/operator:	Lomas Brothers Ltd t/a Lomas Helicopters
Registration:	G-VGMG
MSN:	2668
Year of manufacture:	1992
Engine model:	Turbomeca Arriel 1D1
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	Lake Heliport, Abbotsham, Bideford, Devon -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	Lake Heliport, Abbotsham, Bideford, Devon
Destination airport:	Lake Heliport, Abbotsham, Bideford, Devon
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
Eurocopter AS 350B2 Ecureuil G-VGMG: Substantially damaged in a 'hard' landing on 11 July 2016 at Lake Heliport, Abbotsham, Bideford, Devon. According to the summary from the AAIB report into the incident:

"During a practice hydraulics-off landing the handling pilot inadvertently tried to land downwind and then pitched up and slowed excessively when he realised this. The helicopter started to yaw so the commander, who was the examiner, took control but experienced a brief freezing of the cyclic, collective and pedals. The helicopter hit the ground heavily, nose down, on the front part of the skids, the tail boom failed and the main rotor struck the vertical fin. The cause of the control freeze could not be identified".

=Nature of Damage to airframe=
Per the AAIB Report "Tail boom failed and damage to skids and vertical tail". The AAIB report also adds "No fault investigation was carried out on G-VGMG because the damage to the helicopter was assessed to be beyond economic repair".

=Additional Information=
The commander had not been expecting the P2 pilot to pitch the helicopter up so suddenly when the P2 pilot realised that they were landing downwind. The commander took control immediately, but the brief apparent freezing of the controls (cyclic, collective and pedals) reduced his ability to bring the helicopter back under control. The commander did not think that the helicopter had suffered any technical fault, and he had experienced a brief freezing of the controls before, but at a greater height so it was not an issue. He did not think that the P2 pilot was resisting him on the controls.

The cyclic/collective control system and the pedal control system are independent, and according to the helicopter manufacturer the probability of having simultaneous freezing of both is “extremely improbable”.

The AS350B2 flight manual highlights the following with a caution:
‘Do not attempt to carry out hydraulic failure hover flight or any low-speed maneuver without hydraulic pressure assistance. The intensity and direction of the control feedback forces will change rapidly. This will result in excessive pilot workload, poor aircraft control, and possible loss of control.’

Lake Heliport at Abbotsham, Bideford, Devon, is situated on the North Devon Coast. The pad is located 5nm South West of RMB Chivenor and 3nm West of Bideford

1. AAIB Final Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/587dfd39ed915d0b12000143/Eurocopter_AS350B2_Ecureuil_G-VGMG_02-17.pdf
2. https://www.lomashelicopters.co.uk/helipad
3. https://www.helis.com/database/cn/47344/
4. https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/G-VGMG.html
5. https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/C-GKIS.html
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bideford

This helicopter was built in 1992, and first UK registered as G-BUJG to Macalpine Helicopters on 16 June 1992. For one month (31 July to 1 September 1992 - that is, the whole of August 1992, plus 2 days) the helicopter was re-registered as G-HEAR, still with Macalpine Helicopters, before reverting to the previous markings as G-BUJG.

After a third spell as G-BUJG (15 October 1992 to 16 March 1999), the helicopter was re-registered as G-WKRD on 16 March 1999, which remained its registration, until a further re-registration as G-KELY on 21 February 2007. The final UK registration was G-VGMG from 15 August 2011

After the above incident on 11 July 2016, G-VGMG had its UK registration cancelled (and the airframe de-registered) on 3 February 2017 as \"Transferred to another country or authority - United States of America\". Despite this assertion, the helicopter instead ended up in Plantagenet, Ontario, Canada as C-GKIS from June 2019 - presumably after repairs/rebuild

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
03-Aug-2023 09:26	harro	Updated
05-Apr-2024 05:57	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]
05-Apr-2024 05:57	ASN	Updated [Category]