R44 Crash in Brazil

[Tom22]

Low RPM horn blares. Was the pilot clueless?

 

Click the link for the video.

[ElJay]

Maybe couldn't hear it over all of them yelling.

[r22butters]

Maybe couldn't hear it over all of them yelling.

I was going to say the same thing, but then I noticed that he's the only one wearing a headset!

 

These types of crashes keep up its gonna give R44 pilots a bad name!

[Spike]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVhVTOVQ7dM

 

Exterior view.

[RagMan]

He'll be back up in another R44 next week!

 

Remind me never to take a helicopter ride in Brazil.

[Hobie]

What are the teachable moments here? This would be helpful to pass along some good advice. I see a very common set of circumstances here a new tour pilot could easily get himself into.

[WolftalonID]

Talkable point....lower collective...slightly not full down...and aquire some damn airspeed. Whats with that nose pitch and high hover right before loosing lift with the main rotor stall.

[adam32]

He had the collective in his armpit...looks like he had plenty of airspeed to fly out of it but he just went the wrong way with the left hand.

[iChris]

Maybe couldn't hear it over all of them yelling.

 

Earphones may be required to distinguish the low RPM horn over the yelling.

 

Appears that he never really got it flying. Just after takeoff, from 0:54 to 1:03 on the video time line (top video), the low RPM warning horn is on. As he levels off, the horn goes off. As he comes back around at 1:09, the low RPM warning horn comes on again and stays on until they contact the shoreline.

 

I think that’s what that circle back over the takeoff spot was for. He was trying to get speed and altitude to try to fly it out, just didn’t work for him this time.

 

Probably just too heavy for the conditions. What had been working for him earlier in the day, just didn’t work later that day. Something as simple as a small wind direction change could’ve caught him off guard. He had a full house, amount of fuel on board and passenger weight could also be an issue if not managed correctly.

 

When your operational work puts you up at your gross weight, especially in an aircraft that’s not that robust to begin with, Power management skills and awareness are critical.

 

Sometimes, you’ll get lucky and milk out an overweight low RPM situation; however, don’t pat yourself on the back and take it too far, your luck may run out.

 

Note (top video), the low RPM horn comes on twice, 0:54 to 1:03 and 1:09 to 1:29, each of those instances started with the nose of the helicopter pointed out towards the water. Both of those turns out toward the water, may have been downwind. Detrimental to any high gross weight situation.

 

'>https://youtu.be/b3vk7hImIS8

 

'>https://youtu.be/BVhVTOVQ7dM

Edited January 26, 2017 by iChris

[ARM_Coder]

He'll be back up in another R44 next week!

 

Remind me never to take a helicopter ride in Brazil.

 

As a Brazilian pilot I feel embarrassed, because this is the kind of mishap that hits the news and gives us a bad name. But I think that any group anywhere in the world suffers because of its rotten apples.

 

That guy was not only VERY reckless, but was doing paid rides illegally, as the aircraft was not licensed to do charter flights, it is registered just for private use. The "Air Taxi" sign written in the body is totally bogus.

 

I'm not sure the 44 was heavy because the occupants seemed all to be relatively slim. I don't know how much fuel there was in the tanks, however.

 

The serial number of that heli is 0467, what makes me think it's an Astro or a Raven at best, in any case with a carburated engine. Maybe the pilot forgot to close the Carb Heat, that made the engine work with reduced power. Who knows?

 

The only good thing is that no one was severely hurt in this stupid, totally avoidable accident. The heli is most likely totaled, what would be a fair punishment IMO.

 

The point is that, some pilots want to make a fast buck selling rides to clueless people, in addition to adding some thrill with extreme and reckless manoeuvres. Well, so thrilling this ride was, indeed.

[r22butters]

Perhaps this may help? I received it from the FAA a couple months ago.

 

Subject: Helicopter Stabilized Hover Checks Before Departure

 

Purpose: This SAFO emphasizes the importance of utilizing checklists and specifically performing stabilized hover checks before departure.

 

Background: A review of helicopter incidents and accidents over the past five years has identified several accidents where a loss-of-control (LOC) was encountered immediately after liftoff while light on the skids/gear, or from other issues caused by missed checklist items.

 

Discussion: Helicopters have the unique ability to takeoff and land nearly anywhere. While this is among the helicopters greatest attributes, it also can create scenarios leaving little room for error. Several recent helicopter accidents have occurred as a result of pilots not bringing the helicopter to a stabilized hover before initiating takeoff. Rather, pilots elected to immediately and rapidly takeoff from the ground. In some cases, this has led to a LOC where the result was either an incident, or an accident resulting in significant damage to the helicopter and/or fatalities to those onboard. Post-accident analysis indicated that the accident sequence began with indications that were evident when the helicopter was light on the skids, yet the pilot elected not to abort the takeoff by reducing collective. Instead, the pilot continued pulling in collective (or continued manipulating the controls) resulting in a complete LOC. In many of these accidents, the helicopter was not properly configured for flight, either because a checklist item was missed, or because a checklist was not used at all by the pilot. In other instances, pilots have attempted to perform either maximum performance or confined area takeoffs without completing a hover power and systems check. One accident resulted from a pilot attempting a takeoff from the surface without completing a hover power check. As the aircraft lifted from a roof top helipad and over the edge of the rooftop, the aircraft lost altitude and crashed into a parking lot below. It was discovered that one of the two engines was in the fly position but the other engine was still in the idle position. If a hover check was performed before takeoff, this accident could have been prevented.

Recommended Action:

 

It is recommended that pilots perform the following during the takeoff sequence:

 

1. Always ensure the area you are taking off from is sufficient for the conditions and the capabilities of the aircraft, as well as free and clear of debris that could pose a hazard to an aircraft.

 

2. Using strict discipline and without compromise, pilots should ALWAYS USE an APPROPRIATE CHECKLIST to ensure the helicopter is properly configured for takeoff.

 

3. Unless prohibited by environmental conditions such as the possibility of whiteout, brownout, etc., always perform a hover check prior to takeoff. If a takeoff from the surface is required, perform the hover check, land, and then depart from the surface, taking the aircrafts performance into consideration.

 

4. When performing a vertical takeoff, raise the helicopter vertically from the surface to a normal hovering altitude (2 to 3 feet) with minimal lateral or longitudinal movement maintaining a constant heading. If at any time during initial collective pull the helicopter does not appear to be stabilized, ABORT the takeoff by smoothly reducing the collective.

 

5. Review the FAA Helicopter Flying Handbook, Chapter 9, Vertical Takeoff to a Hover and Chapter 10, Advanced Flight Maneuvers. https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/helicopter_flying_handbook/ media/helicopter_flying_handbook.pdf

[Spike]

Power management starts on the ground. There, you plan for expected performance for an estimated set of conditions. Once in the environment, you need to verify and compensate for actual conditions and then apply proper power management techniques. If you are conservative and give yourself a margin, the machine shouldn’t bite you. Here the pilot seems to “yank” the machine off the hover with no real hover power check (conformation of actual performance). A slow and controlled vertical climb out of ground effect would have given the pilot an indication there was not enough power available to sustain flight. Once the RPM decays at full throttle, simply lower the machine back down into ground effect and recover the RPM. After that, safely compensate.

 

And while iChis mentions the possibility of the downwind turn (the most deadly turn in aviation) it’s hard to determine the wind direction. Specifically, at 0:34 into the second video, the blond gal’s hair seems to indicate a wind in her face and thus a downwind take-off. And, if it was the helicopters downwash blowing her hair, it should have never reached her as the helicopter was turning away and a departing headwind would’ve blown the downwash away from the spectators. Maybe that’s why he turned so quickly.