Don't forget to check that pitot tube....

[John90290]

Not a helicopter but amazing how much depends on that little tube...

 

The U.K. AAIB released the final report of their investigation into a serious incident which occurred at Accra, Ghana in January 2009. A Boeing 757 had a blocked pitot tube. On takeoff the pilot noticed a discrepancy in the airspeed indications. He decided to continue the takeoff and deal with the problem whilst airborne. While climbing the crew attempted to isolate the left Air Data Computer from the Autopilot and Flight Director System. Passing FL316, the VNAV mode became active and the Flight Management Computer’s (FMCs), which use the left ADC as their input of aircraft speed, sensed an overspeed condition and provided a pitch-up command to slow the aircraft. The co-pilot was concerned about the aircraft’s behaviour and, after several verbal prompts to the commander, pushed the control column forward. The commander, uncertain as to what was failing, believed that a stick-pusher had activated. He disengaged the automatics and lowered the aircraft’s nose, then handed over control to the co-pilot. A MAYDAY was declared and the aircraft returned to Accra. The operator’s subsequent engineering investigation discovered the remains of a beetle-like creature in the left pitot system. (AAIB)

[r22butters]

One time while pre-flighting an R22 I noticed that the well below the cooling fan was filled with water, evidently the drain hole had become blocked. I don't know how it would have affected the flight, but you gotta check those holes.

[JDHelicopterPilot]

Once during training I told my instructor something wasn't right. While on downwind I told him "isn't it strange I just got to full throttle but we're only doing about 60knots?" We landed and it turned out we had a partial blockage of the pitot tube. This was in the 300CB by the way.

 

JD

[PhotoFlyer]

A mechanic came up to me and informed me he had found a finger tight (loose) bolt on one of the pitch links of a helicopter I was supposed to fly the next day. It had already flown 3.5 hours that day.

 

Three people missed it before it was found. Me, the pilot who flew the 3.5 hours, and the mechanic who did the last daily inspection. After my preflight (helicopter dropped off mid-day) I had a couple of squawks, and expressed my concerns about the helicopter since it had had major maintenance recently, and I found some items that were missed when it was put back into service. I'm annoyed that I missed that bolt, but I'm very glad I expressed my misgivings that caused him to look closely at the helicopter.

 

Moral of the story: Everybody can miss stuff and make mistakes, no matter how experienced. Don't ever ignore that little voice that says something is wrong. Even if you don't know what it is.

Edited December 17, 2009 by PhotoFlyer

[lelebebbel]

One time while pre-flighting an R22 I noticed that the well below the cooling fan was filled with water, evidently the drain hole had become blocked. I don't know how it would have affected the flight, but you gotta check those holes.

 

I've seen that one... makes a nice water vapor cloud, and everyone thinks the engine just blew up when the water hits the fan