mycorrado Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 It appears a Careflite helicopter made an emergency landing here in Denton, no injuries. Engine problem? engine cowlings are off.. http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/20084644/careflite-helicopter-has-hard-landing-in-baseball-field Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycorrado Posted November 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 wow, second incident for that company in two months? http://www.wfaa.com/news/texas-news/Three-hurt-in-hard-landing-of-CareFlite-helicopter-171998461.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DontCallMeShirley Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 There was another CareFlite 222 that went down in 2010 with a separated tail boom. Its described as a "fiery crash". Wonder what happened with that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 I dont know if it applies here, but I have landed and needed to call in the mechanic. I dont know much about the Mx side, but I knew enough to get the thing opened up and cooling off before the mechanic got there....... and have a nice cold Pepsi sitting on his desk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DontCallMeShirley Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 I dont know if it applies here, but I have landed and needed to call in the mechanic. I dont know much about the Mx side, but I knew enough to get the thing opened up and cooling off before the mechanic got there....... and have a nice cold Pepsi sitting on his desk. Just out of curiosity and not to hijack the thread, what were the warning signs you saw that led you to make that choice? I imagine there a are a lot of people who might stretch it back to the airport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDHelicopterPilot Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 There are any number of things which my result in a pilot landing ASAP rather than continue on to the airport. First, one should consult the RFM. Second, one example would be a M/R transmission chip light. With one of those I am going to land ASAP and not prolong the flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 (edited) It appears a Careflite helicopter made an emergency landing here in Denton, no injuries. Engine problem? engine cowlings are off.. http://www.myfoxdfw....-baseball-field That's the aft portion of the servo deck cowling from overhead the cabin, removed and apparently hanging beside the aircraft.The engine cowlings are behind the mast.I'd take the "hard landing" with a grain of salt. Edited November 14, 2012 by Wally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjibbs Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 There was another CareFlite 222 that went down in 2010 with a separated tail boom. Its described as a "fiery crash". Wonder what happened with that one. From what I understood, this was a mtx flight and the MR head separated in flight, severing the tail boom and killing both on board. It was the lead pilot and A/P who was 23 years old. Fuselage was located pretty far from the tail section. Pretty sad story. I happened to had made acquaintance with both of them from my time flying the area... Worst part was during the investigation they discovered that this was the 5th helicopter purchased from a particular company that ultimately ended with a fatal crash. I never followed up on it and forget the name of them now but that's pretty unfortunate stuff. Wonder what was going on at that previous operator.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotortramp Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 From what I understood, this was a mtx flight and the MR head separated in flight, severing the tail boom and killing both on board. It was the lead pilot and A/P who was 23 years old. Fuselage was located pretty far from the tail section. Pretty sad story. I happened to had made acquaintance with both of them from my time flying the area... Worst part was during the investigation they discovered that this was the 5th helicopter purchased from a particular company that ultimately ended with a fatal crash. I never followed up on it and forget the name of them now but that's pretty unfortunate stuff. Wonder what was going on at that previous operator.... Do you know why the main separated? Looking for NTSB report to see if I can find anything. Edit: From NTSB: "The helicopter was on a postmaintenance flight when it experienced an in-flight breakup about 8 minutes after departure, collided with the ground, and exploded into flames. Several witnesses reported seeing the tail boom, main rotor hub, main rotor blades, and other debris separate from the helicopter. One witness heard a "loud crack" sound. A postaccident examination revealed that the helicopter's swashplate A-side drive pin had failed in flight, which resulted in the helicopter's in-flight breakup and uncontrolled descent. The separated head of the drive pin remained in the interior of the swashplate. The fractured drive pin hole exhibited mechanical damage, with the markings of increased amplitude and spacing progressing outward, which suggests that the fractured drive pin oscillated and then ejected from its hole." "Based on the fracture topography, it is likely that the swashplate A-side drive pin fractured as a result of hydrogen embrittlement. Investigators were unable to conclusively determine the source of the hydrogen." That's a bit unsettling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjibbs Posted November 19, 2012 Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 Gosh. That's terrible. Sad stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.