NTSB released prelim report on 2013 Alaska Trooper crash

[AngelFire_91]

How common are these aftermarket types of recording equipment found on ships like this?

The previous company I was flying for was the original test bed for the Appareo System, back WAY before the Vision 1000 even was a thought, and during the trial periods of the GAU 100 (I don't think they even admit this was a thing anymore) and the ALERTS system. The system is EXTREMELY capable and is very impressive. It will definitely record any perimeters you could ever dream of, and then you can go back and replay an animated movie of the exact flight or the graphs like in this report. With the Vision 1000 system you can overlay the cockpit video and it basically will re-create an exact picture of what was going on in the cockpit.

 

Here is an example of the type of animation it creates, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iInEsXKNzI

 

As far as common place in the aviation world, I'm pretty sure that after our company was done with the initial testing Appareo went to what was then Air Logistics (now Bristow) in the gulf and installed a system in every one of their heli's. And Heligirl is correct, all of the new B3e Astars come standard equipped with the GAU 2000 and Vision 1000 System.

 

Either way, to my understanding, all Alaska pilots become search pilots at one time or another. That is, ad-hoc searches would be considered the norm….

Spike is entirely correct on this. I have been flying in Alaska for almost a year now and have already been asked to participate in 3 Searches. 1 was just to help locate an ELT, 1 for a paraglider that potentially crashed and the other for a lost hiker. Now, most of the time it usually is just a request that while you are enroute you keep an eye out. But our company has been requested to assist in searches before and in those cases a trooper from AST or other affiliated Rescue group will join us and is trained in such operations. While some of the rescue groups are volunteer in the means of pay. I hardly would call them volunteer in their training and experience.

[Whistlerpilot]

First of all my condolences to Mel's family and friends. I can empathize how difficult it must be to lose him and come to accept how this could happen to such an experienced pilot and the loss of his passengers too.

 

Looking at all the accident data sent a chill down my spine. I spent 3.5 years flying in Alaska and did low level fish surveys for AK Fish and Game on all the rivers around Talkeetna. I can't help but follow closely this accident investigation because I know where it happened and can imagine being in Mel's situation.

 

The thought of flying at night in those conditions makes me wake up at night in a sweat.

 

It reminds me of a similar AK night accident in 2011 where the pilot got into snow after dark.

 

http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20111031X10241&key=1

 

Immediately after that 2011 accident I started carrying way more overnight gear because it you know heli-camping will be comfortable it makes the decision to just land and stay put easier.

 

Looking at Mel's flight data things go sideways right after he cages the attitude indicator. That's a big clue to me that his attention was on the artificial horizon.

 

At night over trees, with a low ceiling in falling snow or rain it's really hard to see outside the helicopter. I was in a less desperate situation once (still technically VMC) and had to fly the gauges for 20 minutes to get through Tahneta Pass and back to good reference to the ground. Lucky for me I had a 3000 foot ceiling and actually VMC. Still the snow effect at night over trees meant I had to get on the instruments. You know what it's like driving at night and have to slow way down and follow the shoulder because the falling snow rushing at you is totally dissorienting? That's my guess at the situation Mel found himself in, possibly compounded by switching from NVG's to instruments as Wally and others mentioned. Unfortunately he didn't have the ceiling to climb and looks like he went IMC. Ground at 700 feet with 1100 foot terrain close by. He got to 2000 feet at one point but that was almost certainly in cloud. I can understand why he turned away from the powerline a few minutes earlier.

 

I don't see any obvious mechanical problems. The other issue would be icing with the conditions on the night. It looks to me like all the clues point towards loss of visual reference with the ground.

 

I am deeply affected by this accident. When the NTSB releases the final report I want to learn from it. I've been stung by loss of reference (read upside-down in the snow) and don't want to get over my head again. It's a tough industry because there's a lot of pressure, sometimes internal to get the job done. In this context it's not worth giving your life for though. This summer I flew in some pretty scuddy low vis weather where we had to fly low along a tight river canyon. Another pilot was doing the same thing that day too. We discussed the consequences of an engine chip light in that situation with no good options for an emergency landing. Sometimes the less obvious hazard would be compounded by the obvious one.

 

I'm not making any judgements, Mel was a way more experienced pilot than I am.

Edited February 10, 2014 by Whistlerpilot

[Whistlerpilot]

Alaska State Troopers respond to questions about helo 1 crash.

 

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20140209/troopers-respond-questions-about-helo-1-crash