12-Apr-13 N909SH Eurocopter EC145 Sioux Falls, US-South Dakota
12-Apr-13
Precautionary landing after left transmission oil indication below normal limits. Later traced to faulty transmission oil pressure transmitter
New Zealand proposes AD to force R44 bladder tank issue
Source: NZ CAA, 11-Apr-13
The CAA proposes the following new Airworthiness Directive requiring the replacement of aluminium fuel tanks on Robinson R44 series aircraft with new bladder-type tanks of improved resistance to post-accident rupture. The AD is prompted by reports of three Robinson R44 accidents in Australia involving fuel tank ruptures and fires. These accidents resulted in the loss [...]
UK AAIB Bulletin – April 2013
Source: AAIB, 11-Apr-13
The monthly bulletin from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch has been released. This month’s issue covers the accident(s) of:- Hiller UH-12 B (N38763), tail struck ground during landing, Elstree Aerodrome, Hertfordshire, 4 August 2012
11-Apr-13 G-EROM Robinson R22B Redhill, UK
11-Apr-13
Substantially damaged – solo student training flight
10-Apr-13 ZK-HTQ Robinson R22 Tarras, New Zealand
10-Apr-13
Helicopter was left unattended with the engine running. The helicopter became airborne, spun around, and struck the ground.
Bell Drives Industry Focus on Safety Through New Safety Symposiums
Source: Bell, 09-Apr-13
A new initiative for Bell Helicopter in 2013, the safety symposium educates maintainers and operators on key safety practices and applications to implement into their daily operations. The effort is tied in part to Bell Helicopter’s participation in the International Helicopter Safety Team’s mission to achieve an 80 percent reduction in the rate of international [...]
09-Apr-12 Boeing AH-64 Pechigram district, Afghanistan (2F)
09-Apr-13
Two US soldiers killed in helicopter crash. A press release from the Pennsylvania National Guard named the pair as Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Ruffner, 34, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jarett Yoder, 27.
09-Apr-13 C-GZBA Eurocopter AS350B3e Tenquille Lake, Canada
09-Apr-13
Blade strike on landing after snow blew up around helicopter on approach
09-Apr-13 ZK-HLY Robinson R44 Christchurch, New Zealand
09-Apr-13
Moved on its pad while the pilot was conducting checks after engine start, with the tail rotor striking and rupturing a container of AVGAS.
FAA Extends Tower Closure Date
Source: FAA, 08-Apr-13
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today that it will delay the closures of all 149 federal contract air traffic control towers until June 15. Last month, the FAA announced it would eliminate funding for these towers as part of the agency’s required $637 million budget cuts under sequestration. This additional [...]
Oil support Mi-8 down in Peru – 13 fatalities
Source: HeliHub.com, 08-Apr-13
This news item is part of the accident data provided by HeliHub.com on this site. Information provided in this update may potentially be incomplete or inaccurate as we frequently post these stories only a very short time after the accident has occurred. Users of HeliHub.com are advised to carry out their own checks and searches, [...]
07-Apr-13 OB-1916P Mil-8 Loreto, Peru (13F)
07-Apr-13
Incident summary – Oil exploration support helicopter went down, killing all on board. Initial reports vary between 13 and 14 fatalities after initial reports of 9. Some local news sources are saying it exploded in the air, 10 minutes from its destination. The helicopter was supporting work by Perenco Peru, who issued a statement saying that apart from [...]
Australia may ground R44s without bladder tank upgrade
Source: ATSB, 05-Apr-13
Robinson R44 helicopters that have not been fitted with upgraded fuel tanks face being grounded from 30 April 2013. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has issued a direction to all affected R44 helicopter operators about the installation of flexible fuel tanks to reduce the risk of post-accident fires. CASA has made it clear that R44 [...]
No criminal proceedings for April 2009 Bond AS332L2 accident
Source: Scottish Crown Office, 05-Apr-13
On 1 April 2009 Super Puma helicopter AS332 L2 G-REDL crashed into the North Sea resulting in the deaths of all 16 men on board. Having carefully considered all the circumstances of this incident, Crown Counsel have decided that there is insufficient evidence for a prosecution and as result no criminal proceedings are instructed. The [...]
05-Apr-12 Eurocopter BK117 Parsdorf, Germany
05-Apr-13
“Christoph 1″ helicopter cut telephone line on approach to site landing to pick up patient injured in equine accident
05-Apr-13 Bell UH-1 Balauana, Tunisia
05-Apr-13
2 of 5 on board injured in heavy landing while on post-maintenance test flight
05-Apr-13 N520PA Hughes 500D Lihue, US-Hawaii
05-Apr-13
Found damage to trailing edge of rotor blade(s) on post-flight inspection
Bravo Helicopters owner dies in R44 accident
Source: HeliHub.com, 04-Apr-13
Miami-Dade Police have today issued a statement naming Mark Palmieri, aged 53, as the deceased pilot of the R44 which came down in a fatal crash close to Tamiami Airport yesterday. Palmieri was the owner of Bravo Helicopters, which was based at the airport. There is no indication at this time as to the cause [...]
Step Change in Safety report highlights offshore safety achievements
Source: Step Change, 04-Apr-13
Step Change in Safety has published its 2013 Annual Update report and has called on the UK oil and gas industry to continue its focus on improving safety performance. The report reviews the organisation’s achievements over the last year and identifies where it will focus its attention in future. Highlights include: The launch of the Workforce Engagement Toolkit – [...]
03-Apr-13 N3101H Robinson R44 Tamiami, US-Florida (2F)
03-Apr-13
Crashed into a parking lot two miles after take-off, killing both occupants. Non-aviation witnesses report an explosion before the helicopter reached the ground. Post crash fire. The deceased were later named by Miami Dade Police as pilot Mark Palmieri and passenger Ross Allen. One report states it was a post-maintenance test flight
