9-Feb-2010Source: ABC
A north Queensland mayor wants a bat colony to be moved away from the Charters Towers Hospital due to concerns about the danger to air traffic.... Read more
8-Feb-2010Source: WRAL
Accident aircraft was Hughes 269A N115ES – NTSB report here... Read more
4-Feb-2010Source: Air Methods
Air Methods Corporation (Nasdaq:AIRM) recently was informed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that it successfully exited Level 1 Safety Management System (SMS) status and is currently working toward achieving Level 2 SMS status. Air Methods believes it is currently the only helicopter air medical operator to participate in the FAA’s SMS voluntary implementation program,... Read more
2-Feb-2010Source: Oilweek
“The events of March 12th changed my life forever, there´s no doubt about that,” said Burt, who is also a vice-president of Cougar´s parent company, VIH Aviation... Read more
29-Jan-2010Source: Canada.com
Cougar Helicopters found a single, hairline crack in a main gearbox footing of a Sikorsky S-92A helicopter that flies workers in Newfoundland to and from the offshore oilfields.... Read more
29-Jan-2010Source: HeliHub.com
The FAA have got very confused today. They have put out an accident report stating the date as 29-Jan-10 (today) and the time as 2330 UTC, and it’s not yet 2130 UTC as we file this on HeliHub.com Not only that, the helicopter is unregistered and not intended for flight… perhaps it’s children’s climbing frame... Read more
29-Jan-2010Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer
HeliHub.com report on this 19-Aug-09 accident is here... Read more
29-Jan-2010Source: Boston Globe
A 51-year-old Medford man has been convicted of shining a green laser beam into a Massachusetts State Police helicopter... Read more
27-Jan-2010Source: STV
see HeliHub.com Safety Documents page for relevant documentation... Read more
25-Jan-2010Source: HAI
On January 13 and 14, Helicopter Association International (HAI) President Matt Zuccaro attended a meeting of HAI affiliate, the Helicopter Safety Advisory Conference (HSAC), in New Orleans. The first day of the meeting involved HSAC committee work sessions addressing such issues as flight following/ADS-B implementation, HSAC-recommended safety procedures, and maintenance technologies. The second day consisted... Read more
25-Jan-2010Source: Typically Spanish
HeliHub.com page for this accident can be found here... Read more
21-Jan-2010Source: HAI
Generally, accidents are not the result of any one single event, but the product of several. My view is that every flight must pass through several gates in sequential order for the accident to happen — the final gate being the pilot. Logically, we as pilots have the final opportunity to prevent an accident. A... Read more
21-Jan-2010Source: Outlook India
The helicopter crash which claimed the life of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S R Reddy was caused by pilots’ error who lost the chopper’s control and were engrossed for vital six minutes trying to locate a flight manual HeliHub.com page for this accident is here... Read more
19-Jan-2010Source: HAI
HAI is pleased to announce the 2010 AgustaWestland Safety Award recipient, Terry Palmer; Manager of Rotorcraft Programs, Flight Safety International, Dallas, Texas. Terry Palmer’s impressive aviation career began when she served on the airport board in Mesquite, Texas while obtaining her initial pilot ratings. Soon after, in 1989, she opened an FAA Part 141 Flight... Read more
19-Jan-2010Source: HeliHub.com
HeliHub.com Data Analysis – definitive and reliable reviews on key aspects of the global helicopter industry. We are launching this new series of articles with a statistical review of fatal helicopter accidents in 2009. HeliHub.com maintains an ongoing review of helicopter accidents throughout the year – see our Helicopter Accident page. Our review of fatal... Read more
18-Jan-2010Source: AAIB
The monthly bulletin from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch has been released. This month’s issue covers the accidents of:- Agusta A109A II, G-ELTE – at Redhill Aerodrome, Surry on 02-May-08 Eurocopter EC135 T1, G-CCAU – at Hindlip Hall, Hindlip, Worcestershire on 04-Dec-08... Read more
18-Jan-2010Source: CAA
A new law that makes shining a light or laser at an aircraft a specific criminal offence has been introduced. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which initiated the new law, said it was in response to the growing number of incidents involving laser devices being shone at airliners and helicopters near British airports... Read more
18-Jan-2010Source: KCRG
Accident involved Bell 206 N2877F on June 30, 2006... Read more
16-Jan-2010Source: Defence Industry Daily
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15-Jan-2010Source: Scotsman
More than £300,000 raised in memory of the 16 men killed in a Super Puma helicopter crash in the North Sea last year is to be distributed to 11 charities chosen by the bereaved families. Funds have also been set aside for a “symbol of remembrance” in a public garden in Aberdeen... Read more
15-Jan-2010Source: Irish Times
Accident was on 18-Sep-08 at Bettystown, County Meath, and involved S76B registered N399BH... Read more
12-Jan-2010Source: Salt Lake Tribune
Search-and-rescue officials along the Wasatch Front hope long-range helicopter avalanche-beacon-receiver technology and training will get them to the victim before it happens.... Read more
12-Jan-2010Source: Toronto Sun
Oil company executives at an offshore helicopter inquiry said safety is their top priority — even as a lawyer representing workers pushed to question them on why it took nine years to introduce underwater breathing devices onboard.... Read more
12-Jan-2010Source: ABC
Reports of airplanes hitting birds and other wildlife have soared in the year since a stricken US Airways jet landed in New York’s Hudson River, and the government’s tally for last year could reach or even exceed 10,000 for the first time.... Read more
12-Jan-2010Source: FAA
WASHINGTON — Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Randy Babbitt announced today that Houston air traffic controllers are beginning to use an improved satellite-based system – Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) — to more efficiently and safely separate and manage aircraft flying over the Gulf of Mexico. “Safety is our highest priority at the U.S. Department of... Read more
11-Jan-2010
No.: 2010 – 20080616008 Date: January 11, 2010 AFFECTED PRODUCTS: High Cross Tubes, Part number 9002 installed on UH-1H model helicopters... Read more
8-Jan-2010Source: Daily Comet
Refers to accident 04-Jan-2009 – HeliHub record of the accident is here.... Read more
7-Jan-2010Source: USFS
Subject: Medications, Flying, and Fitness Area of Concern: All Aviation Activities Distribution: All Aviation Users... Read more
7-Jan-2010Source: NLR
Due to blowing sand, a helicopter pilot’s in-flight visibility can be severely restricted during landings in deserts. At the request of the Dutch Ministry of Defence, the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) has recently started working on finding solutions to support pilots during these precarious desert landings. Missions in Afghanistan and Iraq have made the issue... Read more
6-Jan-2010Source: REGA press release translated and lightly edited.
On Sunday, a crew member of a REGA Swiss Air Ambulance helicopter was sadly killed while performing his job. Rega is extremely sad and condolences to the relatives of the deceased doctor and the relatives of the two who were killed also their heartfelt condolences. Rega had been called to an avalanche in Diemtigtal in... Read more
6-Jan-2010Source: Winnipeg Free Press
The families of passengers who died in the crash of a Sikorsky helicopter off the coast of Newfoundland last year, as well as the sole survivor of the tragedy, have reached a settlement in their lawsuit against the U.S. company.... Read more
6-Jan-2010Source: FAA
What is a Safety Management System (SMS)? SMS is the formal, top-down business approach to managing safety risk, which includes a systemic approach to managing safety, including the necessary organizational structures, accountabilities, policies and procedures. (Order VS 8000.367) Welcome to the Aviation Safety Organization’s Safety Management System Website! This website was created as a public... Read more
23-Dec-2009Source: NT News
An Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation said the drug caused “impaired performance of complex tasks such as flying”. The chopper was also overloaded.... Read more
16-Dec-2009Source: Rotornews
Defense Holdings is demonstrating its revolutionary, patented AfterGlo® Brand Photoluminescent (PL) Aviation Safety Paint on the main and tail rotor blades of a Bell Helicopter Textron Model 407 helicopter belonging to the Fairfax County, Virginia Police Aviation Division. Sections of the rotor blades were painted in October 2009.... Read more
15-Dec-2009Source: Press Trust of India
In a big relief to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, pilot error was found to have caused the crash of the defence PSU’s Advance Light Helicopter (ALH) “Dhruv” in Ecuador in October... Read more
15-Dec-2009Source: Irish Times
A HELICOPTER pilot who landed his aircraft on the roof of a shopping centre to collect a set of keys has been given a six-month suspended sentence and fined €5,000. The judge said the man seemed to lack a grasp of common sense.... Read more
13-Dec-2009Source: Huffington Post
A deployable energy absorber (think “honeycomb airbag”) may have some promise. NASA recently tested the technology by dropping a helicopter from 35 feet in the air.... Read more
10-Dec-2009Source: NorthJersey.com
Five wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against the pilot of a Piper fixed-wing aircraft that collided over the Hudson River with a helicopter carrying Italian tourists.... Read more
9-Dec-2009Source: North Queensland Register
Member for Hinchinbrook, Andrew Cripps, has demanded answers from Health Minister Paul Lucas after concerns were raised the helipad at the Ingham Hospital still does not meet design specifications and Queensland Health will not let helicopters land on it.... Read more
9-Dec-2009Source: KPHO
The Arizona Department Of Public Safety arrested a man who it said pointed a handheld laser at a police helicopter involved in a robbery pursuit.... Read more
9-Dec-2009Source: TheHook
An ill-fated powerline inspection with a helicopter that killed four people in Cranbrook, B.C. was technically against federal regulations, according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.... Read more
8-Dec-2009Source: Canada.com
Transport Canada has shut down the helicopter landing facility at Cowichan District Hospital. On Nov. 18 the agency closed the helipad due to concerns about trees on a neighbouring property posing a safety hazard to the air ambulances.... Read more
8-Dec-2009Source: Waco Tribune-Herald
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether an area helicopter company violated federal regulations by circling around the Baylor University-University of Texas football game Nov. 14 at Floyd Casey Stadium. Brazos Helicopters was operating a Bell 47J... Read more
8-Dec-2009Source: http://www.rus-helicopters.ru/en/news/news_company/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=1758
Kumertau Aviation Production Enterprise (KumAPE) has completed tests of a Ka-226T fitted with Turbomeca engines. The model uses French Arrius 2G turboshafts and a Russian VR-226N gearbox.... Read more
7-Dec-2009Source: Rotorhub
Flight Safety Foundation announced today the creation of the Australian Helicopter Advisory Group – a subsidiary of Foundation’s Australian Advisory Board and its mission is to pursue the continuous improvement of helicopter safety and the prevention of accidents.... Read more
3-Dec-2009Source: AOPA
CHC Helicopter has opened registration for the CHC Safety and Quality Summit, scheduled for March 22 through 24, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, with early-bird pricing until the end of 2009.... Read more
1-Dec-2009Source: FlightGlobal
Lightning strike tests at Eurocopter’s Donauwörth facility have verified finite element analysis accuracy for carbonfibre structure current flow simulation, according to a European research consortium... Read more
1-Dec-2009Source: Canada.com
The head of the inquiry investigating last spring’s helicopter crash that killed 17 offshore oil workers and aircrew off the Newfoundland coast announced Wednesday he has asked the Defence Department to send a witness to explain the federal role in SAR... Read more
28-Nov-2009Source: Washington Post
A medical helicopter that crashed this month in the dark hills north of Reno, Nev., killing three, lacked safety features recommended for years by federal experts, including night vision equipment and a system to warn the crew when the aircraft was too close to obstacles or the ground.... Read more
26-Nov-2009Source: STV
An official report to determine why a helicopter with 18 people on board ditched into the North Sea has been delayed, the Government announced on Tuesday.... Read more
22-Nov-2009Source: Dallas Morning News
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22-Nov-2009Source: Canadian Press
A test to certify the model of helicopter involved in a fatal crash off Newfoundland showed it would remain airborne for “around 10 minutes” – about one third of the time required – if oil leaked from its gearbox, aviation regulators say.... Read more
17-Nov-2009Source: CBC
Emergency breathing devices for suits worn by passengers during offshore helicopter flights weren’t installed until nine years after they were first recommended and only after a helicopter crashed off the coast of Newfoundland in March, killing 17 people, an inquiry heard Monday.... Read more
17-Nov-2009Source: FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today finalized a federal rule, effective November 19, 2009, that will enhance safety by separating low-altitude, local aircraft flights over the Hudson River from flights transiting through the river airspace.... Read more
12-Nov-2009Source: CAD CAM News
Lightning strike tests of a helicopter at Eurocopter’s Donauwörth facility have verified the accuracy of finite element analysis techniques for characterising the electromagnetic behaviour of complete and custom-cabled modern aircraft structures constructed using advanced composite materials.... Read more
6-Nov-2009Source: http://www.rotor.com/Default.aspx?tabid=510&newsid905=62534
The HAI Government Contracting Committee will meet in Boise, Idaho November 18, 19, and 20 at the Hilton Garden Inn Boise Spectrum... Read more
5-Nov-2009Source: Tahlequah Daily Press
The mother of a Tahlequah woman killed last month in a helicopter crash has filed suit against the pilot’s estate, his parents and Robinson Helicopter Co. See also our Accident data 15-Oct-09 N3234G Robinson R22 Tahlequah, US-Oklahoma... Read more
4-Nov-2009Source: Globe and Mail
Engineers have discovered a hairline crack in the gearbox of a Canadian-based Sikorsky S-92 helicopter, the latest chapter in an ongoing mechanical saga that has cast an investigative spotlight on the high-tech machine.... Read more
4-Nov-2009Source: Press & Journal
An oil and gas industry leader says now is the safest time there has ever been to fly in a North Sea helicopter. Bob Keiller feels there is still no room for complacency, however. Mr Keiller is chairman of Oil & Gas UK’s helicopter task group, set up earlier this year to look at helicopter... Read more
30-Oct-2009Source: Aviation-Helicopter Accident Lawyers
The family of Si Young Lee has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the three companies allegedly responsible for the August 2, 2007 helicopter accident that killed Mr. Lee and three other occupants when it crashed and erupted into flames in Easton, Washington, setting off a forest fire.... Read more
13-Oct-2009Source: Stuff
A resident annoyed at frost-fighting helicopters allegedly flashed lights and threw a rock at a helicopter flying near Seddon in Marlborough early yesterday.... Read more
7-Oct-2009Source: News Tribune
The relatives of a Lake Tapps-area man who died in a helicopter crash three years ago have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the aircraft’s manufacturer and some of its suppliers.... Read more
6-Oct-2009Source: Vertical
The Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) today applauded the White House for nominating Mark R. Rosekind, Ph.D., an expert on fatigue and its effects on productivity and safe flight operations, to the National Transportation Safety Board.... Read more
6-Oct-2009Source: Angel MedFlight
“Blue Cross did not deny coverage but dragged its feet in response to the family’s request despite federal law requiring health insurance companies to respond to emergency transportation requests within 48 hours,†said Michael Ward, staff counsel at Angel Medflight.... Read more
5-Oct-2009Source: Seattle Times
The News Tribune of Tacoma reports the surviving children of Russell Lee Tom claim the helicopter he was piloting – a Robinson Helicopter Co. R44 – was poorly designed “defective and unsafe.” Their suit was filed in Pierce County Superior Court on Wednesday.... Read more
3-Oct-2009Source: Huffington Post
Pamela Altman sued tour company Liberty Helicopters, helicopter owner Meridian Consulting I Corp., manufacturer American Eurocopter and several of their insurers. Her suit charges that Liberty and Meridian have a “horrid history of accidents” and that American Eurocopter failed to equip the helicopter with sufficient safety equipment.... Read more
1-Oct-2009Source: Seattle PI
A federal report says that parts from a helicopter that crashed in California last year killing nine people have mysteriously disappeared.... Read more
1-Oct-2009Source: Flightglobal
After more than 20 years of stagnation, global helicopter safety performance is showing signs of improvement.... Read more
29-Sep-2009Source: RotorNews
A new medical journal study, the largest of its kind to date, finds that 5 percent of urgent-care patients experience a critical event such as a major resuscitation, rapid loss of blood pressure, respiratory arrest and even death during air-medical transport... Read more
28-Sep-2009Source: Boston Globe
Pilots flying over Massachusetts reported seeing laser beams flashed in their direction eight times during 2008, with the rays hitting everything from commercial airliners landing at Logan International Airport to a State Police helicopter to the blimp floating over a Red Sox playoff game, according to a review of FAA data.... Read more
28-Sep-2009Source: Vertical
Opportunities for improving medical helicopter safety, traumatic brain injury (TBI) awareness and support, and a look at regulatory issues affecting helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) are among the topics of this year’s Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC), the largest gathering of its kind in the nation.... Read more
28-Sep-2009Source: Vertical
The FAA presented Erickson Air-Crane with a “Gold Certificate of Excellence†honoring Erickson’s participation in the FAA sponsored Aviation Maintenance Training program in 2008 as well as a “Special Recognition Award†signifying participation with the program for the past five years.... Read more
25-Sep-2009Source: FAA
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Randy Babbitt today announced a new focus on improving the agency’s response to public safety complaints and whistleblower contributions, as well as renewing efforts to ensure consistent interpretation of agency regulations and policies.... Read more
24-Sep-2009Source: Amherst Daily News
An official with the Newfoundland-based company said a chip indicator on the Sikorsky S-92 sensed there were lose fragments of material in the oil, which can cause problems in the main gearbox... Read more
24-Sep-2009Source: Sikorsky
Sikorsky announced the introduction of a new functionality offered on the S-92® helicopter to provide offshore oil operators with an automated approach that reduces cockpit workload and allows safer operations under challenging weather and operating conditions.... Read more
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