New Zealand based Composite Helicopters have unfortunately had an accident with their second flying prototype of their five-seat KC518 Aventourer helicopter.  NZ Herald reports that co-founder Peter Maloney remained on site to see the helicopter put onto a trailer for the short journey back to their base at North Shore airfield, while co-pilot Norbert Idelon (previously a test pilot with the French military) was taken to the local hospital.

The helicopter reportedly came down in a tail-low attitude after the pilots experienced a low-level vibration that led them to make an emergency landing short of their intended destination.  A press photo shows it lying on its port side with Idelon being tended to by a Westpac Helicopter rescue crew.

18 months ago on 7 May 2013, Maloney ditched an earlier prototype into Waitemata Harbour in Auckland after losing power.  In both incidents, photos indicate that the carbonfibre/Kevlar fuselage construction stood up very well.   The helicopter it planned to be offered initially as a kit with all the carbon fibre work completed, and will be licensed in the Experimental category.  However, Mr Maloney will now have a PR challenge ahead of him after having accidents with both of his flying prototypes to date.

Mr Maloney and his wife Leanne started developing the KC518 after selling their successful HeliPod business to Simplex in 2009.  HeliPod specialised in composite cargo pods and spray systems

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com