HAI’s Operator Safety Award annually recognizes operating members for safe operations during the previous year. HAI provides one engraved commemorative plaque and year-date medallion at no cost to first time recipients who qualify. Members who renew their membership to the Operator Safety Award will receive a 2009 year medallion to place on their plaques. Applicants… Read more »
A spokeswoman says weather concerns prompted her medical transport company to turn down what appears to be the flight that led to a fatal Hospital Wing medical helicopter crash in Brownsville early this morning.
British JetRanger owner Joel Tobias regularly blogs about flying his JetRanger, and it’s great to read stories written by such an enthusiastic private pilot. However, as he leads his readers through night training exercises, a sense of alarm was raised in a recent missive:- “there were no emergencies, but we did become involved in a… Read more »
The National Transportation Safety Board attributed the fatal 2008 crash of an Air Angels medical helicopter in Aurora to the pilot’s “inadequate preflight planning” and flying too low, which caused the copter to strike a radio tower.
Billionaire businessman Michael Erceg flew his executive helicopter – and the Dutch businessman who was his passenger – into treetops that he apparently failed to see in time, according to a NZ Civil Aviation Authority report
Seven air ambulance companies have agreed to make changes in how pilots communicate with each other as they approach a Flagstaff hospital. The changes come as a result of the June 2008 mid-air collision of two medical helicopters that killed seven over the skies of Flagstaff.
Three weeks after welcoming the world for the Olympic Games, one of the world’s largest flight safety conferences lands in Vancouver on March 22, attracting more than 500 delegates to hear aviation safety experts from all over the world. The CHC Safety and Quality Summit is a non-profit event dedicated entirely to flight safety that… Read more »
HeliFlite is honored to announce that it has received the prestigious ARGUS Platinum rating by ARGUS International, Inc., the worldwide leader in performing on-site safety audits for corporate flight departments, charter operators, and commercial airlines. “ARGUS is pleased to include HeliFlite Shares on the exclusive list of ARGUS Platinum rated charter operators,” stated Joe Moeggenberg,… Read more »
The second crash test of a small lightweight helicopter at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., was a smashing success, literally — just as engineers had predicted. “Three, two, one, release,” said the technician on the loudspeaker at the Landing and Impact Research Facility. With that countdown the helicopter smacked hard into the concrete…. Read more »
The monthly bulletin from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch has been released. This month’s issue covers the accidents of:- Robinson R44 Raven G-CDXB at Culter Helipad, Aberdeenshire on 07-Oct-09 Robinson R44 Raven II G-TIMC at Barnsdale Hotel, near Rutland Water, Rutland on 27-Sep-09 Rotorway Executive 162F G-JONG at 1.5 miles East of Bullington Cross on… Read more »
Accident being referred to involved Robinson R22 registered N3234G (HeliHub.com data page for this accident)Â Press reports at the time showed that the accident date was inconclusive with both 14th and 15th October being quoted by different sources – the wreckage not being found until Friday 16th.
SkyTrac Systems is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the 2010 CHC Safety and Quality Summit March 22-24 in Vancouver BC. SkyTrac recognizes the importance in contributing to an event that promotes safety in aviation, and is proud to be involved. Steve Fuhr, VP and Director of Business Development and Mike Zelin, Director of International Sales and… Read more »
HAI’s Operator Safety Award annually recognizes operating members for safe operations during the previous year. HAI provides one engraved commemorative plaque and year-date medallion at no cost to first time recipients who qualify. Members who renew their membership to the Operator Safety Award will receive a 2009 year medallion to place on their plaques. Applicants… Read more »
Observers, experts and employees said the crash of Cougar Flight 491 highlighted the need for a separate safety agency to replace an offshore regulator that has the competing tasks of promoting the industry and protecting workers
As part of the continued expansion of HeliHub.com, all of our news articles are now available on the Google Buzz platform. Seen initially as a cross between Facebook and Twitter, Buzz is fast carving out its own niche in the social networking world. Google’s launch of Buzz was not without its controversy, but has now… Read more »
Helicopter Association International (HAI) has released a new, online aviation wire strike safety awareness video. “Surviving the Wires Environment” is posted as a streaming video on the HAI Web site, and can be viewed for free by HAI members and nonmembers. The video was produced in cooperation with Southern California Edison (SCE) and AEGIS Insurance… Read more »
NATS Services is now using Sensis Corporation’s Wide Area Multilateration (WAM) system in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland for helicopter flight following. Air traffic controllers are using the WAM surveillance information as a supplement to established procedural flight rules until the WAM system completes testing and regulatory approval for flight information services later this… Read more »
Floor-mounted fuel controls on a helicopter that crashed in 2008 near Chickaloon, killing four people and injuring one, contributed to the accident according to a NTSB report released Wednesday
The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) hosted a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council Helicopter Safety Team (GCCHST), attended by all helicopter operators in UAE, Qatar and KSA.
HeliHub.com continues its expansion with the addition of a gallery on the popular image bank website Flickr.com The Flickr gallery provides users of HeliHub.com the opportunity to upload their own photos, and over time this will become a very valuable resource. In time, HeliHub.com will utilise this gallery to provide imagery on the website itself… Read more »
Accident investigators have now made several recommendations for Bristow Helicopters, which is based at Aberdeen Airport. The incident on November 21, 2006, happened near the Dutch port of Den Helder
The Heli-Expo 2010 trade show is spotlighting a range of innovations that will help keep American Eurocopter at the forefront of the U.S. rotary-wing marketplace with helicopters that are even safer and more environmentally friendly. Technologies displayed at Heli-Expo 2010 by parent company Eurocopter (stand #3128) include revolutionary main rotor blade designs that reduce noise… Read more »
The two Robinson R22s were reported in HeliHub.com here:- 05-May-09 VH-PHT Robinson R22 Springvale station north of Halls Creek, Australia (1F) 05-May-09 VH-HCB Robinson R22 Springvale station north of Halls Creek, Australia (1F)
The regulators of Newfoundland’s oil industry have ordered a faster emergency response after the head of an inquiry into offshore helicopter safety made an urgent call for improvement.
The monthly bulletin from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch has been released. This month’s issue covers the accidents of:- Robinson R44 Clipper G-DBUG at Welshpool Airport, Powys on 09-Jul-09 Robinson R44 Raven G-EKKO at Swansea Airport on 29-Mar-09
Columbia Helicopters will hold a press/industry briefing at 10:00 AM Monday, February 22, 2010, regarding certain unfounded allegations related to the crash of a Carson Helicopters’ S-61 in 2008. Members of the media and all interested industry personnel are invited to attend. Columbia Helicopters’ Vice President of Marketing, Todd Petersen, and General Legal Counsel, Tonya… Read more »
Eurocopter’s Serge Durand said that it is disturbing that while the worldwide helicopter accident rate is 4.5 per 100 thousand flight hours in Mexico is three times greater
Appleton said. “I didn’t even see the impact. I had lost sight of him and I just heard a loud boom, and then there I am flying with a turkey buzzard sitting on my lap, on top of my forearm.”
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 »
“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
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.
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 »
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 »
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 »
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
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 »
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 »
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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 »
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 »
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 »
Source:
REGA press release translated and lightly edited., 06-Jan-10
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.
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 »
01-Jan-10 Weybridge, UK – We are pleased to announce that HeliHub.com has a new owner – Jeremy Parkin, based in the UK. Mr Parkin acquired all rights to the website from a private investor for an undisclosed sum, and management of all aspects of the site is moved from Florida to the UK with immediate… Read more »
An Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation said the drug caused “impaired performance of complex tasks such as flying”. The chopper was also overloaded.
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.
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
