Report on chopper’s last flight

THE final moments of a fatal helicopter flight in the Whitsundays last month have been detailed for the first time.

The Australian Transport and Safety Bureau yesterday released its initial findings into the Eurocopter EC120B crash at Hardy Reef on March 21.

Hawaiian honeymooners Sue and Peter Hensel were killed during the crash. Sue’s daughter and son- in- law, Emily and Bobby Sheets, escaped with minor injuries. The pilot was uninjured. According to investigators, the chopper malfunctioned, leaving the pilot helpless.

“While approaching the pontoon, at about 1535, the pilot reported noticing a warning message illuminate in the upper vehicle and engine malfunction display,” the report states.

“As this was a high workload phase of flight, the pilot was unable to verify the nature of the warning. However, in response, the pilot elected to conduct a go- around. When the helicopter was at an altitude of about 40ft ( 12m) above the pontoon, the pilot recalled feeling a ‘ thud’ and the nose of the helicopter yawed sharply left ( anticlockwise from above).

“In an attempt to arrest the yaw, the pilot reported that he made a number of control inputs, which included lowering the collective and pushing the cyclic forward and to the left.

“The pilot was unable to regain control of the helicopter and it collided with the water. A passenger reported that soon after impact with the water, the helicopter rolled onto its right side in a mostly inverted orientation.”

At this point, staff from the pontoon rushed to help. Mr and Mrs Hensel suffered fatal injuries, the report states. The investigation continues.