Pilot error not ruled out in heli crash
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission cannot rule out pilot error as the cause of a helicopter crash that injured 13 people.
The commission released findings of a 2013 crash near Wanaka involving two AS350 Squirrel helicopters operated by Queenstown company The Helicopter Line.
A pilot and 12 tourists were airlifted off Tyndall Glacier in Mt Aspiring National Park after one helicopter clipped another while attempting to land, tipping it on its side. The pilot of the descending machine suffered serious head injuries.
The report says the first helicopter landed and the second helicopter was about to land but aborted, the pilot carrying out a goaround.
During the aborted landing, the helicopter came close to colliding with the main rotors of the parked helicopter.
On the second approach, the helicopter drifted towards the parked helicopter and its tail contacted the main rotor blades of the parked helicopter.
The blades severed the lower vertical stabiliser and the tail rotor of the airborne helicopter.
The rest of the tail rotor assembly and vertical stabiliser detached immediately. ‘‘The helicopter was uncontrollable without the tail rotor assembly,’’ the report says.
‘‘It spun rapidly a number of times before climbing slightly then crashing about 70 metres in front of the parked helicopter.
‘‘The pilot received a serious injury and all of his passengers received minor injuries.’’
Investigators could not determine the exact cause of the crash, but could not rule out that the pilot misjudged his approach, the report said.
The possibility the pilot had a medical event in the moments leading up to the crash could also not be excluded, but there was no evidence to suggest that was the case.
Investigators did find that blowing snow ‘‘very likely’’ contributed to the initial near collision.
Technical, helicopter performance and other environmental factors were excluded as crash contributors.
The Helicopter Line executive chairman Mark Quickfall accepted the report’s findings and said the company had ‘‘taken lessons from it’’.
The pilot at the centre of the crash, Kerry Somerville, no longer worked for The Helicopter Line and was no longer able to fly, he said.
Quickfall said staff were continuously assessing procedures to ensure the 80,000 passengers that flew with the company each year were safe.
Recent external audits of the company had been favourable, he said.
A recommendation was made by the commission to the Director of Civil Aviation that he ensure helicopter operators identify the hazard of passenger disembarkation and embarkation during snow landings while the rotors are turning, the report said.
During the inquiry, the commission highlighted this as a safety issue along with pilots not informing relevant organisations of changes to routes or destinations that could impact search and rescue action.