Crow crashes into windshield of air 999, forcing it to land
HELICOPTER’S ROTOR BLADE DAMAGED AND CREW MEMBER HIT BY BIRD
AN AIR ambulance was forced to land after a bird flew into its windshield and shattered it, before hitting a member of the crew and damaging the rotor blade.
The windshield of the helicopter, used by the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance, shattered into multiple pieces while flying back to East Midlands Airport after a crow flew into the vehicle.
Some of the windshield’s shards, made out of an acrylic such as Plexiglass or Perspex, then flew into the main rotor discs, making a hole in one of the blades.
Following the bird strike, the helicopter was making a “noticeable” vibration while flying, resulting in the pilot having to make a precautionary landing near Carsington Water, in the Peak District, to ensure the crew’s safety.
A report, published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), says that the technical crew member in the front-left seat of the helicopter first spotted the crow, shouting “bird” to the pilot.
The pilot then pitched and rolled the helicopter right to try to avoid it, but it was too late, with the bird shattering the acrylic window, hitting the crew member on the helmet, before being wedged behind the pilot’s seat.
The bird ended up weighing 1.32kg, slightly more than a litre bottle of water.
The crew member hit by the bird was checked over by the crew doctor and was found to have sustained no injuries.
As it stands, there is a rule which states helicopters should use windshields that do not break into dangerous fragments, which the acrylic windshield meets, but the rules do not take into consideration the impact of a bird strike.
This has since been changed for new aircraft, but, currently, is not in place for existing aircraft.
Along with repairs to the helicopter, the European Union Aviation Standards Agency is looking into whether changes should be made to ensure wind-shields in existing aircraft can withstand a bird strike while in flight.
The report by the AAIB said: “At about 1,000 ft above ground level and 140 knots, as the helicopter was descending and turning towards East Midlands Airport on return from a mission, a bird struck the left windshield.
“The windshield shattered and the bird entered the cockpit striking the technical crew member (TCM) on the left side of their helmet. The TCM and pilot were unhurt. “Debris from the windshield also entered the main rotor disk, making a hole in the trailing edge of one of the rotor blades.
“The Agusta-Westland AW109 windshield is not designed to withstand bird strikes and the design certification requirements do not require it to do so. “Proposed amendments, specifically to the certification of Small Rotorcraft were published in EASA NPA 2021-02 to change this for newly designed rotorcraft.
“A rule making group is also considering the retrospective application to existing fleets and/or to future production of already type-certified rotorcraft.”
The windshield shattered and the bird entered the cockpit striking the technical crew member
AAIB report