Accident Report
SACAA synopsis
The pilot, accompanied by three passengers, departed from an open field next to a public road in the city centre of Kroonstad. The three passengers were members (actors) of a local television production. The pilot stated that after take-off, one of the passengers requested him to turn back to pick up a camera man. He then turned back land the accident occurred during the subsequent landing. Available video footage taken during the approach and attempted landing assisted the investigator-in-charge with the investigation. The pilot made the statement as the camera approached them that the hydraulic system of the helicopter had failed. The hydraulic system was tested after the accident and was found to be in a serviceable condition. The pilot was caught off guard when he inadvertently selected the hydraulic switch to the off position instead of selecting the speaker to the on position and was therefore unable to control the aircraft prior to impact. The pilot and two of the passengers were not injured, the passenger that was seated in the left front seat sustained minor injuries and was taken to hospital. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, main rotor blades, skid gear and tail boom.
SACAA probable cause
Hydraulic system failure because of the pilot inadvertently switching off the hydraulic switch.
Comments by Charlie Marais
The title of this review and the probable cause as found by the SACAA is somehow implicating the actual hydraulic system and the failure thereof. The truth is that the three very prominent hydraulic ‘failure’ accidents, known to me, had nothing to do with the mechanical systems involved. In most cases the hydraulics were disengaged or switched off and the resulting accident was due to the inability of the crew member to control the helicopter when the controls are not hydraulic assisted. In two of the cases the hydraulics were inadvertently switched off and in one case the instructor disabled the hydraulics while teaching the flight method without such assistance.
Personal experience
We were flying in the Drakensberg, busy training the skills and art of mountain flying. I was in the left seat and my candidate in the right-hand seat, as expected when doing normal training. It was stunningly beautiful and impossible for a picture or a video to provide the sense of wild organised chaos with colours and shapes to drown the senses. High up in the mountain, around 8000 feet, we were about to enter a valley as was briefed when my student asked me if I would take control as he simply had to take a picture, as he put it, no one would believe me when I tell them about these rock boulders, ferns and rivers. No problem and I seamlessly took control, decreasing the speed even further to allow the moment to last longer. I wanted to come into the hover next to one of those boulders, with cliffs to produce a stunning background when at around 40 knots, the controls went stiff. The helicopter had taken on quite a different feel and my first reaction was simply to maintain control as the R44 turned into a beast.
I knew that feeling on the controls, but even so, I was caught by utter surprise. We had hydraulic failure and for a moment I was not sure what else was busy giving up the ghost. As calmly as possible I announced that we had hydraulic failure and that I had control, but we needed to do the checks as I was looking for a landing spot, just in case.
I called out the speed and asked for confirmation of the hydraulic switch position. It was in the off position. That was good news and bracing for the hydraulic possible shock as it is switched on, I asked him to do so. Instantly we were in hydraulic business again and I humbly had to admit that, with all the hydraulic off training I had done in the past years, the surprise was still big and it took a second or so to be back in full control. The question now was how the switch managed to move from the on to the off position. We quickly figured it out. My student had a SLR digital camera with a strap which was securing the camera around his neck. As he took hold of the camera, bringing it up to his eye to start taking pictures, the strap lightly hooked on the switch and moved it to the off position without him realising it. If he felt the tug of the strap when it hooked on the switch, it was lost in the instability the helicopter experienced when the switch left me earning my pilot wings.
Wow, with low speed, close to rock boulders and in the confines of a valley, with seriously little power to spare, I earned my instructors fee that day. However, at the same time I realised how important it is for threats inside the cockpit to be properly acknowledged before being mesmerised by the environment.
I do not know how many helicopter pilots have experienced flying game operations where activating the externally mounted wildlife or game siren was needed. This externally mounted speaker, looks like a load hailer, is controlled from inside the cockpit through a switch mounted on the cyclic control head, where the hydraulic switch and the radio frequency switch is located. The switch can have three positions or less, with an off position either in the middle and different sound generation by either flicking the switch to the left or the right, or just simply an on / off switch.
The switch may be spring-loaded or must be physically switched from one position to the other. Long story, but while you are flying the helicopter, the switch must be located without looking inside and then switched to the side you expected it to make a particular siren sound. This is to give the animals on the ground more incentive to move away from the sound, as well as a signalling device when coding to the ground capture team. In this accident case the siren was to provide extra drama during the low-level flypast or shoot-up.
The entire operation was an illegal affair and judging by the pilot’s age and hours flown, he was probably not used to charter flight rules. However, landing next to a busy circle intersection in town, with a take-off path over traffic, no one to clear the take-off and landing area, reeks of little to no professional knowledge, or if the knowledge was there, extremely poor airmanship and obviously showing off. After the take-off, the pilot executed a tight circuit and crashed on the spot from where he took off. Then the lying started. The owner claimed it was a private flight, while he was paid for the flight, making it a charter. A no brainer. The pilot said he was instructed to land back to pick up another person, while he already had three passengers aboard. I suggest this fable was due to the accident and could in no way have been proposed as the truth to any person that can count to four.
Well, back to the accident itself. On the video of the accident one can see the helicopter coming in at high speed and, if a landing was planned, there would have been a serious overshoot. The truth as claimed by the witnesses and the passengers, was that he wanted to do a low-level fly past for effect. In the middle of the town and 15 seconds of fame quickly turned bad.
One day I went round a corner too fast on my motorbike and slid onto the pavement in front of a house. The owners rushed out to find out if I was okay and they were very concerned until they saw that I was not injured, but just minus a few pieces of skin. Then they became more interested in why I was riding so fast and the next moment my stardom crashed and I had to flee the accident scene as they noticed their ploughed lawn. No, I had no intention of fame, but even so, we can get away with being overconfident until it transgresses on other people’s bystander status. Once they are involved, it becomes personal and I suspect in this case it to be so.
Reaching for the siren switch it is alleged that he inadvertently killed the hydraulic assistance and the situation became a nightmare. A few things now followed and as the pilot tried to figure out the sudden failure, he started losing control. Understanding the ‘dump and flare’ proposition, he started by killing the engine as well. He closed the throttle and from then on tried to stop the helicopter with ever diminishing main rotor RPM. The contact with a vehicle on the road was unavoidable and his status immediately on impact changed to that of a passenger.
I can hear the ‘holier than thou’ howls from the armchair experts, expressing great criticism with all empathy dissipated. Yes, he screwed it up to the nth degree.
Recommendations
“Rules are meant to be broken and passes are meant to be cancelled.” Is what the Regiment Sergeant Major said on my first day at the Air Force Gymnasium in Valhalla to do my forced military year of duty. It is quite easy; the rules are made and apply them, or trouble heads your way. With a pilot licence to brag with, only opens your ribcage as you can never claim that you do not know the aviation law. Your licence can be cancelled and to boot, legal action from the passengers and innocent bystanders will follow post-haste. Know the rules, apply the rules and stick to the rules, the odds may not be 50 / 50, but absolutely not 100% on your side. Where there is a possibility, there is a way; positive or negative; the choice is not yours. Now we must talk about the real issue and that is how to handle a helicopter when hydraulics fail. Yes, we practice this with pretend enthusiasm and avoid revisiting this emergency skill at all costs. That is until the reality strikes with cruel authority. Firstly, I would like to make a silly statement such as you cannot avoid the inevitability of reality. So, you are either prepared through having attained the proper skills, or you are not.
The latter cannot be learned on the go. When you are on the go, it is previously attained skills that saves the day and if you happen to walk away when not skilled, you are fortunate. Stop avoiding the unpleasant emergencies. If you are not prepared sufficiently by whoever has the job to ensure your recentness, you must ask for more such exercises until you have it to a level where you can recover, or at least have a chance to recover. How can you expect to know what is happening to you if you have never been properly introduced to the possible problem; ask the manufacturers of the 737 MAX. Better, ask those that lived to tell the story of sitting in a cockpit not knowing what is thrown at them. There simply is no time to learn on the go. Therefore, be prepared or accept the possibility of perishing prematurely.
The first lesson is to maintain control. Yes, the fright is big, but you need to take control and stabilise the machine, without creating a secondary emergency. Losing hydraulics need not to be accompanied by an engine loss, especially when it is self-induced. When you are surprised and your mind rushes at a million miles per hour, you must possess the knowledge and skills to react correctly in the correct sequence.
Just a small tip about stabilising the helicopter when hydraulics fade; brace your upper body by tucking the upper part of your arms tightly and fly the machine with your upper body, with both your hands as extensions. This will lock your cyclic hand to move with your body and lock your left hand on the collective pitch. The added power of your body will lend stability to these two protrusions of your body, ensuring a better chance of stability and the tendency to over correct is drastically reduced.
While we are talking about this, please look at the restrictions of your helicopter type regarding hovering or manoeuvring in the hover with hydraulic failure. Some helicopter types will insist on a roll or skid on landing, but when you are in the bush with only confined spaces, dare to do these landing at the lowest possible speed. No, do not go beyond the helicopter restrictions, but if needed, get a helicopter in which you may practice hover landings without hydraulics activated. Stop for one second. Never try this at home, but only with a suitably capable instructor. If you can perform a hover landing, you have a better chance as you are well on your way to flying without hydraulics activated if needed. One can undertake a take-off without hydraulics activated, but this is much more difficult as the landing and one should never try this one, unless obviously during training, again with an ever more qualified instructor. When it comes to the big boys, or should I say ladies, autopilot hydraulic failure must be practiced, but again under controlled conditions. Stop being sorry for the candidate, I have never seen a broken wrist or arm during extended hydraulic training.
Remember that every pilot is the best in the eyes of their first passenger. That should never be a gauge as to how cool you are. If you want to impress anyone, take the most experienced and
capable pilot and demonstrate your worth like a man.
The flight safety onslaught has increased in ferociousness and each one of us, air- or ground-crew, must know that every prefight and every flight must be treated as your first and most important one. The variety of accidents is alarming and even if we feel helpless, you will always be a help in the arena of flight safety by just following the standard operating procedures.
Just get the knowledge and skills and then; just do it.