Helicopter Safety & Accidents/Incidents

[Scooter]

The BC Forest Safety Council has recently released a document entitled the "Helicopter Passenger Safety Guide."

Some companies might find it helpful to download and print, or email and share with their planting employees. This short PDF is designed to be shared freely among any companies that find it to be useful. The document is not intended to be a stand-alone training solution, but rather as an addendum to on-site training.



If you want some more detailed info about working around helicopters, I also have this document on the main website. Admittedly, it's several years since I wrote it, but the information should still be completely valid:

http://www.replant.ca/reference/ch18/chapter18.html

[Scooter]

This publication has been updated, so I deleted the old link and attachment (which had been downloaded quite a few times). The new document attached to this post:

[Scooter]

I guess this incident (which happened yesterday) is a good example of why it's important to wear seat belts in helicopters too. One of the supervisors at Folklore was in a helicopter crash four or five years ago too. It was when she was doing winter work for a different company, if I remember correctly, and the machine may have just caught a rotor on the ground somehow and immediately flipped upside down. I don't have the exact details, but that was also another good reminder to leave the belts on until the helicopter is fully settled on the ground.

https://www.rt.com/usa/332934-helicopte ... rl-harbor/

[Scooter]

I just saw this in today's CADORS report (the civil aviation reporting system summary that gets sent out to pilots across Canada):

TSB Report#A16P0223: C-GPHR, an Aerospatiale AS 350 B-2 aircraft operated by Yellowhead Helicopters, was conducting a heli-ski operation from Blue River, BC (CYCP) to a location 5 nautical miles North West. A Bell 212 helicopter, also transporting skiers to the same location, departed Blue River at the same time. Upon arriving at the landing area, the pilot of C-GPHR decided to land at an unmarked, unprepared site in order to leave the marked, prepared landing site for the Bell 212. During the landing, the pilot of C-GPHR lost visual reference in a whiteout created by the main rotor's downwash. C-GPHR drifted sideways approximately 50 feet before the left skid touched down, and the helicopter rolled onto its roof. The ski guide, seated in the front left seat, was seriously injured. The pilot and the four passengers were not injured. The helicopter was substantially damaged, however there was no fire. The ELT did not activate.

[jdtesluk]

Wow. Sounds intense.
Given the physics and fuels at play, probably very luck nobody was killed, but really hope that ski guide pulls through intact.

[Scooter]

I guess I didn't look closely at the date of that report, and assumed it was one of the incidents reported nation-wide from Thursday. Looks like it happened on Christmas day:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... -1.3920043

[Scooter]

This is going to turn into the "Helicopter Accident" topic, since I read the daily CADORS reports (Civil Air Daily Occurrence Reporting System) from across the country.

Here's a helicopter incident in Golden a few days ago, which is a good reminder not to unclip your seatbelts until the machine has landed and the pilot has given you the nod.

[Scooter]

Two in one day. Drones are getting to be a bigger and bigger problem all the time. This incident happened in Chile, but the aircraft was Canadian (operated by Vancouver Island Helicopters).

[Scooter]

Here's one in Stewart. I didn't realize that it was possible for a helicopter rotor to cut off it's own tail boom.