Rotor Torque

A paramedic from a rescue helicopter involved in the search was winched down and confirmed the wreckage was VH-GKK and that there were no survivors.

AMSA said weather conditions in the Hunter Valley region on November 7 were severe with localised thunderstorms, and no mayday call was broadcast nor a signal from an emergency locator transmitter detected.

On his website, Green said he and Carolyn used the helicopter as a flying camper van to find, access and photographically record someof Australia’s most remote, wild and beautiful environments.

“The helicopter has been specially modified to act as a self-sufficient camp base. This allows me to remain in situ to take my photographs in the warm light of dawn or sunset,” Green said on his website.

“The EC135, which we have operated since 1999, is my pride and joy. ” The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the cause of the accident.

Chinook conducts LHD ‘quick look’ trials

A pair of CH-47D Chinooks from Army’s C Squadron, 5 Aviation Regiment, Townsville deployed to HMAS Albatross, Nowra to undertake a ‘quick look’ trial onboard the Navy’s amphibious assault ship HMAS Canberra in October.

The week long trial, conducted by Navy’s Aircraft Maintenance and Flight Trials Unit and C Squadron aircrew, was a precursor to a full first of class flight trial planned for the CH-47F Foxtrot Chinooks in August 2016 on board NUSHIP Adelaide.

The Chinooks, A15-201 and A15-151, conducted a series of evolutions to HMAS Canberra’s flightdeck including launch and recoveries along with an assessment of external load operations, aircraft lashings and refuelling procedures.

“We are already authorised for deck operations with MRH 90 Taipan and S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopters, and the Chinook activity has further expanded our knowledge,” said Commander Air HMAS Canberra, Commander Paul Moggach. “We look forward to operating with Army helicopters in support of our amphibious roles. ” Preliminary work was carried out at HMAS Albatross ahead of flying trials over October 20-21 conducted at sea off the New South Wales South Coast and within Jervis Bay.

The outcome of the trial will provide the CH-47D with a limited operating envelope allowing the Chinook to operate from the LHDs for humanitarian and disaster relief operations during the type’s remaining time in service prior to retirement.

Two crew killed in AW609 crash

One of two AgustaWestland AW609 tiltrotor prototypes crashed during a test flight on October 30, killing its two crew, an Italian and an American pilot.

Tiltrotor N609AG was the second 609 prototype built, and crashed into a field near the town of Santhià, around 30nm south-west of AgustaWestland’s Cascina Costa headquarters from where it had departed, while on a test flight that had been planned to include flight at high speed.

AgustaWestland confirmed the accident in a statement on Twitter, saying: “Finmeccanica-AgustaWestland confirms the loss of one prototype AW609 tiltrotor and the tragic loss of two pilots. Our deepest sympathies are with the families. The company is working with relevant authorities to determine the cause of the accident. ”At 10. 42am local time, 27 minutes after takeoff, the tiltrotor’s real-time telemetry signal was lost with no further contact. Italian media reported witnesses to the accident claimed the tiltrotor was on fire before impact.

In announcing further details less than two weeks after the fatal accident, AgustaWestland said tests on the flightplan were to demonstrate certain capabilities as agreed with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and those tests had already been successfully performed during previous flights. The manufacturer also said that the tiltrotor proved to be fully serviceable during its preflight tests that were completed shortly ahead of takeoff on the morning of the crash.

Home-grown Romeo aircrew graduate

Navy’s 725 Squadron graduated its first five ‘Australian-made’ aircrew to operate the MH-60R Seahawk from the inaugural Advanced Pilot/Aviation Warfare Officer course in mid-October.

The completion of the first aircrew course, delivered by the Squadron, was another major milestone for the Seahawk Romeo capability. “The graduation of our first MH-60R students signifies not only the commitment of the students but also the professionalism, innovation and complete dedication of everyone involved in the entire project,” 725 Squadron Commanding Officer, Commander David Frost told Navy Daily.

Two of the ‘graduates’ have returned to 725 Squadron as instructors, while another pair have been posted to 816 Squadron to support the commencement of Romeo operations in December. The fifth graduate returns to the AircraftMaintenance and Flight Trials Unit to lead future trials with the Romeo.

725 Squadron is currently training 18 students ahead of an influx of students in January. In December, aircrew and maintainers will move across to 816 Squadron with the transfer of the first two Romeo flights and two further helicopters in support of growing fleet support operations.

AAIB releases Glasgow EC135 fuel starvation accident report

The final report into the fatal November 2013 crash of an Airbus Helicopters EC135 T2+ in Glasgow, Scotland said the pilot repeatedly cancelled low fuel warnings before the aircraft experienced a double engine failure and crashed through the roof of a bar, killing all three of the helicopter’s crew and seven people inside the building.

The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report, released on October 23, said that the Bond Air Services’ pilot, who was flying on behalf of Police Scotland, acknowledged five low fuel audio warnings before the helicopter ran out of fuel. According to the AAIB, the helicopter’s operations manual dictates a pilot should land within 10 minutes of the first low fuel alarm, but the pilot continued flying for 16 minutes before the accident occurred.

The investigation found the helicopter crashed with only 76kg of fuel in its main tank. The double-celled supply tank that feeds the engines had run dry as a result of the fore and aft transfer pump switches being set to the off position. The report confirmed the transfer pump switches were likely on during most of the 98-minute flight, but at some point were selected off.

“There was no explanation as towhy the aft fuel transfer pump and the forward fuel transfer pump were both switched off,” said the report. “Whilst the selection of both fuel transfer pumps to off has occurred before in other types of helicopter, this was the first fuel starvation accident involving an EC135 in more than three million flight hours of operation, over a period of about 20 years. ” AAIB investigators could not establish why the highly experienced 51-year-old ex-RAF pilot with over 5,500 hours proceeded with the routine surveillance flight, at night and over a populated area, despite the multiple low fuel warnings.

Investigators did find that the helicopter’s left engine flamed out just 32 seconds after the right engine, rather than the three to four minutes as predicted by the manufacturer.

The AAIB suggested the element of surprise associated with the short time period between flameouts could explain why the pilot had difficulty entering and sustaining autorotative flight and was also unable to broadcast a Mayday call.

The AAIB has made seven safety recommendations as a result of the accident, two of which would require radar altimeters be capable of being powered in all phases of flight, including emergency situations, without intervention by the crew. The remaining five recommendations would require crash-survivable flight recorders that record data, audio, and images to be installed on police and emergency medical services helicopters, and other state aircraft.

Airbus Helicopters said it is now updating the EC135/H135 maintenance manual to provide a more accurate figure for the potential interval between engine flameouts and for the fuel transfer pumps to remain on at all times during flight without dry-run indication warnings, reflecting the improved dry-run capabilities of new-generation pumps.

King Stallion makes first flight

The heavylift Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion made its first flight on October 27 from Sikorsky’s Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Powered by three 7,500shp T408-GE-400 engines, the King Stallion will be able to lift up to 12. 2 tonnes – three times more than its CH-53E predecessor which is currently the largest and heaviest helicopter in the US military fleet.

The 30-minute flight, which involved basic taxiing and hovering manoeuvres, occurred about one year late due in part to problems with its main rotor gearbox. “We’re an event-driven program, so we do not fly unless we’re ready to fly,” explained USMC Col Hank Vanderborght, program manager for Heavy-Lift Helicopters. “We did have some technical issues with our main rotor gearbox, and the collective engineering team did a great job in the last five months resolving those issues. Everything has now checked out, as evidenced by the successful first flight. ” The first flight marks the beginning of a three-year flight test program that will include four prototypes, which are expected to accumulate a total of around 2,000 flight test hours.

A second prototype is at West Palm Beach having instrumentation work completed and will likely fly in January. The remaining two prototypes are expected to join the flight test program by mid next year.

The Marines expect to acquire 200 CH-53Ks with an initial operational capability planned for 2019. Full-rate production is expected to start in 2020.

HATS instructors begin training in Germany

The first instructors who will help deliver the ADF’s Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS) have been training at Airbus Helicopters in Germany using Australia’s first of 15 H135s.

The initial cadre of instructors, comprising two pilots and one aircrewman, gained the flying knowledge and skills to contribute input to Boeing Defence Australia’s syllabus design efforts and subsequent verification and validation activities, Navy Daily reported.

The initial phase of training was conducted at Airbus Helicopters’ facility in Donauwörth and involved ground school theory of all majoraircraft systems. Flying training sorties were carried out at Manching Airfield, Ingolstadt, a short distance east from Donauwörth.

Flying operations to support courseware development, verification and follow-on instructor training are expected to start late in 2016 with the first ab-initio courses starting in early 2018.

The first H135 will arrive in Australia early in the new year with the remaining 14 helicopters being delivered shortly thereafter.

MD Explorer certified for NZ ops

MD Helicopters received type acceptance certification from the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority in October for the restriction-free import and operation of its MD 900/902 Explorer.

“We couldn’t be more pleased that the CAA NZ has granted type acceptance for the MD 900/902 Explorer,” said MD Helicopters’ chief commercial officer, Craig Kitchen. “While we’ve always had a strong single-engine base in New Zealand – roughly five per cent of all 500-series aircraft currently in operation are registered with CAA NZ – type acceptance of the MD 900/902 will allow us to serve a broader segment of New Zealand’s rotorcraft operators who require enhanced gross weight, VFR or IFR operations. ” A single MD 900 Explorer, VH‑EPX, is registered in Australia.

Calls to reinstate winching ops on Tamworth rescue helicopters

The Tamworth Regional Council has called on NSW Health to reinstate winching capabilities on the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service’s (WRHS) Tamworth-based helicopters following a climbing accident in early October that required a winch-equipped rescue helicopter to be sent from Newcastle to retrieve the patient.

Winching operations from the service’s two New England – North West region BK117 B2s was terminated in July 2013 as part of state government reforms of aeromedical retrieval services.

“There have been a number of occasions the helicopter from Tamworth is tasked, then it’s been unable to perform the operation and there’s a long wait for Newcastle or Lismore to come out and winch,” Tamworth deputy mayor Russell Webb told the Northern Daily Leader. “A number of things have changed since the winching operations ceased in 2013. We are slowly but surely working our way towards putting forward a very strong case that the winching should be reinstated. ” So far this year the service has only been called on two missions in the region that required a winch retrieval. “Winching is a high-risk,specialised activity that requires the deployment of highly-skilled and proficient staff,” said NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner. “We put the safety of our patients and paramedics first, which is why winching operations at the Tamworth base ceased. ” Minister Skinner said there were no plans to reassess winching operations at the Tamworth base.

Once a new 10-year aeromedical retrieval contract begins in early 2017, the WRHS (to be called the Northern NSW Helicopter Rescue Service) will base an AW139 at Tamworth. However, a decision on whether the 139 will be equipped with a winch has not been made.

New training requirements for Kiwi R22/R44 pilots

A review into pilot training by New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), prompted by a recent spike in accidents involving Robinson R22 and R44 helicopters, has determined additional safety awareness training be mandatory for pilots flying the types to help prevent future accidents.

“In response to a Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) recommendation we reviewed the status of the training that pilots flying Robinson helicopters in New Zealand were receiving,” said the CAA’s director of civil aviation, Graeme Harris. “This identified the need to take action to improve the level and consistency of training delivered by the aviation industry. ” Mandatory from July 1 2016, the CAA said all new R22 and R44 pilots must undergo an approved Robinson safety awareness training course or a Robinson factory safety course as part of their type rating. Pilots already engaged in ‘hire or reward’ operations have been given until December 31 2016 to complete the compulsory training and private pilots not engaged in commercial operations have been given until June 30 2017 to complete a course. All pilots will then be required to complete a safety course every 24 months.

“The CAA does not take these decisions lightly and prior to introducing the new requirements we consulted with the aviation sector. Eighty per cent of the feedback we received from the industry was supportive of the CAA’s intentions,” said Harris.

A change to the training conditions will also see the minimum solo flight hours required to fly an R22 or R44 doubled from 10 to 20 hours.

The CAA said it was pleased that many of the country’s Robinson operators have already begun implementing the new training requirements ahead of the mandated start date.