Helicopter crash Auckland CBD

Just out of interest do you think there is going to be an expensive prolonged enquiry into how this copter fell out of the sky yesterday? Its painfully obvious that he was attached tp a cable that had just dropped a frame of some sort, and was lowering down so the guys underneth could disable it from the copter. The lower he got the cable was drawn nearer that was what the blades struck and brought him down. Maybe the copter should have been fitted with a quick release system whereas the cable just dropped to the floor? Will it be tax payers money opening an 'inquest' as to how it happened. I bet it will.[!]

i so hope their is a inquiry theire needs ot be one, I wonderd why that guy under neath the copter grabed the rope? the aircrash people wil hopefuly get the answers they need.

high profile company ( telecom )..high profile event ( tree ).. very public mishap ( viaduct ).. add OSH.. of course this will be a drawn out enquiry...

There seemed to be at least three cameras filming when the accident happened so the inquiry will be fairly 'cut and dried' as they will have evidence galore.

Having worked with helicopters I know that the two things that most commonly bring down choppers are wires/cables and the careless actions of personnel working in the area. The guy that pulled the rope immediately before the accident appears to have contributed and the noise like a gunshot or whipcrack was a synthetic rope snapping (probably the blue rope that remained wrapped around one of the rotors) which would easily have caused the accident. Doesn't take much to upset the complex workings of a chopper []

Very unwise environment for a helicopter to be working in IMO !

Full videos of the incident from YouTube show what happened pretty clearly. Coming up to the 3:30 mark on the video watch for the rigger on the ground almost under the chopper grabbing the cable to retrieve it from the hook release on the underside of the chopper. The cable has just been used to lift the 'tree' into place. As he pulls on the cable the other end which is still attached to the top of the tree is pulled tight and contacts the main rotor [:0] Instant self destruction of the chopper

Organix;397632 wrote: Full videos of the incident from YouTube show what happened pretty clearly. Coming up to the 3:30 mark on the video watch for the rigger on the ground almost under the chopper grabbing the cable to retrieve it from the hook release on the underside of the chopper. The cable has just been used to lift the 'tree' into place. As he pulls on the cable the other end which is still attached to the top of the tree is pulled tight and contacts the main rotor [:0] Instant self destruction of the chopper

thats what i thought to but not knowing any thing about such things was not sure. That rope is naturly going to go taut wehn it is pulled down liek that.

I have to say I was not impressed with the first aid skills. The guy should at least have had a collar on before being taken out of the cab.

kai;397664 wrote: I have to say I was not impressed with the first aid skills. The guy should at least have had a collar on before being taken out of the cab.

In theory i agree.. but the helpers werent emergency response people, so there wouldnt have been one to hand..... i can see why the riggers made the call to get the pilot as far away as possible.. there was every possiblity the helicopter could have fallen further or burst into flames.. engine was running and the thing was tearing itself to bits..
not being there and only looking at footage.. i think ( and may be wrong ) the pilot got himself out and was helped to walk away..

kai;397664 wrote: I have to say I was not impressed with the first aid skills. The guy should at least have had a collar on before being taken out of the cab.

Av-gas everywhere, turbine winding down with a hot engine, chooper cab munted and balancing precariously..... I'd say the guys retrieving the pilot quick smart deserve a medal for making quick priority based decisions at their own peril in a dangerous environment :rolleyes:

So where's the Christmas tree?

Toast;397728 wrote: So where's the Christmas tree?

Waiting for 'Plan B' []

I think the fundemental flaw in the operation was the length of the cable being used, if the intent was to "ground release" instead of "pilot release" a much longer cable should have been used, to ensure the "hanging loop" was sufficient for rotor clearance while the rigger was disconnecting from the chopper.
Whoever put together the methodology statement for the operation should have factored that in.
Potentially the rigger will be blamed as he was the guy holding the cable, but the operation seems to have been flawed from the outset.

That def sounds a good summary of events.
Probably won't stop the expensive enquiry though..

Chris-HB

Chris-HB;397872 wrote: That def sounds a good summary of events.
Probably won't stop the expensive enquiry though..

Chris-HB

They have to find someone to pin blame on :rolleyes:
Welcome to the liability apportionment era, and just be thankful we have ACC or things would be much more protracted and potentially expensive [:0]

this isnt the first time they have put the tree up this way.. for the last 2 years its been in a park on a busy intersection in Ponsonby..just one of those "oh bugger" things that can go wrong