Accident

[sirlandsalot]

A B2 had a hard landing on the Banff Park fire and chopped the tail off, 3 or 4 in the hospital.  Anybody know?

[helidom]

Three injured in helicopter crash

On August 24, at approximately 1:45 p.m. Columbia Valley RCMP received a report of a helicopter crash in the northern section of Assiniboine Provincial Park (just west of Sunshine Village) involving an AStar 350 B-2 helicopter belonging to Mustang helicopters. The helicopter was working within the fire control zone of the Verdant Creek Fire in Kootenay Park.

Although the crash involved four occupants there appeared to be no injuries.

A fire crew leader who was on the ground at the time witnessed the crash. Three of the four occupants of the helicopter were airlifted from the crash zone to Banff Hospital while the remaining occupant refused to be airlifted and decided to walk out of the crash zone. Columbia Valley RCMP liaised with the Transportation Safety Board, Parks Canada and Banff RCMP.

The Transportation Safety Board advised that they would not be attending the crash scene and they requested RCMP obtain statements from the occupants and photos of the accident. Although there has been no official cause of the crash determined at this time it is believed that gusty winds at the time may have been the primary contributor. The helicopter involved received a broken tail boom and the Transportation Board gave approval for the aircraft to be removed.

[VERTICAL REF]

Viewed an aerial picture of the crash site. Will be educational to hear how the tailboom came off like it did.

[BrockLanders]

23 hours ago, VERTICAL REF said:

Viewed an aerial picture of the crash site. Will be educational to hear how the tailboom came off like it did.

Any pics? Explanation? 

[sirlandsalot]

What I "heard" and would makes sense was he drooped it, landed hard and wacked the tail.  Good ol B2 hot and high.  First summer in an Astar, in the Rockies......lots of speculation I know but my two bits.

[Bif]

Crummy way to learn a lesson

[twinstar_ca]

at least he learned it by walking away....

[maxtorqe]

More training required...

[maxtorqe]

It’s unfortunate when things like this happen whatever the case, however this is the nature of the industry.

However, after seeing some of the many operators out there these days, I’m surprised there wasn’t MORE incedents/accidents like this. 

This industry seems to be separated into 3 categories of operators

1-the operators who have solid crews with steady work, pay well and have a full crew being well versed in there jobs (both pilots and engineers).Machine rates reflect this. Training is ongoing and mostly done at a high standard.

2-the operators who have a bit of year round work, pay decent when there’s work, keep a couple of good hands around (both the pilot and engineer side of things). Machine rates fluctuate based on the season. The rest of the crew is seasonal and simply fill the positions. Training is average.

3-the low budget operators who have little year round work, pay decent for a seasonal position. Have the bare minimum crew. Always looking for bodies to fill the position. Machines go out the door at rock bottom prices (the classic “cash flow” theory) Training is minimal. When things get slow it’s down the road for you.

Take a guess what sort of operator I would categorize these guys ? 

[Freewheel]

8 hours ago, maxtorqe said:

It’s unfortunate when things like this happen whatever the case, however this is the nature of the industry.

However, after seeing some of the many operators out there these days, I’m surprised there wasn’t MORE incedents/accidents like this. 

This industry seems to be separated into 3 categories of operators

1-the operators who have solid crews with steady work, pay well and have a full crew being well versed in there jobs (both pilots and engineers).Machine rates reflect this. Training is ongoing and mostly done at a high standard.

2-the operators who have a bit of year round work, pay decent when there’s work, keep a couple of good hands around (both the pilot and engineer side of things). Machine rates fluctuate based on the season. The rest of the crew is seasonal and simply fill the positions. Training is average.

3-the low budget operators who have little year round work, pay decent for a seasonal position. Have the bare minimum crew. Always looking for bodies to fill the position. Machines go out the door at rock bottom prices (the classic “cash flow” theory) Training is minimal. When things get slow it’s down the road for you.

Take a guess what sort of operator I would categorize these guys ? 

Well their "sister" company was selling B2s at 748.00 per hour not that long ago. Is that not a good rate?