Chopper Down

[ray]

A straight 'L' model with pop-outs and 7 people....

 

Be interesting to find out what happened.

[Skidz]

Shouldn't be too long NTSB are usually pretty quick to release the accident synopsis.

 

My guess is the floats were either armed and auto-deployed after the helicopter made contact with the water, or the pilot deployed them beforehand and the helicopter rolled on contact. Of he was sans tail rotor and low, he probably didn't have much more time than to say to himself " WTF !?". :shock:

 

I wonder if the critically wounded person was the woman in the news report who was complaining she couldn't breathe because of the C-collar she had on...

[justfly]

from: FAA Office of Accident Investigation - Preliminary Accident and Incident Data

 

*********************************************************************

** Report created 6/15/2005 Record 1 **

*********************************************************************

 

IDENTIFICATION

Regis#: 78TD Make/Model: B206 Description: BELL 206B HELICOPTER

Date: 06/14/2005 Time: 1738

 

Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Minor Mid Air: N Missing: N

Damage: Substantial

 

LOCATION

City: NEW YORK State: NY Country: US

 

DESCRIPTION

N78TD, A BELL 206 ROTORCRAFT, MADE A HARD LANDING IN THE EAST RIVER WHEN

DEPARTING FROM THE HELIPORT, THERE WERE SEVEN PERSONS ON BOARD, TWO

SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES, NEW YORK, NY

 

INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0

# Crew: 1 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: 0

# Pass: 6 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 2 Unk:

# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:

 

WEATHER: KISP 141656Z 28014G23KT 10SM SCT050 BKN065 31/19 A2959

 

OTHER DATA

 

Departed: HELIPORT Dep Date: Dep. Time:

Destination: MANHATTAN, NY Flt Plan: Wx Briefing:

Last Radio Cont:

Last Clearance:

 

FAA FSDO: GARDEN CITY, NY (EA15) Entry date: 06/15/2005

[ray]

It wasn't a 206B, it was a 206L, with a C20B engine.

[Skids Up]

No wonder it went down....

[cap]

No kiddin'. That take-off was made at seal level and I note the number of pax onboard. Well, I also flew one on floats in the Arctic and made many take-offs from sea leavel and I can state that on many occasions I almost had to ask the pax to lift their feet off the floor so that I could get airborne........and I had no trees to clear either. I understand that the pax were a mixture of Aussies and Orientals. If such is true, I'd suggest that the larger proportion were Orientals then because Aussies can come in large sizes.

[transquebecniece]

One of the British tourists still hospitalized in serious condition. This release from an hour ago:

 

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4700583

[justfly]

...I understand that the pax were a mixture of Aussies and Orientals. If such is true, I'd suggest that the larger proportion were Orientals then because Aussies can come in large sizes...

actually 3 Australians (pictured), 2 British, 1 Frenchman, + the pilot Yossi Benbassat. None looked tiny.

 

 

It will be interesting to see how W/B, and performance issues come out. The other question remains whether reports of "a loud bang" turn out to be mechanical or rotor strike as has been reported by some.

 

And in the "reporters ask the STUPIDest fu@king questions" file:

 

"Asked whether they managed to see anything before the chopper went down, Fay (one of the Aussies - far right in pic above) smiled.

 

"Well," she said, "we saw the river." :up:

[Fully Articulated]

from: FAA Office of Accident Investigation - Preliminary Accident and Incident Data

 

 

 

WEATHER: KISP 141656Z 28014G23KT 10SM SCT050 BKN065 31/19 A2959

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

LTE?

 

 

[justfly]

LTE?

yeah, I wondered about those winds (and LTE) too - until I realized it's 41.7 nm from KISP to KJRB- Port Authority Downtown Manhattan/Wall St Heliport!

 

Why do they list that METAR when there are at least 7 (probably more) closer reporting stations? Probably the same reason they list it as a 206B - those FAA preliminary reports often contain a LOT of inaccuracies. Still, it's too bad Canada can't match the FAA/NTSB and put out more timely accident reports.

 

In other 206L "unanticipated yaw" news this week - NTSB Identification: DEN05LA089 <---- link

 

LTE? - sounds like the unanticipated yaw was left not right? Please discuss.