flight comment w 04

8/6/2019 Flight Comment w 04

1/10

L a m ission eta it tou t ce qu 'il y ~ va it d~ p lussim ple : to u t ce que nous dev ion s fa iree ta it de rega gner la b ase ap res u ne reun iond 'e sc ad ro ns. N ou s fa isio ns p artie d 'u n g ro up ed e p lu sie ur s h elic op te re s G rif fo n v oy ag ea ntle m erne jou r d ans la m em e direc tion et nousd ev io ns tr av er se r 1 'E st d e 1 'O n ta rio , le Q u eb ece t la p artie se pte ntrio na le d u M a in e. N otree qu ip ag e e ta it le d ern ie r a p artir, e nv iro nune heure ap re s le groupe. C e sera it d ug ate au : n ou s p re vo yio ns d es c on ditio nsm e te or olo giq ue s f av or is an t Ie v ol it vu e (V FR )et d es ven ts leg ers p endan t tou t Ie vo LP eu t-e tre e ta it-il san s d ou te prev u q ue n ousaurions a re tourne r a no tre po in t de departa pre s q ue Ie v oy an t d ' av ertisse m en t d e fre inro to r se fu t a llu me , E n e ffe t, le s p la qu ette sne s 'ap puya ien t pas suffisam m ent su rle s m ic ro c on ta cts p om fe rm er Ie c irc uit.A pre s q ue lq ue s ju ro ns p artic ulie re rn en t b ie nenvoyes it 1 'e nd ro it d e c es m em es m ic ro co n-ta cts e t u n n ou ve l e ta lo nn ag e so ig ne ux ,n ou s a vo ns b ie nto t p u re pa rtir.T ou t s 'est b ien derou le jusqu 'a O ttaw a et no usnou s so mm es p oses it S ain t - Hn be rt p ou r fa ireIe p le in . N ou s a vons verifie rap id em ent lam eteo pom la rou te passan t p ar Q uebec etR iv ie re -d u-L ou p, p uis n ou s a vo ns r e d e c o l l e ,N ous n 'e tio ns pa s tou t a fa it rendus a Q uebeclo rsqu e nous avon s re~u un appel rad io nou sdem an dan t d 'essaye r de no us rendre au presd 'u n h elic op te re q ui s 'e ta it d eta ch e d u g ro up ee t q ui s 'e ta it p ose a l'e xte rie ur d e S he rb ro ok ea pre s a vo ir su bi u ne d efe ctu osite p lu s g ra ve ,m ais surtou t en nuye use . L e b ureau d es o pera-tio ns de no tre base d 'a ttach e v ou la it c om m u-n ique r certa ins rense ig nem en ts a I'equipagede cet helicop te re , m ais Ie c on tro le d e la c ir-cu la tio n aerienne (A TC ) n 'e ta it p as en m esu rede Ie j oindre . U n coup d 'c e il rap ide a la quan-tite de carbu ran t don t nou s d isposions nous aperm is de co ndu re q ue no s reserv es eta ien tsu ffisa nte s p ou r q ue n ou s n ou s re nd io ns a

10 Proposde vol, n o 1, 2004

UFS he rb ro ok e a pre s n otre v isite . C omm eequipage, nous nou s som mes en tendus etsom mes pa rtis a la rech erche d e nos cam a-rades . C 'e ta it m ain te na nt Ie m ilie u d e I' ap re s-m id i, e t il resta it b ien tro is ou quatre b onn esh eures a van t de rega gner no tre b ase .N ou s av ons tres v ite trouv e Ie G riffon enq ue stio n e t m o difie la re fe re nc e g rille (G R ID )p ou r q u'e lle c orre sp on de a so n e mp la ce me ntr e e l , P ar co ntre , no tre inc ursio n inop in ee encam pagne avait con som me du carbu ran t aupo in t ou nou s avons d li n ous con ten ter defa ire le s p assa ge s n ec essa ire s p ou r n ou s a ssu re rqu e l'e qu ip a ge a va it d ej a q ui tte l 'h el ic op te reet gagner une zone hab ite e , N ous avons d liq uitte r le s lie ux ra pid em en t p ou r p ou vo ira tte in dre S he rb ro ok e su r n os re se rv es V FR .A c e m om e nt, 1 'h eu re d u so up er a pp ro ch ait.P en dan t que Ie m ecan ic ien n av igan t fa isa it Iep le in e t i ns pe c ta it l'e xte rie ur d e n otr e a pp ar eil,le s p ilo te s o nt e ffe ctu e u ne re ch erc he te le -pho nique rap ide des lieux d 'he bergem ent lesp lu s c on nu s a S he rb ro ok e. lis o nt fin ale me ntretrouve l'e qu ip ag e e t lu i o nt c om m un iq uele s re nse ig ne me nts d u b ure au d es o pe ra tio ns.S atisfa its d u d ev oir a cc om pli, n ou s a vo ns re prisI 'a ir po ur regag ner no tre b ase ava nt la n uit.C 'es t a ce m om ent que tou t a com mence aalIe r m al pou r no us ...L es m ete oro lo gu es sig na la ie nt u ne m in cecouc he a 30 00 pi, qu i se tro uva it au -dessusde no us m ain ten an t, e t q ui se p ro long eaitjusqu 'a la fron tiere en tre Ie M aine et IeN ou ve au -B ru nsw ic k. D u g iv ra ge e ta itannonce, il ne fa lla it done pas com pter surun vo l aux instrum en ts (IFR ). II ne nou sresta it p lus q ue Ie vo l V FR . R em arquez q u'ilne nous est m em e pas venu a l'idee d 'app ele rIe bureau des opera tio ns pou r leur d ire qu enou s ne ren trerions que le lendem ain . N ou sne pension s qu 'a no s en fa nts m alad es, a nosc on jo in te s in qu ie te s e t a un horaire de vo lc om p le t le le nd em a in

T ou t l'e qu ip ag e se c om p osa it d 'in stru cte urs, e tto us c on na is sa ie nt tr es b ie n le s v ols n oc tu rn eset avaien t pas m al d 'heures de vo l d e nu it dansIe co rp s. V ole r la nu it? P as d e prob lerne ! S aufqu e ... n ous n 'a vions pas em porte de ju mellesde v isio n no ctu rne p our Ie voL N e dev ion s-nous pas vo ler Ie jo ur en V FR? 11n' y a quedeux m ots pour decrire Ie nord du M aineapres Ie cou cher du so le il: c 'est N OIR ! N ou sne verrio ns p as b eaucoup de cam pagne enrou te , su rto u t le s co llines d e 2 000 a 4 000pied s reparties Ie long de no tre rou te prevu e.T an t q ue n ou s a llio ns s uiv re s cru pu le us em e ntla rou te program mee que nous av ions b ienprep aree , n ous n ' a urion s pas a n ous inqu ie terd es c ollin es . D e s in str uc te ur s n e d ev ra ie ntja ma is s 'e ca rte r d e le ur ro ute , n ' est - ce p as?E n fait, c 'est p le in d e bon s sen s.N ous n ous som m es alo rs d irig es vers la con treesa uv ag e, d an s la n oirc eu r, d ev in an t Ie re lie fa cc id en te so us n otre a pp are il. II n e se p assa ita p eu pres rien , si ce n ' eta it qu e la nu it e ta itd 'e nc re . N ou s a vo ns se ule me nt e nte nd uq ue lq ue s b ip s d u ra dio altim etre lo rsq ue n ou sfra nch ission s les co llin es a 1 000 p i ou a pe up re s. N ou s a vio ns le s y eu x riv es su r Ie ra dio al-tim etre p om no us a ssurer de gagn er ree llem entde l'altitude a m esu re q ue n ous av ion s fran ch ila c ollin e. II n' y a va it rie n la , e t n ou s se rio nsd e r et ou r it quelqu es heu res pres de n otrep la n d 'o r ig in e .II n 'y a e u rien la jusqu 'a ce que fina le ment, a lasu ite d 'u n b ip du rad ioaltim etre , nous som m esto rn bes sur un e co llin e qu i ne s ' est pas efface eim m edia te ment c om m e les au tres. N ous avon ssu rv eille to us d eu x Ie ra dio altim etre a lo rs q uela co lline a sem ble m onter vers nou s : 8 00 p i,600 p i, 5 00 p i (l) Ie n e m e souv iens p lus tresb ien de ce qu i a ete d it, m ais je su is convaincuq ue c 'e ta it p artic ulie re me nt d ire ct a u m om en tou j'a i p ris les com m andes et en tam e un virageen m ontee de m on co te en m e serv an t d 'u ntre s p etit v illa ge fa ib le me nt e cla ire c om m e c ib lea t ra ve rs r na fenetre, l'a i d it a l'e qu ip ag e q uej' e n a va is a sse z e t q ue je m o nta is a u n e a lt it ud eIF R po ur po ursu iv re le v ol. Ie ve nais a peined ' en onc er rna dec ision , m ' e n vo ulan t de nou sa vo ir te nu s d an s c ette s itu atio n a us si lo ng te m ps ,q ue j' a i e te g la ce d e v oir I e r ad io altim e tr eosci l ler a 20 0 pi av an t de fin alem ent reco m-mence r a a ug m en te r a pre s q ue j'e us a cc en tu ela montee .


2/10

C om me l' av ait d it le m eteo ro log ue , n ou sa vo ns re nc on tre la co uc he n uag eu se a 3 000 pi.C omme j' ava is s u r v e i l l e m e s i ns tr um e nt sin tensem en t depu is q ue no us avion s q uittele tro u n oir, la tran sitio n s'e st fa ite to utnaturellernent, A la surprise de ch acu n, n ou sn ou s s om m es r e t r o u v e s quelque 500 pi plushau t dans une nu it e to i l e e o u b ri ll ai t l a p le in elune . A l'h orizo n, n ou s p ou vio ns v oir fac ile -m en t n otre destinatio n, q ui e ta it tres biene c l a i r e e ,I l va sans d ire que le reste du voyage a e te t r e ssilencieux. [e n 'avais aucun do ute su r ce quitraversait l'esprit d e ch acun , q ue lqu e ch osed u g en re : Po urqu oi avo ns-n ou s m erneen visag e de no us em barqu er dans cetteg a l e r e i Le syndrom e du retour au bercaila s o n m e i ll eu r! Iugemen t , expectative,JU GE ME NT ! N ous av on s fin i pa r regagn erno tre base sans subir de crise card iaque etn ou s av on s e f f e c t u e un d e b r e f f a g e intensif .J ' ai tire un nom bre inca lculable de l e c o n s den otre p etite a ve ntu re , et elles ont change rnaf a c o n d e f ai re a plusieurs e g a r d s , Maintenant ,je n' a cce ptera i p as u ne ta ch e inopinee avantd 'a vo ir p arf ait em en t c om p ris 1 'e ffe t q u'e ll eaura sur m on equipage et d'etre conva incuque nous pourrons te rm iner la m iss ion enc ou rs. S i la m em e situ atio n s e rep ro du isaita uj ou rd 'h ui , je n 'h es ite ra is A B SO LUMENTPAS a dire a notre bureau des opera tions queno us passe rio ns la nu it a S he rb ro ok e. A p re stout, on ava it p rolonge nos heu res de vol.J ' aim erais rn ie ux ju stif ier u ne n ote d 'h otel am on patron qu 'un im pac t avec le r el ie f p a rc eq ue n ou s au rio ns p ersiste a p ou rs ui vr e n ot rev oy ag e. M ain ten an t, d es ju melle s d e v is io nnoctu rne font partie de m on lot de bo rd, etj'in siste p ou r q ue le res te d e l'eq uip ag e ait lessiennes. [e m 'im ag ine com bien m em e uneseu le p aire d e ce s ju me lle s au ra it e te p rec ieu sedans les co llin es du M aine. E t je m e su isastreint a c on sid ere r c omm e e ntie re me nttle xib le s l es h eu re s d ' a rr iv ee n on c ri tiq ue s.O n ne m e rep rendra pas a m ettre en jeu la v iede m on equipage et m on appare il sim plem entp ou r re sp ecter u n h ora ire q ui n ' est p as c ritiq ue.M a co njo in te e t m es enfants l e comprennen tt r e s bien, m e m e s i c e l a s ig n i f ie q u e papan e r e nt re ra p a s a v a n t d e m a i n . A u m o in s,ilr e nt re ra s a in e t s a u f


3/10

The mission was super simple -all we had to do was to get homefrom the squadron reunion. We werepart of a multi-ship, same day, sameway gaggle of Griffon helicopters,working our way across easternOntario, Quebec, and northernMaine. Our crew was the last todepart, roughly an hour behind thepack. Itwas going to be a cinch; wewere expecting good visual flightrules (VFR) weather and light windsall the way.Perhaps it was foreboding that wehad to return to our start point witha rotor brake caution light, becausethe pucks weren't pressing the micro-switches firmly enough to close thecircuit. With a few well-placed cursesof the same micro-switches and askillfully applied calibration, we weresoon on our way once more.The going was easy through Ottawaand we landed at St Hubert for gas.We made a quick weather check forour northern route through QuebecCity and Riviere du Loup, and wewere off again. We were not quite toQuebec when we got a radio call ask-ing us to try and tee up with one ofour scattered flock that had landedoutside of Sherbrooke with a slightlymore serious, but still bothersome,malfunction. Our home base opera-tions cell had some information theywanted to pass to the crew of the sickbird, but air traffic control (ATC) was-n't able to get hold of them. A quickcheck of the amount of gas w~ carriedgave us an acceptable reserve to getinto Sherbrooke after our visit, so, as acrew, we agreed and headed off to findour comrades. We were easing into

10 FlightComment, no 1,2004

mid-afternoon by now, with a solidthree or four hours of flight until wegot home.We fOW1dthe sick Griffon with onlya little searching around, rearrangingthe supplied grid reference to onethat worked for their actual location.However, our extra tour of the coun-tryside cost us enough gas that wecould only make enough passes todetermine that the crew had alreadyvacated the plane for better populatedsurroundings. We had to depart quicklyin order to reach Sherbrooke with ourVFR reserves. The clock was steadilyticking away toward dinnertime bythis point.While the flight engineer (FE) gassedup and turned the plane around, thepilots conducted a quick phone se~rchof the more familiar accommodationsin Sherbrooke, finally locating the crewand passing the info from Operations.Feeling sufficiently satisfied with our-selves, we then turned to getting ourown butts home for the night. This iswhere it all started to break downfor us ...Meteorologists were reporting a thinlayer at 3000', which was overhead usnow, and ending along the Maine/NewBrunswick border. There was a lot oficing being reported, so it was prettyclear that instrument flight (IFR) wasout. That left VFR flight as our onlyoption. Notice here that we didn't evenconsider calling Operations ourselvesto say "see ya tomorrow." Sick kids,anxious wives, and a full flyingschedule tomorrow were the itemsthat crossed our minds.The whole crew was comprised ofinstructors, all intimately familiar with

night ops, and with considerable nighthours between us. Night flying? Noproblem! Except ... we didn't b~ing anynight vision goggles (NVGs) WIth us forthe trip. Wasn't it supposed to be a day,VFR transit? There is only one word todescribe northern Maine after sundown- BLACK! We wouldn't be seeing awhole lot of the countryside enroute,particularly the 2000-4000' hills scat-tered along our intended route. As longas we stuck to our well-planned andprogrammed track, they shouldn't bea problem. A couple of instructors

k . h ((should never stray from trac ,ng t ..Well, it's a sound theory, anyway.And so, off we went, into the wild,black, and subliminally rocky yonder.Pretty uneventful, save the odd com-ment on how bleeding dark it was.All we heard was a couple of pingson the radar altimeter (radalt) as wecleared the hills by 1000' or so. We kepta close eye on our radalt to make surewe actually gained height as the hilldropped away. No big deal, we shouldbe home within a couple hours of ouroriginal plan.It was no big deal until we finally fOW1dthe hill that pinged our radalt anddidn't drop away again immediately likethe others. We both watched as this onecame up to 800', 600', 500'(!). I don'trecall exactly what was said, but I amsure it was suitably expletive as I tookcontrol of the aircraft and started aclimbing turn to my side, using a verysmall and dimly lit town-site as a targetout my window. I told the crew that Ihad had enough, and that I was climb-ing to an IFR altitude to continue. A s Ispit this out, disgusted with myself forletting us go on this long, I was chilled


4/10

finally starting to increase again asI put our tail to the hill.

Much to everyone's surprise, we brokeout into a bright, fullmoon lit starscapea mere 500' higher. On the horizonwas our extremely well lit and easyto see destination.Needless to say, the rest of the trip waspretty quiet. I have no doubt that every-one was thinking along the same lines- why did we even consider doingwhat we just did? "Get-home-itis"at its worst! Judgement, expectancy,JUDGEMENT! We did indeed make ithome from there without further heartfailure, and carried out an intensivedebrief amongst the crew.I took away innumerable lessons fromour little adventure and it changed theway I do business in a few ways. Now,I will not accept a surprise task until Icompletely understand the effect it willhave on my crew and our ability tocomplete our current mission. Giventhe same circumstances today, I wouldhave NO hesitation telling Operationsthat we would be staying in Sherbrookeas well. They had added to our intendedflight time, after al l . I would muchrather explain a night's hotel bill tothe boss than a controlled flight intoterrain because we pressured ourselvesinto pressing on. I now carry NVGs aspart of my flyaway kit, and insist thatthe rest of the crew have them as well.I think of how invaluable even a singleset would have been around those hillsin Maine. And I have forced myself toregard non-critical arrival times asentirely flexible. I won't be caughtagain endangering the crew and theaircraft trying to make a timing thatisn't critical. My wife and kids under-stand completely. Even if it meansDad won't be home for another day.At least he'll be home safely.


5/10

E n m ars , n o us e tio ns en tra~ de p lan i-fie r u n v ol d e c on tro le d e 1 'E qu ip ed 'e va lu atio n e t d e n or m al is at io n d u tr an s-p ort e t d u sau ve ta ge (E EN TS ) p ou r 1 'u nd e n os p ilo te s d e CH - 1 46 G riffo n. N o tree qu ip ag e d e q u atr e p er so n ne s s 'e st r eu nid an s la s all e d e b re ffa ge d e I 'e sc ad ro n p ou rl 'e xp ose d u c om m an da nt d e b ord o L e p la ncons is tai t a e ff ec tu er u n v o l d e n av ig at io nle lo ng d u S ag ue na y p uis a r en tr er . N o u sn ou s p ro po sio ns, lo rs d u tra je t d e re to ur,d 'e ff ec tu er u n e s eq ue nc e d e r ec he rc he e ts au v eta ge ( SAR ) d e d eu x h elit re uill ag es e td 'u n tr eu il la ge d e b ra nc ar d- pa ni er s ui visd e d eu x h el it re ui ll ag es e n z on e e xig u e.I Tf ai sa it tr ois d eg re s a u s ol e t le r ap po rt" de m e te oro lo gic p re vo ya it p ou r to ute las oire e d e la p lu ie a cc om p ag ne e d e v en tsf or ts ( de -2 0 a 30 nceud s) ,N o us a vo ns d ec olle sa ns in cid en t d eB a g o tv il le e t e n tr ep ri s n o tr e e x er ci ce .L 'e qu ip ag e p or ta it d es lu ne tte s d e v is io nnoc tu rne e t nous vo lion s depu is d ix .

m in ute s q ua nd le c om m an da nt d e b ords 'e st r en du c om p te q u e l'e ss ui e- gl ac e d eg au ch e n e fo nc tio nn ait p as. N o us a vo nsd ec id e d e c on tin ue r e t, p eu a pre s, n ou sa vo n s t ra ve rs e d es a ve rs es d e n eig e.L 'in d ic ate ur d e t em p e ra tu re d e 1 'a pp ar eili nd iq ua it m o in s u n . L e p il ote q u i e ff ec tu aitle v ol d e c on tro le d e 1 'E EN T S, vo ya nt lep are -b ris e s 'e m bu er, a d em a nd e q ue 1 'o nf as se f o nc ti on n er I e c h au ff ag e . L e me c a ni -c ie n d e b ord e t le te ch nic ie n S A R a va ie ntre m arq ue p ou r le ur p art q ue le s lu ne tte sa rr ie re s 'emb u ai en t e g al em en t. A cem om en t, n ou s a vo ns c omm e nc e a aff ronterd e s c o nd it io n s a tmo s p he ri qu e s m a r gi na le s.L e p la fo n d b ai ss ai t, m a is n o us e tio n se nc ore e n m esu re d e v oir Ie so l e t le p ou r-t ou r d es m o n ta gn es , a us si a vo ns -n ou sd ec id e d e p ou rsu iv re la m is sio n. N o s te nta -tiv es d e re ctific atio n d u p ro ble m e d el'e ss ui e- gl ac e o nt e te v ain es . L e p ilo te ad e n ou ve au d ern an de u ne h au sse d e latem p er atu re c ar l'e m b ua ge d u p ar e- br is e

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s 'a gg ra va it . L e r ne ca ni ci en d e b o rd a a ug -m e n te la tem p era tu re e t, s ai sis sa nt s a lam p ed e p oc he , il a re m on te s es lu ne tte s d e v isio nn oc tu rn e e t a re ga rd e p ar la lu ne tte a rrie redroi te.N ous n o us som m es tou s ren du com pte enm e m e te mp s q ue c e n 'e tait p as d e 1 'e m-b ua ge , m a is b ie n d u v erg la s! Q u an d j'a ire ga rd e m o n h ub lo t, j 'a i c on sta te q u'u nt ie rs d e l a s ur fa ce e ta it c ou v er te d e g la ce .N o us a vo n s i mm ed ia te rn en t to ur ne a droi tee t n ou s so mm es re ntre s a l a b as e. C h em i nfa is an t, n ou s a vo ns d isc ute d e la s ou rc e d eno t re i n ap t it u d e a i d ent if ie r l e p r ob lemei mm ed ia tem en t, D e to u te e vid en ce , c 'e ta its urto ut le p ort d es lu ne tte s d e v isio n n oc -tu rn e. E n p lu s, le m e ca nic ie n e t le c om -m a nd an t e ta ie nt tro p p re oc cu pe s p arI 'e ss u ie -g ia c e e t p a r I e t emp s q u 'i l f ai sa it .M a l gr e c e tt e e x pl ic a ti on , j e n 'a rr iv e e n co rep as a c ro ir e q u'il n o u s a it f allu q ui nz em in ute s p ou r id en tifie r le p ro ble m e. Ca po ra l- ch ef M ic ha ud

Propos de vol, n 1, 2004


6/10

_ - - - -~".-,-. ......".._ --.

IMarch, we were planninga Transport and RescueStandardization and EvaluationTeam (TRSET) check-ride for oneof our CH-146 Griffon pilots. Ourcrew of four met in the squadronbriefing room for our aircraft com-mander's (AC's) briefing. The planwas to conduct a navigation flightalong the Saguenay River and thento make our way back. On ourreturn leg,we intended to conducta search and rescue (SAR) sequence-consistingof two hoists and astokes-litter hoist, followed by twoconfined-area hoists. The tempera-ture was three degrees on the ground,and the meteorology report wascalling for rain throughout theevening with strong (20-30 knot)winds.We departed from Bagotville airportwithout incident and started ourtraining. The crew was on night

,._.J... _ ; : _ _ - - - _ - -_ ~~_,;_.

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Should It Take?vision goggles and it was ten minutesinto the flight when the AC realizedthat the left wiper was not function-ing. We decided to continue andshortly after, we encountered somesnow showers. The temperaturegauge on the aircraft indicated-1 degrees. The flying pilot, whowas doing the TRSET check-ride,was getting fog in the windshieldand requested the heat to be turnedon. The flight engineer (FE) and theSARtechnician also noticed that therear windows were fogging aswell.At this point, we started to encountermarginal weather conditions. Theceiling was lowering as well, but wewere still able to see the groundand the mountain features, so wedecided to continue with the mis-sion. Attempts were made to rectifythe wiper problem but to no avail.Again the pilot asked for more heat,as the windshield fogging was getting

worse. The FEproceeded to turnthe heat up, and then reached for aflashlight, pulled his NVG's up,and had a look at the rear rightwindow.Ithit us all at the same time - thefogging was actually icing!When Ilooked at my window, I saw that onethird of the surface was covered withice.An immediate right turn was ini-tiated and we returned to the base.Aswe were getting back to the base,we discussed the events that led toour inability to identify the problemright away.It was obvious that beingon NVG's was the main factor. Othercauses were that the FE and the ACwere too busy trouble-shooting thewiper and the weather. Despite thereasons, my thoughts are that I can-not believe that it took us fifteenminutes to identify the problem .Master Corporal Michaud

FlightComment, no 1, 2004 1


7/10

FROM THE INVESTIGATORTYPE: Griffon CH146475LOCATION:Within the boundariew

of 5 Wing Goose Bay, N.L.DATE: 17 September 2003

T he aircraft crashed in the "Webber drop zone"within the boundaries of 5Wing Goose Bay.The crew was conducting Out of Ground Effect (aGE)hover Stokes litter transfer training for a secondFlight Engineer (FE)at the time of the accident.The Stokes litter transfer was at the stage wherethe litter was on the hoist, the cable was in the fullup position and the FEwas requesting: "Pilot over-ride out." On hearing this request, the non-flyingpilot is supposed to activate the hoist overrideswitch, located on the right collective, to payoutthe hoist cable, thus allowing the FEto use bothhands to recover the litter into the aircraft. In thisoccurrence, the flying pilot, who was in the rightseat, noted the aircraft sinking and yawing to theright within seconds of the crewman's request. Theattempt to control the sinking with collective didnot appear to be effective and the "Low RotorRPMWarning" sounded, indicating rotor speed(RRPM)below 97%. The flying pilot called "Powerloss, power loss" and simultaneously rolled offboth engine throttles in response to the perception

that a tail totor loss had occurred. Without powerto the rotor, the aircraft descended rapidly anddespite full collective application, the aircraftimpacted the ground with a force of about 5 to 8 g.The aircraft landed in a flat attitude and, whilestill intact, the received severe damage consistentwith a "B" category accident.Post-crash investigation showed the hoist andStokes litter still in the full up position, and thenon-flying pilot confirmed he did "make andhold" a switch on the right-hand (RH) collective.The next (lower) switch on the RHcollective is therotor RPMgovernor (beep) switch. Full down"Beep" will reduce the main rotor RPMto about97%, the same rotor RPMvalue that the flyingpilot noted as he rolled the throttles off.Investigators examined the rotor RPMgovernoractuator for position, and found the actuator inthe full "beep" down position. Of note, the heli-copter is fully controllable at 97% RRPM.The crew and Squadron were briefed onthe investigation findings, as an immediate pre-ventative measure.Furthur investigation will focus on autorotationtraining for CFhelicopter pilots, with emphasison hover autorotation recoveries. The flying pilothad not completed an autorotation from hoverto touchdown for 5 years, other than in the simu-lator. Also, an examination of the human factorsassociated with the accident will be undertaken. +

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TYPE: Griffon CH146475ENDROIT: a I'interieur des limites

de la 5e Escadre deGoose Bay (Terre-Neuve)

DATE: Le 17 septembre 2003

L'ENQUETEUR VOUS INFORME

L 'a ppa re i' s 'e st e cra se d ans la zone de la rgage W ebbe r ,a l'in te rie ur de s lim ite s de la 5" E sca dre de G oose B ay. A um om ent d e I'a ccide nt, l 'e quipa qe e ta it e n vol sta tio nna irehors de l'e ffe t de sol (O GE ) dura nt Ie tra nsfe rt d 'une civ ie reS toke s e ffe ctu e da ns Ie ca dre d 'une o pe ra tion d'e ntra ine -m e nt d e sti ne e a u n s e co nd rn ec a ni cie n n av ig a nt .L e tra nsfe rt e n e ta it re ndu a l'e ta pe ou, la c iv ie re e ta nt fixe ea u tre uil e t Ie ca ble e ta nt com ple te rne nt e nroule , Ie rne ca ni-c ie n na viga nt a dit P ilot ove rride out . Au prononce dece tte de ma nde , Ie pilo te qu i n 'e st pa s a ux com ma nde s e stce nse e ncle nche r I'inte rru pte ur d e surp asse m ent d u tre uil,s itue sur Ie colle ctif d ro it, de m anie re a la is se r a lle r Ie c ab lee t a pe rm ettre a insi a u m eca nic ie n na viga nt de se se rvir dese s d eux m ains pour ra me ne r la c iv ie re a l 'inte rie ur d e l'h eli-coptere a m esure que Ie ca ble se de rou le . D ans Ie pre se ntca s, Ie pilo te a ux com ma nde s, qui e ta it a ssis e n p la ce dro ite ,a consta te dans le s se conde s qui ont suiv i la de mande dum em bre d'e quipa qe que I'a ppa re il pe rda it de I'a lt itude toute n v ira nt a dro ite . L a te nta tive de stoppe r la de sce nte al'a ide du co lle ctif a se mble va ine , e t I'a la rm e de ba s re gim ero to r a re te nti, indiqua nt un re gim e ro tor infe rie ur a 97 % .L e p ilo te a ux com ma nde s a a nnonce P e rte d e p uis sa nc e,pe rte de puissance e t a sirnu ltane rne nt re du it le s ga z de s

de ux m ote urs e n re actio n a ce qu'il croya it e tre une pe rted 'e ffica cite du ro to r de que ue . S ans pu issa nce a rriva nt a urotor, I'a ppa re il e st de sce ndu ra pide me nt e t, rna lq re unre le vage com ple t du colle ctif, il a pe rcute Ie so l a ve c uneforce de que lque 5 a 8 G . I'he lico pte re s 'e st po se d 'a plo mbm ais, b ie n que toujours e ntie re , la structure a va it sub i de sd omm ag es c orre sp ond ant, d 'a pre s la c la ss ific atio n, a unaccide nt de ca te qorie B ..l'e nque te a pre s I'a ccide nt a m ontre que Ie tre uil e t la c iv ie reS toke s e ta ie nt toujours e n po sit ion cornple te rne nt re le ve e,e t Ie p ilo te qui n'e ta it pa s a ux com ma nde s a confirrne qu 'ila va it m ainte nu e nfonce un inte rrup te ur sur Ie c olle ctif d ro it.S ur ce colle ctif, I'inte rru pte ur a dja ce nt (e n d esce nda nt) e stce lu i qu i com ma nde Ie re qula te ur de re gim e ro tor. D ans sonre qla qe Ie plus ba s, ce t inte rrup te ur va re duire Ie re gim erotor a qu elq ue 9 7 %, la rne rne va le ur que Ie pilo te a ux com -m and es a co nsta te qu and il a re duit le s g a z. L e s e nq ue te ursont e xam ine Ie ve rin du re qula te ur de re g ime ro to r pourconna itre sa position, e t ils ont de couve rt qu e ce tte de rnie recorre sponda it a u re qla qe Ie plus b as. F ait a no te r , l 'h e l icop -te re e st tout a fa it p ilo ta bl e a un re gime rotor de 97 %.A t itre de m esure pre ve ntive im me dia te , l'e quipa qee t l 'E sca dron ont e te m is a u coura nt de s fa its e ta blispa r l'enquete,l 'e nqu ete va se conce ntre r sur la form ation a I 'autorota t ionde s pilo te s d'he licop te re d es F C, e t to ut pa rt icu lie re rne nt surle s sortie s d 'a utoro ta tion e n sta tionna ire . D epu is 5 a ns, Iep ilo te a ux c omm an de s n 'a va it e ffe ctu e a uc une a uto ro ta tio nju sq u'a u p os e a pa rtir d 'un vol e n sta tionna ire , s i ce n'e st e nsim ula te ur. D e p lus, il va y a voir un e xa me n de s fa cte ursh um a ins e nto ura nt le s c irc ons ta nc es d e c et a cc id en t. +

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Corporal Greg Ewing, a member of 427 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, refuels a Griffon helicopter during a "hot refuel"at Camp Black Bear in Velika Kladusa, Bosnia-Herzegovina.Photo: Master Corporal Paul MacGregor, Canadian Forces Combat Camera, 31 October 02

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