Flight Safety Foundation Helicopter Safety 1996

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November–December 1996

Helicopter Impacts River After Smoke Disorients Pilot During Fire-fighting Operations 4 pages. [PDF 39K]

When the pilot encountered significantly reduced visibility at low altitude, all visual cues were lost to the noninstrument-rated commercial pilot, the official Canadian accident report said.

September–October 1996

Spatial Disorientation Blamed for Fatal Helicopter Accident in Poor Weather 6 pages. [PDF 55K]

After successfully completing a night nonprecision approach in instrument meteorological conditions to a rural airport, the pilot had apparently intended to proceed visually to a nearby helipad, the official accident report said.

July–August 1996

Helicopter Strikes Water on Approach After Pilots Lose Altitude Awareness 12 pages. [PDF 107K]

The controlled-flight-into-terrain (CFIT) accident, which killed a passenger and necessitated an underwater escape by the pilots, was also attributed to flight crew failure to set their altimeters correctly.

May–June 1996

Object Strikes, Complete Loss of Thrust Were Leading Causes of U.S. Turbine-engine Helicopter Tail-rotor Accidents, 1988 Through 1993 6 pages. [PDF 40K]

During the study period, 16 percent of U.S. civil turbine-engine helicopter accidents involved the tail-rotor system. Most tail-rotor accidents involved pilot errors, but complete-loss-of-thrust accidents were often attributed to maintenance deficiencies.

March–April 1996

Every Helicopter Pilot Must Be Prepared for Inadvertent Entry into Instrument Meteorological Conditions 4 pages. [PDF 30K]

The first line of defense is to avoid inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions, but vital guidelines can prepare a pilot for coping with the unexpected.

January–February 1996

EMS Helicopter LOFT Study Shows Experience Influences Pilot Performance during Inadvertent Flight into IMC 6 pages. [PDF 43K]

Only four of 28 commercial EMS helicopter pilots, when encountering unexpected instrument meteorological conditions in a simulator, received the highest possible score from instructors. But a majority of pilots followed basic guidelines in coping with the unexpected.