Copterline Flight 103

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Copterline Flight 103
Sikorsky S-76C+
OperatorCopterline
RegistrationOH–HCI
Passengers12
Crew2
Fatalities14
Survivors0

Copterline Flight 103 (AAQ103) was a Copterline helicopter flight en route to Helsinki, Finland from Tallinn, Estonia that crashed into the Tallinn Bay on 10 August 2005, at 12:45 local time.

The Sikorsky S-76C+ crash occurred three to five minutes after taking off. On board were two Finnish crew members and twelve passengers: six Finns, four Estonians and two Americans. There were no survivors.

Crash

People on board by nationality
Nationality Passengers Crew
 Finland 6 2
 Estonia 4
 United States 2
Total 12 2

The crew members were 41-year-old captain Peter Fredriksson, he had 7,068 hours of flight time, with 173 on the Sikorsky S-76; First Officer Seppo Peurala, age 56, had accumulated 7,618 hours of helicopter flight time, of which just over 258 hours were on the Sikorsky S-76.[1][2]

The helicopter was flying at an altitude of about 500 metres (1,600 ft) when it suddenly lost its steerability and plunged into the sea. The emergency floats didn't inflate in time and the wreck sank quickly. All those on board perished by drowning.

The Sikorsky S-76C+ emergency pontoons for water landings were deployed but couldn't inflate in time, no distress signals were heard, although it later emerged that the pilots had tried to send an emergency message shortly before the crash.

The helicopter being recovered from the bay

Rescuers reached the site in less than 10 minutes to find just one main rotor blade and an oil slick on the water. The wreckage of the helicopter itself was located by

post mortem indicated that the victims died from drowning
.

Investigation

The Estonian authorities refused to send the

Mayday
message.

The accident investigation board published a preliminary report on 14 September 2005, in which they ruled out most possibilities of physical damage before the helicopter hit water, including sabotage and collision with a flock of birds. As the helicopter was manufactured in the United States, the U.S.

HR Textron
"do not agree that the servo caused the mishap". In December 2005 the company, however, issued an all-operators letter recommending that operators carry out internal leakage tests of all S-76 main rotor servos, at the same time emphasizing that testing with an intentionally degraded servo "has not identified any safety of flight issues".

The talks between Copterline and Sikorsky Aircraft about how to divide damages arising from the crash broke down in December 2006, and Copterline sued Sikorsky Aircraft in a U.S. court in New York for damages of 60 million US dollars.

In August 2007 it was announced that the cause of the crash was a failure of the hydraulic flight control system, caused by coating flaking off from servo pistons. The loosened plasma coating flakes blocked the return valves of the servos, causing the aircraft to abruptly lose its maneuverability.[3] Copterline did not have the authority to service or even open these components. However, in the final report, Copterline was criticized for omitting a periodic leak test of the hydraulic flight control system that could have revealed the problem. The Finnish authorities were also criticized for insufficient supervision.

References

  1. ^ Tanner, Jari (12 August 2005). "Body Retrieved From Baltic Sea". The Moscow Times.
  2. ^ "Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications Estonia - FINAL REPORT AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION COPTERLINE OY SIKORSKY S-76C+ In Tallinn Bay, Estonia on 10 August 2005" (PDF). Finland Safety Investigation Authority. 6 August 2008.
  3. ^ Helsingin Sanomat 8.8.2007 Loosened servo piston plasma coating confirmed as cause of Copterline crash

Press releases:

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Copterline_Flight_103&oldid=1221019268"