WEEK 1
H2F brings you the ‘helicopter mayday of the week’ with a short accident report summary. I tell you what happened. You think more about why it happened. We all learn from it. Because that’s what accident reporting is for.
TITLE
Rescuer falls from hoist during night helicopter extraction.
WHAT?
A helicopter crew conduct a hoist rescue mission to help extract an injured person from difficult terrain. The crew inserted a rescue specialist to the ground, where she prepared the patient for extraction with assistance from ground personnel. After the patient was secured in a Bauman bag, the helicopter lowered the hoist hook and began lifting both the patient and rescuer toward the aircraft. During the ascent, the load cleared trees, began to spin, and the pilot transitioned to forward flight to stabilize the hoist. As the pair neared the helicopter, the rescuer separated from the hoist and fell.
WHERE?
The accident occurred in the Barton Creek Greenbelt area in Austin, Texas, a wooded recreational area characterized by steep terrain and dense vegetation that required hoist rescue rather than landing directly at the scene.
WHEN?
The accident took place on April 27, 2015, at approximately 21:50 local time, during a night rescue. The final report was published on March 14, 2016.
HOW?
The helicopter hovered while the rescuer and equipment were lowered to the ground, and later returned for extraction after the patient was packaged. The hoist operator initiated the lift, and the helicopter transitioned from hover to forward flight to stop a rotation that developed after the load cleared the trees. Witnesses reported minor contact with tree branches during the ascent. When the patient and rescuer were about 10 feet below the skids, the rescuer fell from the hoist while the patient remained attached and was safely delivered to a landing zone.
CONDITIONS?
The operation was conducted at night using night-vision goggles. Weather conditions were generally benign with light winds, clear visibility, and no precipitation. The environment included dense vegetation and confined terrain requiring precise aircraft positioning, hoist coordination, and communication between aircrew and ground personnel. The mission involved multiple simultaneous tasks, including obstacle avoidance, load control, and patient handling during a dynamic extraction.
OUTCOME?
The helicopter rescue specialist sustained fatal injuries after falling approximately 100 feet. The pilot, hoist operator, and patient were not injured, and the helicopter received no damage. Post-accident examinations found no equipment malfunctions or mechanical failures in the hoist system or rescue gear.
WHY?
- The rescuer was likely not properly attached to the hook during the night extraction.
- No equipment failures were identified that could explain the fall.
- Incomplete action by flight crew in securing to the hoist cable.
- The separation occurred during the transition from hover to forward flight while managing hoist operations.
REFERENCE?
National Transportation Safety Board. (2016, March 14). Aviation investigation final report: Accident number CEN15FA210 (Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH MBB BK 117 C-2, N392TC). National Transportation Safety Board. https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=91089
Note:
Accident reports selected from the following open source databases: US NTSB; UK AAIB; Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety Network; Australia’s ATSB. Ireland’s AAIU; Taiwan’s TTSB; France’s BEA; Spain’s CIAIAC. Germany’s BFU.
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