Air Ii Crash In Vt.

[squarewasher]

AIR II CRASH LANDING. The wreckage of a helicopter that was out tracking utility lines can be seen on the woods of Brookline, Vt., Wednesday.

More Photos For This StoryHelicopter goes down in VermontBy PHILLIP BANTZ
Sentinel StaffPublished: Thursday, April 22, 2010BROOKLINE, Vt. — A small helicopter crashed into a hillside Wednesday in Vermont, injuring the pilot and a passenger who was outside the aircraft working on utility lines, according to a police official.

Both crash victims are employees of Maryland-based AIR2 and were doing contract work for the Vermont Electric Power Company, or VELCO.

They were flown to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon after the 11:15 a.m. crash. Their identities and medical conditions have not been released.

The wrecked MD-500 helicopter, which is owned by AIR2, was being used to hang transmission lines off Grassy Brook Road in Brookline, according to VELCO spokeswoman Shana M. Duval.

Brookline is located in the West River Valley, about 20 miles north and west of Brattleboro.

She initially said that a line or rope used to string the lines became entangled in the aircraft’s rotor, causing it to crash. But today, Duval said the cause of the incident was unknown.

“Immediately after the incident we received various reports from the field, preliminary information that I can’t confirm, including the description of how the incident occurred,” she said today.

The helicopter’s passenger was outside the aircraft on its skid or landing bar when the MD-500 dropped about 60 feet and crashed into a hillside beneath utility lines, according to Vermont State Police Capt. Ray Keefe.

After the crash, the passenger appeared to be more seriously injured than the pilot, Keefe said.

One of the crash victims was able to walk way from the wreckage, Duval said.

But she was unsure about whether it was the pilot or passenger.

Federal Aviation Administration investigators are handling the crash inquiry, according to Keefe. Messages left with FAA’s New England office in Burlington, Mass., were not returned this morning.

Meanwhile, VELCO and AIR2 have launched parallel investigations into the crash, according to Duval. AIR2 declined to comment on the incident.

“All AIR2 operations for VELCO have been suspended until safe operations can be assured,” Duval said. “Safety is our paramount concern.”

While the helicopter appeared badly damaged — the blades on its main rotor were snapped and its tail was twisted — the aircraft did not leak any fuel or oil onto the hillside, according to Duval.

Last March, a utility helicopter crashed in Lee, Mass., injuring two workers for Northeast Utilities and the pilot. The Boston Globe reported that the helicopter, a Hughes 369D, was registered to AIR2.

Phillip Bantz can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1409, or pbantz@keenesentinel.com.

[BigClive]

On the basis that it always seems to be the tail rotor that snags either the line or rope, then why don't they have some sort of basic guard on the tail rotor to try and deflect objects. In the case of avoiding line contact, it could be a single thin bar in front of the rotor.

I've said this before. Is there some aerodynamic reason a simple guard can't be fitted?

[BookII]

A while back I worked for an outfit called Helimax that flew the MD520. (A similar version of the Bell 500) It had a NOTAR, meaning it had no tail rotor. Instead it was a forced air thruster that stabilized the helicopter.

[hobbyknocker]

The pilot was the one who walked away from the accident. The line worker was badly injured, if I heard right. I heard that the helicopter may have rolled over onto the line worker.

[MI-Lineman]

A while back I worked for an outfit called Helimax that flew the MD520. (A similar version of the Bell 500) It had a NOTAR, meaning it had no tail rotor. Instead it was a forced air thruster that stabilized the helicopter.

I was gonna mention that too! I saw a show about that when it was first tested 15-20 years ago. Never saw it again? Pretty cool how it worked! You'd think you would see it used in linework?

[JRT]

A while back I was talking with a company that was considering purchasing a helicopter without the tail rotor technology and after they tested the helicopter, they determined the performance was lacking for live line work applications - basically the control the pilot needed.

[BookII]

I was gonna mention that too! I saw a show about that when it was first tested 15-20 years ago. Never saw it again? Pretty cool how it worked! You'd think you would see it used in linework?

That was the first and last time I've ever seen a ship like that. The other thing I noticed is that the stabilizers, or fins, stuck out a little further than the Bell. So the potential of getting caught in the static was still there.

And as JRT mentioned, control was an issue, but also the costs. And the Bell 500 has proven to be a relentess work horse!

[PA BEN]

http://www.wptz.com/mostpopular/23220230/detail.html
I heard a block on the end of the line under the chopper got caught on a truck and sprang up into the rotor.

[never_forget_our_brothers]

The pilot was the one who walked away from the accident. The line worker was badly injured, if I heard right. I heard that the helicopter may have rolled over onto the line worker.

Keep us updated if you can. I hate to hear that. Hope both pull through.

[blik]

Air 2 the Pike/Red Simpson of the Helicopter world!