The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has concluded that the Robinson R22 has a similar safety profile to other light helicopters following an investigation into light helicopter safety that was prompted by a number of accidents.
Between January 1985 and December 2003, light utility helicopters made up half the fleet of helicopters in the country, but accounted for 72% of helicopter accidents.
The ATSB studied the R22, Bell/ Agusta/Kawasaki 47G, Hughes/ Schweizer 269 and the Hiller UH-12E. The R22 was found to be involved in more accidents but flew more hours than any other type. The 47G had the next highest involvement in accidents, followed by the 269 and the UH-12E. But in terms of accident rate per hours flown, the R22's record was as safe if not safer than similar models.
The Australian Customs Service has been testing Aerosonde's unmanned air vehicle as part of its evaluations of new technology ahead of the release of the request for tender for its Civil Maritime Surveillance 2004 (CMS04) project expected this month. Following a slip in the programme, new civil maritime surveillance services are unlikely to be fully operational until July 2007.
The tender will close in late September. Evaluation and contract signature are due between October 2004 and April 2005, contract signature in May 2005 and full service delivery by July 2007.
With contracts valued at A$75 million ($53.5 million) a year over nine years, CMS04 is the largest civil maritime surveillance programme in the world.
Source: Flight International
