A helicopter pilot’s unfamiliarity with flying in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) contributed to the fatal crash of an Airbus Helicopters H130 in Australia, investigators have determined.
The crash occurred on 31 March 2022 when two Microflite H130s, the crash helicopter VH-XWD and VH-WVV, departed Melbourne for the town of Ulpana, Victoria, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s final report into the accident.
The two helicopters departed at 07:41 local time. The pilots were aware that IMC were forecast along their route, but visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed in Melbourne that morning.
“The pilots continued the flight as conditions deteriorated below VMC until a rapid change of course was required to avoid entering cloud,” says the ATSB.
The pilot of -WVV, which was in the lead, announced that he was making a U-turn. Its pilot told investigators that the pilot of the sister aircraft seemed “initially confused as to why -WVV was turning around and might have thought the conditions were suitable to continue.”
The pilot of -XWD delayed making the U-turn, possibly to avoid conflict with the lead helicopter, and shortly thereafter appears to have lost visual reference in the cloud.
Says the ATSB: “The accident pilot did not maintain adequate control of the pitch attitude during the attempted U-turn and a high rate of descent developed resulting in a collision with terrain. This pilot had no instrument flying experience, and the helicopter was not equipped with any form of artificial stabilisation, nor was either required by the regulations.”
The impact with terrain killed the H130’s pilot and all four passengers.
The ATSB found that Microflite had not mandated risk controls such as inadvertent IMC recovery training and basic instrument flying competency checks – nor were these required by regulations.
The operator took a number of actions following the accident, including a risk assessment about visual flight rules into IMC, as well as avionics upgrades for its H130 and H125 helicopters, including the addition of synthetic vision and terrain alerting functionality.
Pilots have also received basic instrument flying training and inadvertent recovery training.
“Helicopter inadvertent IMC occurrences result in a higher proportion of accidents and a similar proportion of fatal accidents as those involving aeroplanes,” adds the ATSB.
“The ATSB encourages all pilots to develop the knowledge and skills required to manage the risk of inadvertent IMC, which can be assisted with educational material from regulators and industry bodies directed at flight planning and weather assessments.”
