A Sikorsky helicopter with six people on board crashed into the sea west of Sotra on 28 February this year. One person died in the accident. The Accident Investigation Board is investigating what went wrong. They have come up with a preliminary report on Tuesday. In it, they ask the helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky to ensure that all operating companies know the values for where the helicopter nose points when the helicopter is on autopilot. This should be included in all manuals for the Sikorsky helicopters, the Accident Investigation Board believes. In an earlier update, the Accident Investigation Board pointed out that the nose of the helicopter raised abnormally much. When the accident happened, the nose was pointing 30 degrees up, and had started to sink backwards when the pilots discovered this. Normally, the nose should not point more than 12-13 degrees up, according to the Accident Investigation Board. Marked point in the sea The crew on the helicopter trained on rescuing people in the water. A lifebuoy had been released into the sea west of Sotra, and they had to retrieve it. To do this, the pilots used an autopilot function called “Mark on top”. This function keeps the helicopter steady over a point that the pilots have plotted into the systems. In order for the helicopter to remain relatively stable, it will adjust its nose itself so as not to get too far away from the marked point. It is in this situation that the nose should not be pointed more than 12-13 degrees up. In the dark it was difficult for the pilots to notice this change. They had few visual reference points. By the time they realized the nose was pointing too high, it was too late to save the helicopter from falling. The Accident Investigation Board asks all the companies that fly Sikorskys to ensure that pilots are trained to understand, communicate and correct early enough when the nose points too high. More unanswered questions The Accident Investigation Board announces that they will provide more updates. There are still unanswered questions related to whether the woman who died could have survived. Among other things, the Accident Investigation Board warns that the helicopter’s floating elements are part of the further investigation. These can be triggered both manually and automatically, but this did not happen. Published 06.08.2024, at 11.13 Updated 06.08.2024, at 11.38
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The Accident Investigation Board is coming up with one concrete measure after the helicopter accident at Sotra – news Vestland
