On July 7, 2018, about 2123 CDT, a Eurocopter Deutschland GMBH EC135 P1 helicopter, N312SA, impacted terrain during an autorotation near Chicago, Illinois. The pilot, paramedic, and nurse were seriously injured, and the patient was not injured. The helicopter was operated by Pentastar Aviation Charter as an air ambulance flight.
While en route, the pilot noticed a twist grip caution indication on the left engine (No. 1) cockpit display system (CDS) panel. The pilot also noticed a second indication but could not recall the specific caution. He stated that he then grabbed each engine throttle twist grip individually to gently verify if he could feel they were in or out of neutral detent, but did not notice any significant changes to the throttle position. The pilot decided to divert to a nearby airport, and, as he executed a turn toward the airport, he noticed the No. 2 engine indication no longer matched the No. 1, stating that "it was lower and oscillating."
Within ~1 minute, the pilot "heard the low rotor [rpm] horn," and lowered the collective to maintain rotor speed. The pilot located a "dark spot" on the ground, which he determined would give him the best opportunity to complete a full autorotation. As he started a turn toward his intended landing location, he felt the tail oscillate to the right and back and heard an oscillation in engine speed. When the helicopter was about 200' AGL, he thought he may land short of the intended location and adjusted the collective and cyclic to maintain rotor rpm and airspeed. The helicopter impacted terrain, rotated 180°, and came to rest upright. This video from a rail platform showed a fire near the right (No. 2) engine during the autorotation, and a flame burst after impact with terrain.
Examination of the aircraft revealed no evidence of pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Analysis of data retrieved from the CDS and EEC units revealed that, about 4 minutes after takeoff, the No. engine was placed in manual mode and out of EEC control, which indicates that the pilot had likely inadvertently moved the No. 1 engine throttle out of its neutral detent. The No. 2 engine was in manual mode for about 7 minutes before the pilot noted the CDS twist grip caution indication. The data showed that as the pilot continued to manually control the No. engine, the No. 2 engine was also placed in manual mode and out of EEC control, which indicates that the pilot moved the No. 2 throttle out of its neutral detent. The pilot attempted to maintain rotor and engine rpms while controlling both engines manually; it is not likely that he fully understood the nature of the problem.
The pilot misinterpreted an aural alert (low rotor rpm as opposed to high rotor rpm) when high rotor rpm existed, then lowered the collective, which created a rotor overspeed condition. This configuration resulted in a high-workload scenario in which it would be particularly challenging for the pilot to control the helicopter while maneuvering in low altitude and night visual conditions.
The pilot had accumulated about 300 hours in EC135s, with about 11 hours in the accident make and model. The accident helicopter was the only EC135 P1 variant in the operator's fleet. Its engines, displays, and throttle controls differed from the EC135 P2+ in which the pilot was formally trained. The pilot had completed an online self-study differences training presentation, and some informal familiarization training with other company pilots. No formal training was part of the differences training curriculum.
Because the throttle (twist grip) differs between the P1 and P2+ variants, it is likely that the pilot moved it into manual mode without realizing; he likely did not recognize this issue because he did not have as much experience or formal training in the P1 variant. Because the displays also differed between the variants, it could have been more difficult for the pilot to recognize and understand the indications he was receiving. Given the differences among the two variants regarding the displays and throttle controls, additional familiarization training, such as a familiarization flight with a company check pilot, would have provided the pilot with a better understanding of the key differences.
The helicopter manufacturer issued a voluntary service bulletin 10 years before the accident regarding collective throttle controls with grips that had an increased mechanical protection against unintentional adjustment.
The NTSB determined the probable causes of this accident to be the pilot's inadvertent disabling of the No. 1 and No. 2 engines' electronic engine control systems, which resulted in engine and rotor overspeed conditions, a subsequent autorotation, and a a hard landing. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's inexperience with the helicopter variant and the operator's lack of a more robust helicopter differences training program.
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These medical helicopter crews are some of the bravest and most amazing people ever. I'm thankful they all survived.
The ones where I live won't fly if there are 2 rain drops anywhere in the area. They call off because of weather constantly.
@@donmunro144you must live in Maryland.
That's the problem with having P1 backups when you have a P2+ fleet. It has so many subtle differences that it really increases the chances of unintentionally screwing something up. Having worked for an operator in this situation I know our pilots were always uncomfortable with the P1s because they had so few hours on them
the absolute scenes when the patient who was being saved in the first place actually comes out with the least life threatening overall condition
Yeah it must have just been a hospital transport or something because usually when I hear about medevac cases the patient is usually barely clinging to life. Imagine being in critical condition and the helicopter saving you crashes. That’s some final destination shit
They were most likely on their back as well, so the impact wouldn't do much more damage, and if the patient was unconscious, it would help them even more...
@@breezyjr exactly because someone who is conscious and sees an accident coming will most likely tense up or try to re-position themselves causing greater injury.
@@badmonkey2222 Tensing up doesn’t cause greater injury. Research shows no difference whether you’re bracing or not, and some studies say it’s even slightly beneficial
@@strnglhldagreed
HUGE shout out to the random motorist who helped them!! 👏 Great job!!
what did you want them to do, drive down the hill, piss on the fire to put it out, throw everyone in their car and go to the hospital?
huge shout out to the pilot who got em to the ground for the motorist to help!
As a retired EMS helicopter pilot, I can relate to the differences training. One company had the BK117 series, one had the Bell 206 series, one had the Bell 412 series, etc....... Standardization is very important. Especially when you need to be somewhere quickly. ( That's the whole premise of why you call for a helo)! Follow that checklist, and practice. Just like being capable with your firearms. Practice, practice, practice 👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Today in training your taught to just pretend your flying “A BOX OF NAILS” just do normal speed no rush. we took a year of flight data and realized. For a 81 mile or 71nm trip was taking 30min packaging in transfer facility + 45 min from light off til shut down @RX Facility; the ambulance was making the same trip in 60-64min. - so the hospital dialed back on what it would use RW for. Which I personally agree. I mean it got so bad we were picking up people that had no urgent issue. Literally required zero intervention in flight. All while a serious accident happened and nobody was available since we were flying the guy with a broke thumb.
Reading the report by the pilot and all of the crew putting their patient 1st when they are all seriously injured themselves is a credit to the brave crew on board. I'm so glad they all survived, because although it was dark, it didn't look very survivable in the video footage. I've not read the cause of the incident fully yet though.
Dude, what are the odds of the cop being right there on that ramp???? Crazy.
In chicago? Pretty high. They're everywhere.
That's some incredibly good luck. Yeah cops are everywhere but to be EXACTLY there at that the exact moment.
@@thelaxlair6727 They're everywhere. It would almost be less likely for there to not be a cop in the general vicinity of "exactly there" than for there to be.
@@LowJSamuel Oh!? Hadn't defended the Police yet I guess
@@SomebodysGrandmother Saying those road pirating, revenue generating bots are everywhere is definitely not a defense of police.
Taking the optimist's view, this pilot fixed the systemic problem identified by forcibly removing the only remaining P1 variant from his company's fleet. It's unfortunate that people were seriously hurt, and this shouldn't have happened. Thankfully, the pilot was able to make a survivable landing for all onboard.
That he did
Rather than congratulating the Pilot for the survivable crash landing, I'd be focusing on the fact that he alone was responsible for causing the crash which destroyed the aircraft and seriously injured the Flight Crew! If he was incapable of conducting the flight safely (and he WAS incapable) then he should never have taken off! The US Medical Helicopter industry has a truly appalling accident rate, with the majority being caused by the Pilot...
I’m not surprised and am also angered that he wasn’t given any formal training on the differing model. I’m a USCG helo mechanic and SAR hoist operator and upgrading from the mh65d to the mh-65e has been pathetic. NO formal training and just a quick 15 minute walk around by a training team is no substitution for formal training in a different/new model. The pilot in the video was failed by his company not providing adequate training in a different model…yes, subtle differences can be critical in aviation! “You’ll be alright” and “what, your not confident in your skills” can be a fatal perspective by leaders in aviation. 🤯
I fueled N312SA many, many times including the day of the incident hours prior. I remember this incident very well.
Just curious but we’re you interviewed by the FAA or NTSB investigators?
*were
@@mouser485 no, because they came back for fuel after my shift had ended and another one of my coworkers took care of them. They talked to him. I was there when they came and offered to show them the fuel slip for when I took care of them, or give a statement if they needed one, but they weren't interested. They wanted to talk to the guy who actually fueled them, see the mx logs for the JetA truck, and talk to the heliport operations manager.
How ironic the patient was uninjured. And the entire crew became patients. But hey, those scratches on the helicopter will buff right out.
Every crash with aircraft I’ve seen usually catches fire upon impact . This helicopter looks like this pilot knew what he was doing ! Bravo sir !
Yes as it's gas ignition point/..as in not petrol or kerosene..you cannot possibly have volumes of liquid fuel on a moving air vehicle...
EMS medical helicopter save my love one life, flying in the dark when she have only few hours to live, I still remember standing there at Midnight as the helicopter take off in the dark, I said to myself how is they can do this, true hero, fly to Stanford for brain surgery they safe her life! Thanks for your service.
11 hrs,night time,not properly trained using engines,and alone only 1 pilot flying. Not a great idea.poor pilot should had called in sick that night
That's USA's great air ambulance rules. The most unregulated form of commercial air transport designed to fleece critically injured people. No surprises they don't have a robust safety and training program. They aren't required to have them. No FOQA? Differences training missing major differences? I'll take my chances in ground ambulance thank you very much.
The work and stress and responsibilities it takes to be a helicopter pilot are insane coming from someone with a PPL
@@BruceGinkel why is it this way?
@@RyanMiller3039 Americans don’t like regulations, so they have fewer than other western countries.
@@lebojay We also Hate F--king FADEC
This report directs everything ! Thanks .
Trooper just happened to be there. Thank God. Get that help rolling! Terrible but explainable "accident". Poor patient!
As a long time military helicopter pilot, there are a lot of red flags here for me. First is the total number of flight hours this pilot has vs total number of pilot in command hours he has. Has to be a reason for that. Also, the lack of recent flight time in the last 30 and 90 days is a red flag. 1 hour in the last month and 8 in the last 90 days? You cannot stay proficient in the aircraft, much less a “backup” aircraft with that few hours. Proficiency is a product of recency. Also not having any type of flight simulator compounds the problem. It’s scary to imagine that this may be normal. I have many friends that have retired from the military and are flying civilian medical helicopters and it’s never crossed my mind to ask them how often they fly. It is fantastic they all walked away with minimal injuries from this and I have to credit the pilot for pulling it off even though it looks like he caused the accident originally. I do know how easy it is for me to be an armchair quarterback and there are probably many or their factors that we are not privy to.
That was a damn good pilot .. bleeding off the air speed as much as he could to reduce impact .. bravo 👏
Is that something he thought of or something they’re trained to do in a situation like this? No snark just a question
that's the problem with helicopters in regard to a checklist in a midflight situation. A lot of times you aren't going to have the time to go through a checklist, especially without a copilot present. You don't really have a free hand to do anything besides fly the machine. It's not like a fixed wing aircraft in where you can free up a hand to go through a checklist. Helos have the pedals for the tail rotor, left had for the throttle and collective, right had for the cyclic. That mixed with being at night... I'd say the pilot did an exceptional job and saved all of their lives that night. Airplanes you can glide for a little while too. Now granted, some airplanes glide like a brick. However as long as you keep your airspeed up you have a little time to find a suitable landing location. Helos you have to keep the rotor speed up to allow for an effective auto rotation and landing. So, you have to find a suitable location quickly, aim for it, and bring it down.
That cop that just happened to be driving by...oh my God...
That's really odd that the manufacturer would make it so easy to take the engines out of FADEC control just by slight twisting of the throttle. At night, unfamiliar with the system (which is different than the other very similar model the pilot normally flew) just seems like asking for problems. I can see having a manual over-ride in case the FADEC malfunctions...but having it down on the collective throttles like that...at night...when you can't see the line indicating Neutral and the detents were obviously not strong enough to prevent an inadvertent twisting out of Neutral....just smacks of dumb engineering. Yes...if you're going to operate ANY aircraft it's up to YOU to know how it works (looking at you 737 Max!) but obviously this throttle setup and FADEC defeat feature wasn't stressed enough in the pilot's familiarization training. This reminds me of the Airbus control logic which...to an American A&P mind isn't logical at all. Makes me wonder who is designing these things and how their brains operate...which seems to be different than many pilots who are then tasked with operating them.
Agree 100%. This is a design flaw, and almost a deadly one in this case. I also blame the owner of this helicopter for disregarding the TSB to prevent this from happening as easily.
Why not a simple green light for FADEC engaged that turns blue for manual and red if outside either end of the operating envelope, even fast flashing for overspeed and slow flashing for underspeed, and right in view top of the console... so simple you have to wonder.
The throttles are completely conventional and in a good location, you want them easy to get to if you have a tail rotor failure. The only other option is up on the ceiling and that’s not as good. All he had to do was open the throttles fully and it would have gone back in to fully governed mode.
@@scottmonroe6522 That may have confused him more in an overspeed situation, if he thought it was under and gave full throttle which then reduces RPM he then needs to make another layer of mental deduction to confirm his action is correct. The core of the mistake was caused by an overly simplistic alarm not conveying that minor detail of over vs. under speed. Even without a visual indicator that alarm could easily be modulated to indicate what the error is.
@@scottmonroe6522 Some pics of the throttles: aerossurance.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/n62up-ec135-training.jpg and the instruments: aerossurance.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/n62up-ec135-training-2.jpg Looking at the differences in the throttles it's pretty easy to see why and how he inadvertently went to manual on the one engine...the P2+ he was used to flying has very long throttles with the pilot only handling the forward one most of the time to activate the end switches and with locks that needed manual deactivation before you can manually take control over the FADEC...the P1 is very short with both throttles in hand at all times so inadvertent movement much more likely. I'm not sure as to why he wasn't able to look at the instruments and see that the engine was overspeeding as well as the rotor...must have been task saturated already flying an unfamiliar machine at night to make the diagnosis. Looks like there were very good reasons to go to the P2+ over the P1. Not understanding your statement 'all he had to do was open the throttles fully and it would have gone back into fully governed mode'?? The way it looks to me...he had to put both throttles back into the 'N' position to regain FADEC authority...but I'm for sure no helo pilot. Can you elaborate?
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: The pilot's inadvertent disabling of the No. 1 and No. 2 engines' electronic engine control systems, which resulted in engine and rotor overspeed conditions, a subsequent autorotation, and a hard landing. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's inexperience with the helicopter variant and the operator's lack of a more robust helicopter differences training program.
You only copied the last paragraph of the description and pasted that into the comments, you forgot the rest. I got you though, don't worry! CHICAGO Medevac Helicopter Crashes With Patient Onboard 2,820 views Oct 13, 2022 On July 7, 2018, about 2123 CDT, a Eurocopter Deutschland GMBH EC135 P1 helicopter, N312SA, impacted terrain during an autorotation near Chicago, Illinois. The pilot, paramedic, and nurse were seriously injured, and the patient was not injured. The helicopter was operated by Pentastar Aviation Charter as an air ambulance flight. While en route, the pilot noticed a twist grip caution indication on the left engine (No. 1) cockpit display system (CDS) panel. The pilot also noticed a second indication but could not recall the specific caution. He stated that he then grabbed each engine throttle twist grip individually to gently verify if he could feel they were in or out of neutral detent, but did not notice any significant changes to the throttle position. The pilot decided to divert to a nearby airport, and, as he executed a turn toward the airport, he noticed the No. 2 engine indication no longer matched the No. 1, stating that "it was lower and oscillating." Within ~1 minute, the pilot "heard the low rotor [rpm] horn," and lowered the collective to maintain rotor speed. The pilot located a "dark spot" on the ground, which he determined would give him the best opportunity to complete a full autorotation. As he started a turn toward his intended landing location, he felt the tail oscillate to the right and back and heard an oscillation in engine speed. When the helicopter was about 200' AGL, he thought he may land short of the intended location and adjusted the collective and cyclic to maintain rotor rpm and airspeed. The helicopter impacted terrain, rotated 180°, and came to rest upright. This video from a rail platform showed a fire near the right (No. 2) engine during the autorotation, and a flame burst after impact with terrain. Examination of the aircraft revealed no evidence of pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Analysis of data retrieved from the CDS and EEC units revealed that, about 4 minutes after takeoff, the No. engine was placed in manual mode and out of EEC control, which indicates that the pilot had likely inadvertently moved the No. 1 engine throttle out of its neutral detent. The No. 2 engine was in manual mode for about 7 minutes before the pilot noted the CDS twist grip caution indication. The data showed that as the pilot continued to manually control the No. engine, the No. 2 engine was also placed in manual mode and out of EEC control, which indicates that the pilot moved the No. 2 throttle out of its neutral detent. The pilot attempted to maintain rotor and engine rpms while controlling both engines manually; it is not likely that he fully understood the nature of the problem. The pilot misinterpreted an aural alert (low rotor rpm as opposed to high rotor rpm) when high rotor rpm existed, then lowered the collective, which created a rotor overspeed condition. This configuration resulted in a high-workload scenario in which it would be particularly challenging for the pilot to control the helicopter while maneuvering in low altitude and night visual conditions. The pilot had accumulated about 300 hours in EC135s, with about 11 hours in the accident make and model. The accident helicopter was the only EC135 P1 variant in the operator's fleet. Its engines, displays, and throttle controls differed from the EC135 P2+ in which the pilot was formally trained. The pilot had completed an online self-study differences training presentation, and some informal familiarization training with other company pilots. No formal training was part of the differences training curriculum. Because the throttle (twist grip) differs between the P1 and P2+ variants, it is likely that the pilot moved it into manual mode without realizing; he likely did not recognize this issue because he did not have as much experience or formal training in the P1 variant. Because the displays also differed between the variants, it could have been more difficult for the pilot to recognize and understand the indications he was receiving. Given the differences among the two variants regarding the displays and throttle controls, additional familiarization training, such as a familiarization flight with a company check pilot, would have provided the pilot with a better understanding of the key differences. The helicopter manufacturer issued a voluntary service bulletin 10 years before the accident regarding collective throttle controls with grips that had an increased mechanical protection against unintentional adjustment.
@@Dexi Well I won't deny you are sharp to notice that...
..yeahhh, sums it up. Lack of TOTAL familiarization IN A VERY SIMILARLY-designed model..
No did have ground School for to understand as work the machine? It did bê applicate? Pilot need tô talk more enter colleagues and Mechanics for better knowledge about development.
Just imagine thinking that you have a chance to be saved by this helicopter, then boom.
1:32 I am shocked there isn't a bite mark taken out of that seat cushion !
From a former helicopter pilot: it looks like the pilot didn't know very well his helicopter and crashed it due to inadvertent misuse of the controls and switches. It might be due to the type-rating situation in the US. In Europe you need a type-rating course and qualification for any different machine. At last the end of the video shows that the rotor RPM were not very well managed: the flare was not bad but was clearly ineffective due to low RPM. We call it "going through the flare" ... Sorry for my English (I'm not a native speaker). Regards
Great pilot
A strong argument against single-pilot cockpits in commercial aviation. Contributing factors aside, how can a single person be expected to both control a helicopter in distress and reference a printed checklist at the same time? Say there was software to read the checklist aloud in response to pilot prompts- you've still only got one brain tasked with listening to the checklist, operating the controls, and keeping track of the outside world. Is that a realistic expectation?
Read the full summary. The pilot created the situation due to lack of training on that H135 variant. As for EP's, there are required memory items for emergencies that require immediate corrective action. As with any emergency, Aviate, Navigate, Communicate. The pilot failed to keep flying a perfectly good helicopter.
Greatest idea ever for automated software to broadcast the emergency checklist.
This mission is a two person job, even with good training.
The pilot's skills at crash-landing are to be admired. As is his situational awareness, both before & after this accident. He knew he had a problem, tried to diagnose it, but time was short. He spotted what looked like a "soft & safe spot" to go down in, then he FLEW THE CRAFT IN. This could have ended much, much worse. What is not to be admired, is the companies idiocy of NOT having a hands-on training program. If they'd of taken this pilot up at night a few times, putting just a few flight hours on him? Then you'd of NOT had this "inadvertent disabling" in the first place. THAT, NTSB, is the cause of this accident. Not a small part of it, to be tucked in at the end. THE CAUSE of this accident. You can't fix, what you don't know is broken- even if done yourself, at altitudes such as this. He TRIED to get to the book, realized time was short, tried to get his crew to help.. there was just NO TIME to do so.
Agreed, If this was UK or Europe, the pilot would be awarded massive damages comp for company and NTSB gross negligence, and misconduct...they always try to pin it on the small guy..... ESP..with a medical transport situation, Ambulance and fire ground drivers in UK and Europe are the most highly advanced training. ,,i would think it should be triple advanced for AIR flight med staff....
Sure seems like a lot of opportunities for improvement. Slight twist of a grip and you can blow up an engine? Seems like a design problem - obviously they agree and changed it on later models, but didn't require a change to the earlier models.
Yep, would be like having a car without a rev limiter. Very strange design indeed.
It helps to have SOME idea of ‘controls’ in an aircraft BEFORE posting..
@@m118lr Have you got anything useful to contribute, or are you just trying to cause an argument 🤔 Very much seems like the latter
The patient will probably still get a bill
Yup, no doubt!! "Business is cruel"
Lmao, grabblers will grabble.
'Dear Patient, please find enclosed your bill for your medivac flight: $1,325,000.00'
As someone who knows, quite a few of the very expensive inter-facility air ambulance transports, and ground ambulance transports for that matter, are unnecessary, and ruin patients financially.
Bob Hoover approved I’m sure. Fly it all the way in. Well done.
Amazed that there was a cop driving by at the time of the crash!!
I live here! How did I miss this
The first 10 pages of the paper are filled with corruption and shootings stories. Helicopter crashes are relegated to the back pages.
I'm more amazed the cars driving past missed it
Did they use an ambulance to get the patient to the hospital?? or an other helicopter
Any landing you can crawl away from is a good landing!
They all need a Medevac after this crash
My friends wife had a massive heart attack a couple of weeks ago. First responders called a medivac helicopter to transport her about 15 miles. When my friend, who both he & his wife have multiple PhD's, got the bill he almost fainted. $75,000 for a five minute air ambulance service his insurance doesn't cover.
Cheap, lifeflight around here (about 10 miles) to Stanford hospital is $15-30k from what I heard. I had a little medical situation in small town i live, which the local fire department was there . I know most of them. Luckily I overheard him call for lifeflight , Then I interrupted him and told him no...no..no. cancel that. I'm fine. Made me ride in stupid ambulance to hospital for $475 still....lol Saved some $$$$ at least.
Geez. In my country (State of Victoria in Australia) as long as you are a member (subscribe) of the Ambulance Service which is $45 a year per adult, any ambulance or air ambulance is free. Although of course if you don’t become a member (and who wouldn’t given how cheap it is) they do send an expensive bill. But there government also provide grants as well so imagine that keeps the cost down.
lucky they survived
I feel sad about how scary the H135 crash landed there :(
What timing for the police car to be right there when it happened
He quoted the FAR in regards to what constitutes a safe altitude. Any FAR can be deviated from during an emergency. Any engine warning is a "land immediately' situation. I don't understand why he thought turning back was a good choice and he sounded like he was solo in the cockpit. Second officer provided no assistance during this emergency. I'm glad he survived but there is a serious lack of emergency training based on how the events unfolded.
Well if you go back and read, he was providing backup basically because of a shortage. So no he wouldn't have had a copilot, my guess is he was hoping he could make it back to the airport, and that would be the safer option, in a big city I'm sure its hard to find places to land safely. Sounds to me like the company needs better training programs all around. Esp if they are gonna take P2 variant pilots, and ask them to fly P1 Variant EC 135's in a pinch.
Gosh, lucky there was a police car near by.
Happy for the patient I guess.
Any landing you can walk away from , is good one !
Did the pilot fly again?
With all my aviation experience I will venture out onto a limb and say the pilot made a booboo🤪
I think you are right
He did, but it was an easy one to make in the dark, due to poor design.
man, do you have use such technical terms? give us laymen a break with the technojargon lol!
@@thurin84 you must be a product of our current educational systems
@@ronjohnson9507 no u
All damn lucky to be alive. Reads like a mixed responsibility. Pilot error but also... poor training program. Very interesting.
I just hope that patient wasn't just picked up from a car accident. What bad luck that would be.
only 11 hours on type and flying at night...great idea!
No, he had 300 on type. Why would it matter if it was day or night.
@@bellboy4074 It seems it all made a difference, huh?
He had 300 on the P2+ and only 11 on the P1 variant. Not enough cross training apparently
@@bellboy4074 Why would it make a difference? Man I hope you never become an aviator. Or drive a car for that matter.
He had over 3000 hrs on other types. lots of experience but company should have had more hands on training on this type of aircraft
This is so sad
As someone that knows nothing, is it normal procedure for medivac, or I suppose any type of helicopter that has a destination at a civilian building/area, to turn away when having a warning light? Like any kind of rule that says to navigate away from civilian areas and go back to an airport or something? All based on pilot's discretion maybe?
Helicopters are very delicate. They can not just turn around when having any sort of engine, rotor, or tail rotor issues. An airplane can glide, helicopters not so much.
@@TheEvanAlmightyy Sorry, may not have worded the question well. I meant more like, if they have certain warning messages or alerts come up, is it standard procedure to try and maneuver the aircraft to a safer landing destination away from the expected civilian location? For instance, if they had Low Fuel warning but were a mile from the hospital, maybe they would continue to land at the hospital. But if they had Low Fuel pressure or something more serious, they might need to navigate away to prevent crashing directly into a hospital. I feel like maybe pilot's discretion, but wasn't sure.
@@youtub13 There are no rules governing it AFAIK, it's down to the pilots common sense and judgement. If its a serious warning in a helicopter, then you just want to get down to the nearest open patch of ground big enough to land in. If you have a problem with the gearbox or rotor then you're in big trouble, best you can hope for is a semi controlled crash. I'm not sure of the official statistics, but flight for flight, your chances of dying in a helicopter are way higher than a airliner.
I looked up the hospital they were heading for on Google Maps, and the helo pad there is on top of a building. Hospital landing pads are generally only large enough to meet the minimum requirements. Expect the pilot decided that the combination of landing on a small pad on top of a building in a helicopter experiencing issues, just a not good combination.
I think it was probably a practical consideration. As in, “if I land at the hospital helipad and the helicopter is broken, how will we fix it?” You’d have a broken helicopter miles away from tools and mechanics, blocking a hospital helipad. Landing with a warning light is one thing. Taking off with one is another. I think he probably just didn’t want to be stuck there.
Did they get airlifted? 💀
Patient walked himself to the hospital. F*ck this sh*t!
Does anyone actually read the accident reports?
Blows my mind how many people saw the crash and didn't stop to assist 😒
it can sometimes be tough for cars to scale a 4 foot concrete retainer wall to go help what they may have thought to have been an idiot in a car running off a highway ramp into the dirt
@@easyendoutdoors yea can't imagine how difficult 4ft could be to get over. Thanks for pointing that out. 👍
When every body thies the best , and it still goes south..
Still nice landing, especially in the dark
True, he most definitely has pilot skills...
@@jmax8692 no, it was not due to his incompetence. It was due the company saving a few bucks for not providing an overwhelming familiarization to the pilot for this specific aircraft.
@@jmax8692 that's bullshit
NOT a nice landing. Couldn't even do a good auto. Everyone had serious injuries. Pilot had spinal fractures. The dumb shit pilot had 2 good engines that took him to the scene of crash...
Agreed. He flew the autorotation well because he’s a competent pilot that had sufficient training in that maneuver. I think that further proves that his company failed him by not fully training him. It sucks he is assigned the primary blame, but that’s just the nature of being PIC.
Cockpit designs should not be frequently changed from variant to variant.
Did you crash your helicopter
Patient must have broken mirrors on Friday the 13th
Sues previous at fault party and sues helicopter provider. Win win
What are the chances that the police were right there to see it.
So, how much $$$$ did the patient get???
Everyone was injured but the patient. That’s because the patient was allready injured!
MANUTENÇÃO OU FALHA HUMANA ? 🤔🥺 🇧🇷
Falha Humana do acuerdo a compañía y FAA.
Reading the description, would the pilot be charged with anything? or never be able to fly again for a company?
This was more on the company policies and training than on the pilot, IMO... He should be back on the job.
He pulled off a nonfatal autorotation forced off-field "landing" with what little he had to work with in terms of hours, equipment, and night VFR. He isn't a flying ace and he wins no prizes, but considering the challenges of rotor craft flying under windless cloudless day VFR he handled the emergency better than many although obviously not flawlessly. He lives to fly another day and hopefully he will be much more meticulous and a safety hawk in future endeavors. It's a red mark, not a black ball.
Seems it was just a lack of proper training and familiarity with this model of Eurocopter that caused the crash. Can't blame the pilot.
Accidents happen, and this sounds like it was more of a training issue than competency issue. I'm sure he'll have to do some training to fix those gaps and then he'll be back in the air before long, and a better pilot for the experience.
He most likely will be back in a helo at some point..yeah. He’s SHOWN he’s capable..just NEEDS more familiarization in THIS model..or THAT ‘P1’ model.
Pilot error.... Not surprised..
How crazy is it that the 3rd vehicle @0:47 to drive by was a police car.
talk about a bad day huh?
Automation kills; Skynet is here.....
There is medivac company that’s considering moving into the EC135s which they are still operating the Bell 407s as of now and Helio Pilots who wants to do this one as well if I would want to have not only hours but unfortunately It takes a well trained military medivac Aviation pilots who has the experience flying at nights in unfamiliar terrain and always think about everyone who is aboard with patients to saving lives because you saved my DAD
Here is the punctuation you misplaced: ,,.,--,.
@@bad_take_billy 😂😂😂
You know God really wants you back when he tries to take you back twice in a day. Sheeesh
Lol
Why is it someone always brings their phoney God into a situation like this?
@@markfrench8892 Same reason there is always a pedantic moron that has to take everything literally, even a joke. 🙄
@@markfrench8892 Maybe because most of the world believes in a God? YOU are the freak.
No, the devil!, God didn't have anything to do w/that other than saving them, giving the demon the chopper!😄...
NVGs not NVG's
Great fast thinking of this that would have been fatal by the Crew and at night
All the pilot need to do was look down at the throttles and see they were out of the fly mark. Not fast thinking at all. Pilot didn't know aircraft systems. Stupid mistake.
The last flight I did was in a Bell 206 and a MD-500 flight wasn’t easy and it takes knowing the entire systems of any aircraft and thankfully I hope they will get together and briefly go over there mistakes to not let it happen again
Did the hospital perform the updated "collective throttle controls with grips that had an increased mechanical protection against unintentional adjustment" ? Since it was not mandatory, seems like that in addition to the woeful training on this particle aircraft could have been a recipe for disaster. I hope everyone in this horrible event is compensated handsomely.
If they did, I’ll eat my hat
chicago. well that explains the hundreds of cars passing and no one stopping and helping, at least in the video portion shown. so many things gone wrong with this story. what company allows a pilot to transition to a different aircraft with only self review online "homework" and no transition training? what manufacturer makes changes between different models of the same basic aircraft that normal operations in one are crash inducing dangerous in another? thats WINDOWS level of "fixing" things!!! what pilot relies on just online, self review "homework" to transition to a new aircraft and misses one of the biggest known differences danger bulletins for over a decade? at least the pilot seemed to have done a decent job on the descent.
One would hope that the companies would give serious consideration as to the fact that not only is a pilot a valuable asset but also the professional paramedics and a critically injured patient on board. This low hour pilot was thrust into a situation flying at night, single pilot in a complex machine that he was not adequately trained to handle by a company that doesn’t give a rats ass! “Here, read this online familiarization on this helicopter and your good to go!” Thats like letting a toddler play a video game of Mario cart then tossing him the keys to a Peterbuilt Semi truck hauling two trailers loaded with jet fuel down a dark, wet and winding single lane mountain pass with a convoy of school buses loaded with children coming up the hill! Recipe for disaster, fortunately with a relatively safe outcome.
Probably Evan Esper with his weed
If it wasn't certified in IFR ,Why was it flying at night???
Instrument Flight Rules have nothing to do with time of day or night. VFR flight is just as possible at night as in daytime and depends on both the maximum line of sight potential and cloud ceiling - if any.
If the patient wasn't injured, what was he doing in a medevac helicopter in the first place?
This detail wasn’t pertinent to the crash and investigation so no reason to tell us all about the medical condition of the patient. That is private information.
They should have said: the patient was not injured further.
@@daveturbide9051 Common sense would tell on that.
They might have had a heart issue or any other medical condition that doesn't involve injury.
They had a stick up their ass from a previous incident, the stick didn’t go in during this crash lol
🙁
You need to give more time to read..you’re pages are scrolling too fast
Pause?
@@Vicarium yes, but pausing a KZhead video puts highlights on the screen and blocks out half of what you’re trying to read.
3:04 Good thing ol' Nick spent more time on Difference Training than Flight Crew Safety Communications!
Ya but company set him up for failure on this quite a bit. Differences training missing differences on a system that has a SB because its known to cause issues.
Medivac Helicopters are pretty much a necessary oxymoron as any helicopter will try to kill you 100 ways per minute the moment the rotor starts to turn until the moment it has completely stopped.
I'm on a flight path from a local hospital and these buggers buzz my house on a regular basis, like maybe 100' up on occasion. It shakes the entire house and I fear one day one is going to crash land right onto the roof and demolish my home. Hopefully I'm out that day and I can get a new house built, courtesy of their insurance company.
Pilot inadvertently activates manual control of the engines BECAUSE of a lack of training and standardization...and the FAA of course, dumps it on the guy wiggling the sticks. Put it on the operator who I'm sure pressured their pilots to use the P1 whenever coverage was in question. 'Can't have us missing a mission because we didn't truly train Joe!' Medevac is a "have to go" business model (with few exceptions). Why wouldn't they ensure the pilots were well trained and proficient in the use of the controls and displays, knowing they "have to go"?
Um where's the person inside it
?
Had to be taken to hospital with spine fractures and a bump on the head. They don't photograph with live victims still inside.
If you look hard enough you might be able to tell these are post-accident photos
Typical Chicago folks, nobody stops to help.
Fly Bell or Hughes
Seems like a real stretch to blame the pilot for this one, particularly since a service bulletin was issued 10 years prior regarding the situation this pilot encountered with the throttles. I get it, airplane models are different, and it's up to the pilot to sort it all out, but something this critical should have had giant flashing red lights attached to it in the manuals and training. If it were not for this pilot's airmanship, nobody would have survived this.......
while the manufacturer certainly shares some of the blame, the pilot clearly missed a lot in his online self review "homework". i mean this issue had been known about with safety bulletins issued for over a decade. i would think that would be kinda hard to miss. i think his employer also bears some culpability for not having an official transitioning training program and just letting the pilot do online self review training. but yeah, a lot went wrong from several quarters for this incident.
That difference between P1 and P2 is a bad and dangerous design by Airbus.
Being ‘familiar’ and having high-er flight hours in ONE model doesn’t make you immediately familiar with a newer model..and CAN CAUSE serious problems when those particular models have JUST ENOUGH in common. NO doubt he needed more familiarization than just an “online” course..and an EMS flight. Having a Sim available “somewhere” would’ve helped immensely. Everybody’s TRYING to save money, and they seem to always end up in the same place..SPENDING MORE.
Autorotation is all they had at this type of emergency
and all this will do is increase hour requirements, which mean new pilots will just spend another two weeks pencil whipping their log books. Congratulations helicopter industry, you have destroyed yourself.
..dumb. It’s not going anywhere..SERIOUSLY? No, you’re not serious..
@@m118lr I'm dead serious. Cost to train per hour is sky rocketing, less people can afford training. Heck when I got out of the military they dropped the minimums to 90 hrs a year. That's not even 500 hrs in a 7 year carrer. Can't earn time as a flight instructor any more. Well you can, but nobody wants to make $20k/yr for 3 years to get hours for a job that will never pay over $80k/yr unless you pull sock line, in which case you will live in a hotel 24/7. What students do earn a commercial ticket will have 250 hrs and 99% of part 91 companies won't even look at anyone less than 700 hrs cause of insurance minimums. So that is 450 hours you need to pay for at $600-$800/hr....that's $315k...or....... you could just pencil whip it. Or if your a female you can trade your lady parts for a job. Seen that A BUNCH. Yes sir the helicopter industry is right in the middle of a bad case of CFIT. Literally. Crash after crash after crash after crash. More pencil whipping, then more crashes. You get the trend. I already jumped ship a couple years ago and got my fixed wing add ons done. I was downwind of this 11 years ago, smelled it coming. Smelled like low tide in summer.
Capitalism
It’s 2022 and things like this shouldn’t happen. This pilot should not have been flying this helicopter
You guys ever win these games you armchair quarterback? You know nobody flies helicopters, they just beat the air into submission...
Ambulance ride or helicopter ride, No thanks! I'll just take an Uber there, I have a better chance of getting there safer.
SO... basically, "Undertrained pilot set up for failure with dubiously familiar model of craft and idiosyncrasies not ironed out... AND then everybody wonders how it all went wrong when he made a minor (and easily made) mistake... Damn... ;o)
Is this legal in USA? I mean to have only a theoretical self applied "class" to perform real flights? The single pilot flight in a high performance complex helicopter at night is a trend, but statistics shows a massacre trend as well! Moreoer, that portion where the pilot states he was asking help from the medical team to read the checklist is simply ridiculous! Something must be done urgently in USA aviation! (And there are people that feels comfortable criticizing Dan Gryder for its strident behaviour...)
..”online” classes are the norm EVERYWHERE these days. I’m 61 yrs old..a previous helo pilot with my PPL..non-current and the only other thing different here that I can see is his HIS LACK OF TIME in a Sim.
@@m118lr Yes, I'm 63 and having "online" classes since 1997 (Initial MD-11 Ground School). But there was a LOT of human interface afterward, including checkrides on FFS AND real flights. My question remains unanswered...
capitalism
@@geddon436 all about $$$ to these operators and medical organizations.
@@franktbone Spend more money on extra training for minor changes in helicopter collective operating procedures that are dangerous if not instructed in properly?? Nahhh, nothing bad will happen.
Life lessons learned: Never never never switch anything into advanced mode…… Doesn’t matter what it is, it will go wrong…..
..has NOTHING to do with what happened HERE.
If someone's critical enough to require a life flight I fail to see how they'd be "uninjured".
No "additional injuries" is how I heard of the patient's status after the crash
It used to be for critically ill patients but has become a taxi service in most areas. We only called in the medivac in car accidents with life threatening injuries. I worked for a transport team for a major hospital and we did mostly neonatal intensive care transports and some we flew some we did ground transport. We used PHI out of Louisiana for our pilots in S76 Sarkorsky and two pilots. This has changed now they fly BK and I believe they went to single pilot. Never had any issues and we flew a lot.