Bell 212 down near Lytton (Aug. 2009)

[scm]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columb ... looet.html

[sky's the limit]

Just had Heli-jet's MEDIVAC fly over us here sitting on IA.... fingers crossed it's not too bad.

stl

[scm]

I've flown many of their pilots into the area - great guys with tons of experience. Hope all turns out well.

[sky's the limit]

Still no sign of the pilot... not looking like a positive outcome but still hoping.

[W5]

RCMP identify helicopter pilot missing in B.C. crash

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/RCM ... story.html

[sky's the limit]

At the time of the crash, he was filling the aircraft’s water bucket as part of the effort to combat a nearly 1,300-hectare blaze about 20 kilometres south of Lillooet.

Witnesses reported he surfaced in the water after the crash, so efforts were focused Saturday on a water and riverbank search.

Two boats from Hope Search and Rescue were being deployed along with an RCMP helicopter, said RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk.

“There was a second helicopter operating in the area who witnessed the crash and immediately attempted to assist Mr. Woodhead when he was seen surfacing,” said Moskaluk. “A valiant attempt was made by the second pilot and machine by lowering his line and bucket into the river near Mr. Woodhead, however it was not successful and the pilot lost visual sight of Mr. Woodhead.”

Very sad, thoughts go out to all the family and friends.

Bucketing in rivers is a tricky game, and one the size of the Fraser is particularly hazardous, fly safe everyone.


stl

[rotorhead350]

Damn! Very sad news!!!!!

rh350

[Widow]

Helicopter pilot survived crash, only to drown later: report
Company responds to 2009 death by requiring life-jackets for helicopter pilots on firefighting bucket duty
By LARRY PYNN, Vancouver Sun
April 1, 2010

A pilot survived the crash of his helicopter into the Fraser River near Lillooet only to drown downstream despite a dramatic rescue attempt involving another pilot, the federal transportation safety board concluded in a report released Wednesday.

Robert Woodhead, 53, of Stoney Creek, Ont., was flying solo without a life-jacket on firefighting duty in his Bell 212 helicopter when he encountered problems at a water pickup site about 37 kilometres south of Lillooet last Aug. 14 at 4 p.m.

The board believes that Woodhead fell victim to a combination of wind, topography and helicopter dynamics as he steeply approached the site in a canyon while hauling a 1,350-litre bucket on a 45-metre longline. The board said the wind direction had suddenly switched 180 degrees in the ragged canyon, catching the pilot off guard and forcing the helicopter to descend quickly into its own downwash.

The wind had been blowing to 60 km/h in the area, but lack of vegetation in the canyon made it difficult to read the change in direction.

Before Woodhead could recover from his sudden descent or release the longline, his bucket dipped into the Fraser River and carried him downstream in the current flowing at about 15 km/h.

"As the helicopter continued forward, it was dragging the water bucket," the board found. "Moments later, the helicopter pitched nose-down, yawed to the left, struck the river surface, broke up, and sank."

Woodhead's was among four helicopters less than one minute apart in a circuit from the river to the Intipam forest fire and back to the river.

"Helicopters are susceptible to an aerodynamic phenomenon known as the vortex ring state (VRS)," the board wrote.

"VRS occurs when a helicopter's flight path, airspeed, and rate of descent coincide with the helicopter's downwash. The risk of VRS increases when a helicopter slows in a downwind condition."

Another pilot tried unsuccessfully to rescue Woodhead from the water.

"One of the other helicopter pilots put his water bucket close to the accident pilot in the water, but he disappeared below the water's surface. The wreckage floated for a very short time and drifted north in the back eddy before it sank."

The pilot "was not likely injured during the crash" and was a good swimmer, the report found. His body was recovered five days later downstream from Yale. Most of the helicopter wreckage remains at the bottom of the Fraser River.

Woodhead worked for Alberta's Elbow River Helicopters Ltd. and had 10,000 flight hours on helicopters, including 3,300 hours on water bucket operations.

Elbow River has since implemented a policy requiring pilots to wear life jackets — also known as personal flotation devices — while on bucket duty. It also requires pilots to fly with the belly hook armed so that it can be more easily detached through an electrical release in an emergency.

The safety board continues to examine the issue of mandatory life jackets for crew and passengers, including during float plane takeoffs and landings. Transport Canada so far has not mandated their use.

Six passengers, including a mother and infant, died Nov. 19 when a Seair de Havilland Beaver float plane crashed on takeoff at Saturna Island. The pilot and another passenger survived.

No one wore life jackets. Two doors jammed.

The final safety board report into that crash is expected later this year.

I don't see the TSB report on their website yet.

[rotorfloat]

Tragic.

How many out there wear an inflatable vest when bucketing?

Where I'm at, life vests are mandatory....and provided

[sky's the limit]

I wear one most of the time, but not always. That will be changing however.

There's a whole pile to read into that report, but I'll leave it for others. Sad, and needless.

stl