Yala helicopter crash injures four



YALA: -- An Army helicopter on a flood-relief mission crashed landing in flood-stricken Yala province Sunday, injuring four soldiers, including the pilot.

The incident occurred at about 1.30pm while the helicopter was flying in heavy rain.

The helicopter belonging to the Fourth Army Region in the South was on a mission to help villagers affected by the floods and assess the situation.

While it was returning to its base in Pattani, it faced turbulent weather under heavy storm. It sought landing at a border patrol police camp to await for improved weather condition.

After the weather improved, the pilot returned to the sky again but the helicopter unexpectedly lost its balance and descended into a rubber plantation.

It crash landed on the ground, injuring all four soldiers on board.

The aircraft was damaged and the pilot and co-pilot suffered chest pains, while two passengers were slightly injured.

They were admitted to Yala Central hospital.

Defense Minister and Army Chief General Udomdej Sitabutra was immediately informed of the crash.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/yala-helicopter-crash-injures-four


-- Thai PBS 2014-12-22

Saw this yesterday.....4th chopper crash in a short time........

They really must be thinking about the maintenance......they should have been all grounded a month or so ago whne the last one crashed.

>> but the helicopter unexpectedly lost its balance and descended into a rubber plantation<<

Of course nothing to do with the pilot??

Bloody helicopter!!

Actually there was a news article on here recently saying most of the helicopters were past their maximum life expectancy but they could get away with it because of superior Thai maintenance.

They cannot have many left now, they are going down with

about as much frequency as people falling off balconies in

Bangkok.

regards Worgeordie

Saw this yesterday.....4th chopper crash in a short time........

They really must be thinking about the maintenance......they should have been all grounded a month or so ago whne the last one crashed.

You do talk rubbish at times.

Firstly no examination or investigation had been started at the time of the post so nobody , including you, me, the Thai Army has ANY idea of the cause of the accident.

Secondly it was operating in very bad weather which would have been a big contributor to the accident.

Thirdly I suspect that you have never worked on a helicopter or flown one as a pilot in your life.

Fourthly was it the same type of helicopter or a different type and would you know the difference?

When was the last service done on this helicopter, how well were the crew trained, were they experienced in bad weather flying?

If you have no idea why comment or speculate?

Actually there was a news article on here recently saying most of the helicopters were past their maximum life expectancy but they could get away with it because of superior Thai maintenance.

Aircraft and helicopters are not rated on their age but on how many flying hours they have completed, landings made, stress calculated and most of them can be upgraded to have a longer life span.

There are still quite a few aircraft flying commercially that were made before I was born and I am 70.

Good to see they all survived

Probably didn't even think of using auto-rotation if there was sufficient time and height to try and save the chopper and lessen personal injuries.

Actually there was a news article on here recently saying most of the helicopters were past their maximum life expectancy but they could get away with it because of superior Thai maintenance.

Aircraft and helicopters are not rated on their age but on how many flying hours they have completed, landings made, stress calculated and most of them can be upgraded to have a longer life span.

There are still quite a few aircraft flying commercially that were made before I was born and I am 70.

I am a pilot with a multi-engine fixed wing commercial rating. That leaves me knowing nothing about helicopters.

All I know was that after a recent crash there was an official statement made that these helicopters had flown past their life expectancy, but that it was OK due to superior Thai maintenance. I would have had a good chuckle about that except that people had died.

Yes, I know about total time airframe and total time engines on fixed wing craft.

>> but the helicopter unexpectedly lost its balance and descended into a rubber plantation<<

Of course nothing to do with the pilot??

Bloody helicopter!!

Dear Amigo, believe me please there are many situation, when the pilot CAN'T DO anything, especially in heavy rain under storm. And the helicopter is much more vulnerable than airplanes in balance-loosing.

Probably didn't even think of using auto-rotation if there was sufficient time and height to try and save the chopper and lessen personal injuries.

From the OP picture it appears the the craft came down among a lot of trees. It would appear that the rotors hit trees. If that's the case the chopper would have gone out of control and dropped as soon as one blade hit a tree. They may have essentially fallen from the tree tops.

I'm happy that so far I've seen no reports of deaths.

Nothing says 'We don't really understand this magic from falang" better than "... but the helicopter unexpectedly lost its balance".

Helicopter don't lose balance. They are actually very stable due to the inertia of the rotor blades. They are difficult to fly because they don't auto level like a fixed wing.

Sounds like pilot error to me. He either lost control or decided to fly in unsafe conditions.

Flying under storms isn't a smart move especially when the down drafts from microbursts exceed the performance capability of the aircraft. Autorotation is only an option with an engine failure and it won't end well when there is no clearing to land in. And yes , I am a trained accident investigator with 40 years fixed and rotary wing experience.

Probably didn't even think of using auto-rotation if there was sufficient time and height to try and save the chopper and lessen personal injuries.

Are you a QFI (H)?

Thai bashing again with absolutely no knowledge of what happened.

It isn't one of the Bell 412s it appears to be a Bell 206b and has made a near vertical descent through the trees

It must be time to pull all the old girl's off the flight line and do a physical audit of all the systems that makeup the helicopter, look at maintenance procedures, crew training.

Maybe some of the not so old girl's as well!

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Saw this yesterday.....4th chopper crash in a short time........

They really must be thinking about the maintenance......they should have been all grounded a month or so ago whne the last one crashed.

This chopper is a Bell 206, not the Bell 205 how crashed before..

Thailand has been the hub of plunging helicopters for many decades; I believe they are second only to Equatorial Guinea in that respect, but they are clearly now making a bid for the leadership.

Actually there was a news article on here recently saying most of the helicopters were past their maximum life expectancy but they could get away with it because of superior Thai maintenance.

Aircraft and helicopters are not rated on their age but on how many flying hours they have completed, landings made, stress calculated and most of them can be upgraded to have a longer life span.

There are still quite a few aircraft flying commercially that were made before I was born and I am 70.

I am a pilot with a multi-engine fixed wing commercial rating. That leaves me knowing nothing about helicopters.

All I know was that after a recent crash there was an official statement made that these helicopters had flown past their life expectancy, but that it was OK due to superior Thai maintenance. I would have had a good chuckle about that except that people had died.

Yes, I know about total time airframe and total time engines on fixed wing craft.

That's your problem, you are a pilot.

Speaking from experience the 206 Jetranger is a simple helicopter to fly.

However one problem that can occur in the weather conditions in which this one crashed is misting up of the canopy due to high humidity and passengers having damp clothes.

Spatial disorientation occurs when the pilot loses all outside references such as the screens becoming obscured.

I love this, we see it every time. "Black box" , "Air Crash Investigation" have a lot to answer for. Now when an aircraft crashes or goes missing every armchair quarterback comes out of of the woodwork and within minutes of the media get hold of the story have come up with a root cause analysis, determined all the mechanical, organisational and human performance issues and jailed the guilty parties. Have you ever seen the investigators on those shows go to the media to ask them what happened? No, they sift through the wreckage, review CVR and DVR information (if the aircraft had them) interview witnesses and gather Facts. Within 30 days they release a preliminary report and hopefully within 12 months release a final report (Swissair 111 took over 10 years).

So, based on what we Know, a helicopter crashed, 4 people died and 4 families grieve. Sit back, enjoy your Christmas lunch, beer, eggnog or both and let the investigators do their thing.

Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All Men (and Women), apologies to Brian

Speaking from experience the 206 Jetranger is a simple helicopter to fly.

However one problem that can occur in the weather conditions in which this one crashed is misting up of the canopy due to high humidity and passengers having damp clothes.

Spatial disorientation occurs when the pilot loses all outside references such as the screens becoming obscured.

lol I was sweating so much during my first hovering lesson in an R22 the canopy fogged up and the instructor set it down to open the doors.

I love this, we see it every time. "Black box" , "Air Crash Investigation" have a lot to answer for. Now when an aircraft crashes or goes missing every armchair quarterback comes out of of the woodwork and within minutes of the media get hold of the story have come up with a root cause analysis, determined all the mechanical, organisational and human performance issues and jailed the guilty parties. Have you ever seen the investigators on those shows go to the media to ask them what happened? No, they sift through the wreckage, review CVR and DVR information (if the aircraft had them) interview witnesses and gather Facts. Within 30 days they release a preliminary report and hopefully within 12 months release a final report (Swissair 111 took over 10 years).

So, based on what we Know, a helicopter crashed, 4 people died and 4 families grieve. Sit back, enjoy your Christmas lunch, beer, eggnog or both and let the investigators do their thing.

Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All Men (and Women), apologies to Brian

Relax spike based on what we Know nobody actually died in this crash..

Even better. Information based on fact!

Cheers

Probably didn't even think of using auto-rotation if there was sufficient time and height to try and save the chopper and lessen personal injuries.

You're right...the pilot probably just threw his hands up in the air and said f-it, I feel like crashing today

Thailand has been the hub of plunging helicopters for many decades; I believe they are second only to Equatorial Guinea in that respect, but they are clearly now making a bid for the leadership.

Really? Evidence? Google ''helicopter crash usa 2014'' and see how many have gone down over there.