Ops-Normal.org

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/283731

An amazing story of an ERA Helicopters AW139 which suffered an electrical fire and subsequent loss of the essential bus recently. The EECs high sided which resulted in an overspeed of the rotors and engines. There was also problems with the flight controls. At 6000 feet and 185 knots the crew couldn't control it with full down collective. In an incredible display of airmanship the crew maintained control of the aircraft by cycling between idle and fly on engine mode switches. It took them 3 laps of airport until they were able to figure out how to put it down. They killed both engines at 200 feet 140 knots on final and conducted a high speed flare /auto and dumped it on. The gear collapsed and the aircraft slid off into the grass.
This crew deserves a medal:

. Video of the landing here:

https://www.facebook.com/562437460/vide ... 7653658303

Talk about having to think outside the box! An amazing display of airmanship.

Sadly the video has gone AWOL.

These guys must have known their systems very well to have come upon such an innovative recovery strategy in extremis. Extraordinary skill.

TheGreenAnger wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:07 pm

Sadly the video has gone AWOL.

Still there, but it is on facebook. I will see if I can find it somewhere else

G~Man wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:23 pm

TheGreenAnger wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:07 pm

Sadly the video has gone AWOL.

Still there, but it is on facebook. I will see if I can find it somewhere else

Appreciate it G~Man, but don't sweat it. I am one of those weirdos that never joined Facebook.

No video here either.
Video found in the https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/283731

PP

It appears to be shared to someone's friends, not public, if it's still up.

I guess the rotor/gearbox overspeed and the hard landing will require that this helicopter has a big turbine overhaul and very expensive checkout from the rotors, via the turbines, cabin down through the electronics to the landing gear, but I guess that this aircraft won't be written off?

TheGreenAnger wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 26, 2022 7:09 pm

I guess the rotor/gearbox overspeed and the hard landing will require that this helicopter has a big turbine overhaul and very expensive checkout from the rotors, via the turbines, cabin down through the electronics to the landing gear, but I guess that this aircraft won't be written off?

I wonder if Alan Bristow would have hired me for my mean money orientated comments above.

It was a Bristow amalgam that was involved here. The way the pilots responded is a huge credit to the company.

Try this for the video:

It would have taken quite a bit of coordination between the two pilots to keep the rotors turning without overspeeding.

In a single like a B3 the twist grip on the collective makes it possible to make throttle changes in the event of FADEC failure but in a twin it would likely be near impossible.

As we know in a real failure such as this the mission is to get to the ground and get out of it unhurt.An undamaged machine would only be a bonus.

If I look at the video I think they would have managed to have done better by shutting the engines off at a higher altitude.When they shut off you can see the yaw it induced and it unsettled the flying pilot very close to the ground which I believe induced him to flare little to high.That said he succeeded in making sure that nobody got hurt

G~Man wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 27, 2022 5:03 am

Try this for the video:

Thanks for posting that video G~Man. Kudos to the pilots in this case.