More work need on helicopter crash investigation

More work need on helicopter crash investigation to find cause.

Press Release
Rick Lucas

11 May 2018

The TAIC investigation has so far failed to find the root cause of my accident, seemingly failed to take in to account similar incidents with BK 117 helicopters around the world, and appears to have been distracted by irrelevancies. Worse than this, TAIC’s continued attack on the Engineering staff at Helipro is unfounded and unwarranted, this is supported by the company’s aircraft reliability record over 30 years, the calibre and reputation of the engineering staff involved. It is further supported by the fact that the CAN notice TAIC demanded CAA issue in December2017 showed up a handful of minor issues and no serious safety issues.

The accident helicopter was not operated by Helipro, it was assembled and prepared by Helipro Aviation Support Ltd engineers before being presented to NZCAA for its Certificate of Airworthiness Inspection (a requirement before it could fly in New Zealand) which it passed. For the two years before the crash the helicopter was operated by Precision Helicopters Ltd, yet TAIC didn’t interview Precision Helicopters Maintenance Controller Chris Minnee, a senior and highly respected helicopter engineer, until a year after the crash and after they had written the preliminary crash report. Both myself and Precision Helicopters CEO Matt Newton had to request TAIC interview him.

My testimony as pilot and that of the Precision Helicopters CEO and Chief Pilot Matt Newton a veteran of 12000hrs Helicopter flight time, who was "on scene" at the accident site, and both heard and witnessed the accident, appears to have been largely discounted in favour of an unjustified focus on Tom McCready Helipro’s Chief Engineer and his staff. I totally support Tom and his team and agree with Tom’s view that TAIC are not in receipt of the appropriate records that will answer their queries. These records show that in all ways the aircraft met the requirements of the manufacturers type certificate and CAA requirements.

There have been a number of incidents around the world where BK117 Helicopters have suffered tail boom and pylon cracking and failures since the Fatal Colgate Palmolive BK117 crash in New York in 1995. I provided TAIC with documentory evidence of accidents, incidents and notices issued by FAA, Japanese CAA, European CAA and Australian CASA noting concerns and actions to be taken in respect of this. These seem to have been ignored. Fading of the painted serial numbers of BK 117 tail rotor blades is also well known, but the TAIC appear to have jumped to early conclusions without considering all relevant information and in doing so unfairly maligned the reputation of some very good aircraft engineers. A much more thorough investigation of this crash is required to find the root cause of it and prevent it happening again to someone else.

Rick Lucas

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