ALEA Safety First Program Newsletters
March 2009
Keith Johnson
Safety Program Manager
During a recent training
operation, an ATP rated CFI was giving
instruction to a commercially rated student.
They were practicing toe-in and one-skid
landings in an MD-369F and used conex boxes
to simulate landing on a ship.
The CFI was flying and
orbited the conex boxes to make sure the
area was clear of obstructions. As they were
about to touchdown, the student leaned
forward and saw that the skid was under the
top rail of the conex. As he was about to
tell the instructor of the condition, the
helicopter flipped upside down fatally
injuring the instructor.
This was not a law
enforcement operation; however, many law
enforcement aviation units perform similar
training. Only a few years ago a law
enforcement unit had an almost identical
accident doing the same training in the same
make and model aircraft. Both accidents
involved the toes of the skids being stuck
under the top of the structure resulting in
dynamic rollover.
There are several hazards
associated with such operations:
- The structure for such
operations should be free of anything
that the skids can become entangled
with.
- There should be a
second person (pilot or TFO) onboard to
ensure the skids are sufficiently clear
of the structure. Just bumping either or
both skids into the side of the
structure can result in dynamic
rollover.
- The second person
onboard should be briefed on how to
monitor the distance of the skid to the
landing surface in order to avoid
inadvertent contact.
- There should be a
ground safety officer to ensure there is
adequate clearance from the structure.
And, the ground safety officer should be
equipped with a radio to communicate
with the pilot in the event of an unsafe
condition.
The FAA inspector
concluded that there were no pre-impact
failures or malfunctions of the airframe or
engine that would have prevented normal
operation.
If you conduct similar
training, make sure that you have safety
counter-measures in place to manage the
hazards associated with such operations.
Please send any comments
or questions to
safety@alea.org and I will include them
in the next newsletter.
Keith
Keith Johnson
ALEA Safety Program Manager
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