Report in to helicopter emergency released
06.05.09
A report has been released in to an incident when a helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing after filling up with smoke while flying over Coventry18 months ago. The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) report says that two people on board survived a terrifying ordeal.
The helicopter, a 1989 Sikorsky S-76B Spirit G-DPJR, had left Denham, Bucks, at 23:45 on November 22, 2007, heading for Coventry Airport. But about 30 miles from the hub the 45-year-old pilot noticed an unusual smell. The report states: ‘The crew began to troubleshoot the problem and switched off the heating system as a possible source. While the (pilot) continued to fly the aircraft, the second pilot used a torch to try and identify the cause of the rapidly increasing smell.’
The crew declared an emergency and had an expedited landing. The smoke and heat subsided once the aircraft had landed. The electronic control box for the heater was removed and it was subsequently confirmed to have failed, probably disabling the overheat protection and cockpit controls for the system.
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