Untitled - HFI Historical Archive - Helicopter Association International

(Cmllillllt'djrnlll l)(IK" 12)
Location and Recovery
Impossible without Helicopter
Similarly, a McDonnell Douglas 500
helicopter W:IS used ror wreckage and
victim recovery in an accident that oc­
curred in 11 remote HawaiiHll Island val­
ley in June. A Scenic Air Tours twill
engine Beech 18 slammed into an
1.800-foot high valley wall and all
cleven abo:ml were ki lled. WithoUi the
usc or a helicopter. location. inspection
and recovery from the 70-80 degree
slope would have been virtually impos­
sible.
The reconnaissnnee capabilities of
helicopters is evidenced in two recent.
separate accident investigations. The
best known of these involved the
sabol:lge of Pilll Am night 103 which
crashed at Lockerbie. Scotland lasl
December. killing 270 persons.
111ree Aerospatinle AStars were used
by separate teams or investigmors to
scour the countryside looking ror bomb
damaged pll1'tsofthe aircraft. Parts from
night 103 were strewn over hundred. of
square miles. mnny of which were dif­
ficult to rc:leh except by air. The effort
W:IS IIccolllplished with the necessnry
urgency with helicopters. Without
them. the job would have been a walk­
ing search through the countryside that
could have taken years.
The second accident occurred laSI
March ncar FLWorth. Texas when the
cargo door on an Evergreen Airlines
DC-9 suddenly opened after lakeoff and
the plane crashed. The aircraft wascom­
ing back to the airport for an emergency
landing. Both pilots. lhe sole occupanls.
were killed.
NTSB Used Helicopter to Save
Personnel and Time
InvestigUlors used a Bell-206, with a
pilot .md tWO observers aboard, nying:1I
about 200 feel over the DC-9's route of
night, 10 see if anything had fallen off
the jet. Usc of the helicopter s:IVed personnel
and time.
Helicopters also playa signific:Ult role
in searching for accident wreckage and
victims of smaller aircraft. An area
where this is particularly so is Alaska.
For instance. in July. a plane crashed
on Bums Glilcier. locllted Ileal' Whinier.
Fall 1989
Alasb. resulting in four fmalities.
Helicopters were used extensively in
senrcll unci victim recovery as well as
tr.msportution of Safety Board person­
nel to the uccidenl site. The light plane
was from a U.S. Air Force Aero Club.
The helicopter. provided by the Air
Force was /I Sikorski ],]-3. It was invalu­
able in the invcstigmion for the Safety
Board.
In :mother case. a pilot executed :111
instrument approach. descended below
minimums. and struck 11 rnotlnlain. The
accident occul'red on Hinchbrook Isl:md
near Valdez. Alaska. U.S. Coast Guard
helicopters were used. first. to locate the
wrcckage. then to tr.msport the NTSB
investigator and others to the accident
site. 'nle site was located at Ihe 2.000-
foot level of a mount:lin on an extremely
remole portion of the island.
Vital Investigative Tool
The Safety 8oal'd has long recognized
the importance of helicopters as 11 vital
investigative 1001 and welcomcs their
increasing utility for life saving. scat'ch
and rescue. photographic missions.
night path reconstruction and wreckage
recovery.
James l. Kolstad became a member
of the National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB) in 1987, and
was appointed, by President Reagan
in 1988, the NTSB Chairman of the
Board for a two-year term.
Since joining the NTSB, Kolstad has
headed Safety Board teams investigating
both railroad and aircraft acddents.
Kolstad's experience in
transportation and aviaiton has been
In both the private industry and
government sectors.
He was Director of Community and
Congressional Affairs for lhe former
Civil Aeronautics Board in
Washington from 1973·78, and
served as Head of Corporate Communications
for Frontier Airlines lor
seven years. Kolstad also served as
Director of Intergovernmental Relations
for the U.S. Department of
Transportation.
A Washington, D.C. native, Kolstad
served in the U.S. Navy from 1962-
64.
"Operating
costs
for which
helicopter
did you say?
Ho/d on,
I've got
them all
right
here."
The Aircraft Cost Evaluator­
Helicopters gives operating costs for all
the popular turbine helicopters. It is
published by the same people who
h made The Evaluators for jets and
turboprops the reoogri2ed """" "'ds ""
lhe industry.
An indispensable reference Ihal
puts In corrrnand d all the rumbers
)00" need to be >OJr firm's authority on
costs. When considerIng a new
helicopter or at budget time. Any lime
the boss wants some expense related
answers fas\.
There are t'NO pages for each
helicopter. An update fNerY six months.
Here are numbers can count on to
be consistent, conservative and reliable.
It's a resource every helicopter operator,
consultant or dealer sl'\(>ujd have.
For all !he facts, write:
Al Conklin
Associates, Inc.
II1/bnllatioll SefVices for AVlCUWIl
P.O Box lt42 • Orleans . Massachusetts
• 02653 (508) 255-5975
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