The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has apparently completed a preliminary report into the crash of a helicopter last August that killed CTV cameraman Hugh Haugland and his pilot Roger Bélanger.
According to CTV, the report says a small part broke in an exhaust valve, causing the engine to lose power and forcing an emergency landing that failed to save the aircraft or the two people inside it.
The sillyness of still flying helicopters with complex piston engines. The whole shebang comes crashing down for want of a sturdy enough washer…
Ever look at one of those tiny Allison helicopter turbines? They’re so simple, nothing can go wrong…
Sounds like that’s just a preliminary indication. I’d have to imagine they’ll now move on to the mechanical records and pilot training. From what I recall about choppers, most give you instrument readings well in advance when a cylinder starts to overheat and, when it occurs, you’re supposed to land pretty quickly or at least cut the pressure substantially to start letting the exhaust valves cool down.
In other words, I think there will be more to this story in the next few months.
The story makes no mention of overheating, merely of a broken part that caused the engine to stop working. It’s unclear if Bélanger had any warning that his aircraft was about to stall.
The full report, I imagine, will look at related issues as well as make recommendations on how to avoid similar accidents in the future.