A helicopter crew who disagreed about continuing a flight in foggy conditions made a splash when they struck a Tasmanian reservoir, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has revealed.
Details of the “serious incident” involving a Bell helicopter near Tullah on the state’s West Coast were released this week. The incident occurred on July 17 last year.
According to the ATSB, the event only came to light after a third party provided video footage showing the chopper skimming the water in Lake Rosebery.
The two pilots had taken off from Cressy for a sling load operation in Tullah, only to arrive and find the town blanketed in fog.
When the pilot-in-command suggested approaching from the west over the reservoir, the co-pilot objected to continuing the flight.
But the commander took over and attempted a steep, slow descent, hoping to spot the water surface at around 100 to 200 feet and use it as a visual reference point.
“At approximately 5ft above the water, the crew identified the water surface and the [pilot in command] immediately applied power to stop the descent and initiate a climb,” the ATSB occurrence brief states.
The helicopter’s skids clipped the water, creating what investigators described as “a significant splash” that was captured on video.
The crew recovered, climbed to 500 feet and landed safely a short time later.
The ATSB flagged the incident as a breakdown in crew resource management, saying better communication and decision-making could have prevented the near miss altogether.
“In this instance, the controlled flight into water could have been avoided if the crew had followed effective [crew resource management] procedures when considering options for an approach over still water and with fog in the area,” the ATSB said.
