Crash probe blames communication breakdown

An investigation into the crash landing of an air corps ambulance helicopter in Tipperary last June has concluded that ground crews had seen a hazard but couldn’t communicate this to the chopper pilot.

The air accident investigation unit of the Department of Transport has published its final report into the Jun 19 incident at Currabaha Cross near Borrisoleigh, Co Tipperary.

The air corps Eurocopter EC-135, operating on behalf of the HSE’s National Ambulance Service, was on its way to airlift a patient to a Limerick hospital.

Shortly before touchdown, the helicopter’s main rotor blades struck overhead ESB power wires and crash-landed in a field.

The investigation established that on arrival at the scene, the crew carried out an aerial reconnaissance of the area and the pilot selected a landing site.

In his brief to the crew, the pilot noted two parallel sets of wires, one crossing infield and the other alongside the minor road where the emergency vehicles were parked.

The pilot recalled that, as the helicopter speed slowed while reducing height before landing, suddenly and “out of nowhere”, he saw wires to his front.

He said he instinctively applied power and pitched the nose up in an attempt to avoid them. However, the main rotor blades struck the wires and severed them.

The pilot managed to level the helicopter and it touched down heavily. He shut down the engines, checked that the other crew members were unhurt, and all exited the helicopter safely. There were two air corps personnel and a HSE advanced paramedic on board.

The helicopter was equipped with a wire strike protection system located above and below the cockpit. However, as the main rotors were first to strike and sever the wires, the system did not come into use.

The report concludes: “The helicopter struck a pair of electrical wires crossing the final approach path as it was about to land in a field.”

It adds: “The pilot or crew did not see the wires until it was too late to avoid a collision with them.”

The investigation also established that a HSE advanced paramedic (AP) on the ground had seen wires prior to the approach of the helicopter but he had no means of direct communication with the helicopter crew to alert them.

The paramedic was also a qualified member of the air ambulance roster but had no means of direct communications with his colleague on the helicopter on the day.

The report recommends that the HSE’s ambulance service expand the issue of Tetra digital radios to paramedics and APs as a priority.

The 35-page report also recommends that the HSE should include an aviation hazard awareness module for paramedics and APs and that the air corps “should review the procedures for the approval, amendment, and supervision of training syllabi and regulations related to flying qualifications”.