red750 Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 Two helicopters have collided on the Gold Coast at 3 pm 2nd Jan. Details of dead and injured to be advised. TV footage shows wrecked helicopter on the beach near Seaworld. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 Reports are coming in of a possible 3 fatalities, and multiple other casualties. One helicopter was apparently taking off, and the other was coming in to land. One managed to land on the sandbank, the other ended up in the water. This is an inexplicable accident, it certainly initially appears to be a lack of situational awareness. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red750 Posted January 2, 2023 Author Share Posted January 2, 2023 Latest report states that one was taking off as the other flew over it. 19 people being assessed for injuries. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red750 Posted January 2, 2023 Author Share Posted January 2, 2023 We were typing together, OT. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 Four fatalities now confirmed, thirteen people assessed for injuries, and six taken to hospital. This is a terrible start to 2023 for aviation. https://www.9news.com.au/videos/national/deadly-helicopter-crash-near-sea-world/clced8fc300110jn71bij5owj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flightrite Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 Risky environment especially this time of year! Awful start to the year, but there will be more sadly, RIP🙁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bull Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 https://7news.com.au/news/gold-coast/grave-fears-as-helicopters-collide-near-sea-world-c-9331876?fbclid=IwAR0iNr_bLarCWAD6kLx9IoskatMwrxElOKsTdNBBx0v2YEHWZ0AybhEJhSg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red750 Posted January 2, 2023 Author Share Posted January 2, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cscotthendry Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 I'm gobsmacked how this could happen. I fly regularly in this area and everyone is on the same frequency. With two or more helicopters flying out of SeaWorld, I would have thought they would have departure/arrival procedures in place to avoid just this scenario. I know that there are procedures at Ayers Rock and Victor one and even the scenic VFR route to Surfer's Paradise itself. This area has lots of traffic, moreso in peak tourism periods. So why were there no departure / arrival procedures for the SeaWorld helipad? And if it was one chopper oveflying the helipad while another was taking off, were there radio calls made? There is a mandatory radio call for Porpoise point. Surely it would make sense to make a radio call when overflying SeaWorld helipad or a departure call from SeaWorld. Also, both choppers were painted black. I've flown over Tangalooma with the choppers flying out of there, that are also painted black. From my experience, black choppers are devilishly hard to distinguish from ground clutter. Looks like the holes in the Swiss Chees struck again. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfGnome Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 The thing that staggers me (apart from how did this happen in the first place) is that the second helicopter managed to land safely. Have a look at the front of it - there is essentially no front. Presumably the rotor of the first craft took it out, but the pilot of the second managed to a) not get hit, and b) maintain control whilst presumably being in some state of shock. Planes fly themselves; helicopters don’t. S/he must have been incredibly level headed and shock resistant. Wow. 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 Both the pilot and front seat passenger of the chopper that was hit in the front were injured. That makes that pilots efforts in landing successfully, even more remarkable. To add to that, he also managed to steer his stricken craft away from what was described as a pretty big crowd on the ground. I can imagine there will be intense investigation into separation procedures for the flights - and the weather conditions, such as wind strength and sun position, will no doubt also be closely examined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 Without laying blame it's the type of accident that just shouldn't have happened. The collision sound was commented on by a lot of people. Nev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim188 Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flightrite Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 Wonder why the heli driver was in the L/H seat? Distraction will play the biggest part in this tragedy. I know what it’s like, tourists whilst are clueless are a big piece of the Swiss cheese in such events. The surviving driver must be in a very bad space right now! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 1 hour ago, Flightrite said: Wonder why the heli driver was in the L/H seat? That ATSB guy has been working flat out since before Christmas. Slip of the tongue, maybe? I would not make too much of it at this stage. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenaroo Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 wonder if they had a second pilot in the rh seat, I know the last time I was in a chopper on a tourist flight in Vanuatu, they were using the other front seat to train a new pilot. not pilot training, but the operator familiarizing with the area and flight details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thruster88 Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 Maybe Ec130 heli is flown from left seat single pilot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flightrite Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 Could be right there, it is French afterall😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenaroo Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 14 minutes ago, Thruster88 said: Maybe Ec130 heli is flown from left seat single pilot. Bingo, quick google - rego shown in crash removal photos is VH-XH9, Rego check shows it registered as a EC130. and the Wikipedia article on this type contains this "Dependent on customer demand and role, tactical instrumentation and equipment consoles may also be installed in the cockpit. Typically the cockpit is configured for single pilot operations, the pilot being seated on the left-hand side of the forward cabin to reduce the risk of passenger interference with the controls posed by a right-hand position" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueadventures Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 (edited) 6 hours ago, facthunter said: Without laying blame it's the type of accident that just shouldn't have happened. The collision sound was commented on by a lot of people. Nev Agree, and perhaps blind spots will be a contributing factor, bit like when aircraft on late final collide due to the faster above coming down on the slower lower one. Edited January 3, 2023 by Blueadventures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 This crash is absolutely inexplicable. The video shows both aircraft in clear air, the one taking off ascending, while the one coming in is descending, and they simply run into each other, at approximately 90°. Not one pilot - but both pilots - must have been asleep at the wheel? Surely both must have been trained to ensure distractions were at a minimum in the takeoff and landing phases? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-03/sea-world-helicopter-crash-what-we-know-gold-coast/101823266 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenaroo Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 (edited) interesting to look at the location of the landing pads in that article, looks like the one climbing was from the water pad (inside the park gates), and the one landing heading to the pad marked in the car park (outside the park gates)? wonder if its possible there was confusion and the pilot on climb was expecting the one on descent to use the now vacated pad. I think we have all been on final and expected an aircraft to vacate or taxi across the runway before we land. or vice versa Edited January 3, 2023 by spenaroo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenaroo Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 oh, and just for good measure there is a third pad, that is just above where the image in my previous post is cut off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueadventures Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 1 hour ago, spenaroo said: oh, and just for good measure there is a third pad, that is just above where the image in my previous post is cut off. Total of 6 pads (3 side by side in car park area). My image is from Queensland Globe a free viewing sat images. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red750 Posted January 4, 2023 Author Share Posted January 4, 2023 Video just released which was taken from insde the helicopter which was able to land shows the pilot glancing towards his landing spot and a passenger from behind taps him on the shoulder, as if to warn him, a split second before the impact. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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