A Transportation Safety Board report released today reveals a pilot error was responsible for a 2023 incident that left one member of the maintenance crew dead in Smithers.
On May 6, 2023, during a maintenance ground run to balance the tail rotor of a Mustang Helicopters Airbus AS 350 B3, the aircraft went into an “uncommanded rotation,” the TSB report states.
The helicopter rotated approximately 540 degrees before the pilot was able to shut down the rotor, but not before it clipped two staff members who were standing near the helicopter’s left cargo door monitoring the balancing equipment.
One of those two crew members died, while the other was seriously injured.
The TSB investigation found that the after conducting the first ground run, the pilot “abbreviated the operator’s checklist to expedite operations.”
The steps that were not completed left pressure in the hydraulic system and the right anti-torque pedal in a fully forward position, resulting in the unexpected spin.
At the time, the report sates that the pilot’s attention was split between the operations and his cellphone, which was connected to a Bluetooth earpiece, although it does not directly link distraction to the actual moment of the incident.
Nevertheless, the safety board says this investigation highlights safety risks associated with maintenance ground run operations.
Cellphone use has been identified as a risk in previous Canadian incidents, as well, but regulations have not been implemented to limit or ban their use.
Since the incident, however, Mustang Helicopters has updated its safety procedures and implemented a distraction policy requiring electronic devices to be stowed during operations, the TSB report says.