Aircraft Accident Investigation chief Alvaro Neves said today that the cause of the Monchique helicopter crash was due to the aircraft hitting power cables. Neves added that this was a provisional finding as research was still being carried out but is looks pretty clearly to be the case.
As the final accident report will take one year to produce, initial findings have been published in case safety rules can be amended or improved.
On December 18th, 2013 at 13.50 the Colibri EC 120B Eurocopter took off from the helipad in Monchique on a routine mission to inspect medium voltage electricity lines near the village of Marmelete. On board were the pilot and two EDP technicians.
"After about 30 minutes of flying and when starting a new line inspection the helicopter collided with three high voltage electricity cables that were stretched perpendicular to the route of the aircraft and were not visible by the pilot or the front seat occupant, " according to a briefing note from Neves’s office.
According to the preliminary report the collision resulted in the severing of the wires, severe damage to the helicopter and loss of control by the pilot of the helicopter which span out of control and crashed 40 metres away into trees which to some extent cushioned the impact.
The crash was violent, and the tail of the helicopter detached from the main body with the blades shearing off as a result of contact with the trees. The crash resulted in the immediate death of front seat passenger and serious injuries to the pilot and passenger in the rear seat.
The victims were rescued by three forestry workers who luckily were worked near the crash site, "The assistance of these three men was critical to the survival of both the injured men and was a remarkable act," according to the document.
Alvaro Neves stated that the investigation into the causes of the accident "is not intended to apportion blame or establish accountability but to collect evidence to add to training systems so as to prevent future accidents."
The briefing note is provisional, contains a summary of events and is subject to change during the investigation process.
