[Peetwo]

And again today Gobbles!! And will wonders never cease, he actually submitted a SR to a regulator or two??

Media release

Title
ATSB calls on US and European regulators to act on reducing helicopter fires
 
Date: 04 June 2015
A fatal Robinson R44 helicopter accident has prompted the ATSB to recommend safety improvements to helicopter fuel tanks in the United States and Europe.

Four people died in the March 2013 accident at Bulli Tops in New South Wales. The R44 helicopter they were travelling in was engulfed in fire after striking a tree and hitting the ground.

Following this accident, Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority, and other international regulators, made it mandatory for R44 helicopter operators to replace the R44's all-aluminium fuel tank with a bladder-type fuel tank.

ATSB Chief Commissioner Martin Dolan said that bladder-type fuel tanks reduce the risk of post‑impact fire in the R44. But the ATSB remains concerned at the risk of post-impact fire in helicopters not fitted with crash-resistant fuel systems.

'We believe the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) can help improve the safety of many helicopter pilots and their passengers,' Mr Dolan said.

'We have issued safety recommendations to the FAA and EASA. We ask them to take action to increase the number of crash-resistant fuel systems fitted to existing and newly-manufactured helicopters.

'Under international convention, we would expect to hear from the FAA and EASA about their proposed responses to these recommendations by early September 2015,' Mr Dolan said.

The Bulli Tops accident was similar to other R44 accidents involving fatal post-impact fire that made survivability impossible. In each case, the R44s were fitted with all-aluminium fuel tanks.

Mr Dolan said, 'Statistical analysis of accidents in Australia and the United States over ten years found a higher proportion of post-impact fires involving R44s than for other similar helicopter types.'

The analysis also identified that, despite a 20-year-old requirement for new helicopters to have a crash-resistant fuel system, several helicopter types are being made without such a system. In addition, although modification kits are available for a number of helicopter types, they have not been incorporated in many of the existing civil helicopter fleet.
The ATSB's report into the Bulli Tops accident (AO-2013-055), released today, is available from the ATSB website.

 
Also covered by Hitch..  

The R44 crash site at Bulli Tops. Note the broken tree branches at the top right. (ATSB)



ATSB calls for FAA and EASA to act on Heli Safety
04 Jun 2015

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has called on US and European regulators to improve the safety of helicopter fuel systems.

The call comes as the ATSB today released the investigation report into the fatal crash of an R44 at Bulli Tops, NSW, in March 2013.

R44s have been subject to directives that require the standard aluminium fuel tanks to be replaced with bladders. The aluminium tanks have been blamed for several post-crash fires because they tend to split open on impact.

ATSB Chief Commissioner Martin Dolan said the bladder tanks reduce the risk of post-impact fires in R44s, but the ATSB remains concerned that aircraft not yet fitted with the modification remain at risk.

"We believe the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) can help improve the safety of many helicopter pilots and their passengers," he said.

"We have issued safety recommendations to the FAA and EASA. We ask them to take action to increase the number of crash-resistant fuel systems fitted to existing and newly-manufactured helicopters.

"Under international convention, we would expect to hear from the FAA and EASA about their proposed responses to these recommendations by early September 2015."

Robinson R44 VH-HWQ had just landed at a convention centre at Bulli Tops on 21 March 2013 when it became airborne again and drifted towards trees. After the rotor struck branches, the aircraft impacted the ground and rolled over. A fuel fire then prevented bystanders from rescuing the four people on board.

Damage to the helicopter cabin prevented the ATSB from determining why the helicopter became airborne again, but the report suggests is was most likely due to accidental cyclic or collective input.

The full report is available on the ATSB website.

 
MTF..P2