A Faulty Radio Antenna contributed to A Deadly Mid-Air Helicopter Collision An Australian Theme Park and Resort, Transport Safety Officials Say.
Four People Diver – Including Two British Tourists – and Several More Were Serously Injured When The Two Aircraft hit Each Other in January 2023, Near Sea World on The Gold Coast.
An Investigation by Australia’s Transport and Safety Bureau (ATSB) Found One Of The Vital Radio Call Shortly Before the Accident, and That A Series of Changes Meant Risk Controls Were Over Time Eroded.
The Accident Rocked The Gold Coast, One of The Nation’s Biggest Tourist Hotsist.
The Two Helicopters Collided Around 20 Seconds After One Had Taken Off and As The Other Was Landing.
Those Who Died Were All Traveling In The Helicopter Wrim Taking Off. The Other Aircraft Managed to Make An Emergency Landing, With Passengers Suffering A Range of Injuries.
The ATSB Report Found Leading Up to the Accident, Sea World Had tried to Improve IT Leisure Flights by adding a Second Helipad Location and Introducing Larger Eurocopter EC140 B4 Helicopters.
“Over Time, Those Changes Undermined Risk Control Used to Manage Traffic Separation and Created A Conflict Point Launching and Departing Helicopters,” It Said.
The Aircraft Preparing to Take Off Also Had A Faulty Antenna.
In The Run-Up to The Collision, A Call From The Arriving Helicopter Was Either Not Receed Or Not Heard By The Ground, Who Was Loading Passengers at The Time.
However, Once The Passengers Were on Board, A Ground Crew Member Advised The Departing Helicopter Pilot That The Airspace Was Clear. By The Time The Chopper Took Off, Though, That Information Was No Longer Correct.
Meanwhile the Pilot Who Was After A Five-Minute Scenic Flight Had Seen The Ground BUT Did IT A Threat, The Report Said.
He Would Have Expected To Have Be Alerted by A “Taxing” Radio Call If That Situation Changed. Howwever The Faulty Antenna Likely Prevented The Broadcast Of The Taxiing Call, The Report Said.
“The Wermout Taxiing Call Being Receed, The Inbound Helicopter, Who Was Lizing Landing Site, Had No Trigger to the Status Of The Departing Helicopter As A Collision Risk.”
Among Those Who Died Were Diane Hughes, 57, and Her 65-year-old Husband Ron Who Wo Neston, Cheshire. They got married in 2022 and Were on Holiday Visiting Relatives After Being Separated by Covid.
The “Fun-Loving” Couple From Neston, Cheshire, Had “A Zest For Life”, Their Family Said in A Statement at The Time.
Also Killed Was Sydney Resident Vanessa Tadros, 36, and 40-year-old sea World Helicopters Pilot Ashley Jenkinson, Who Was Originally From Birmingham.
A further Six People were seriously injured while Three Three Others Sustained Minor Injuries in the Crash.
Shortly After The Accident, The Passengers On The Flight That Was Hilled The Pilot AS A “Hero” Landing The Helicopter Safely.
In All, The Australian Transport Safety Bureau Made 28 Findings That Underline “Key Lessons” for Operators and Pilots.
“The Most Fundamental Lesson This Investigation Is Making Changes To Aviation Operations, Even Those That Appear Safety, Can Have Unnatural Council,” ATSB Chief Commissioner Said.
“It is therefore critical that changes to aviation operations are managed through the implementation of the defected process to ensure overall safety is not adversely affected.”
