Incident Overview
On December 30, 2014, at 18:33 UTC, a Kamov Ka-32A11BC helicopter registered as CS-HMP and operated by the Autoridade Nacional de Proteção Civil (ANPC) suffered a failure of the right engine (#2) during a training flight. The flight was being conducted at night under visual meteorological conditions (VMC) and involved hoist operations. The crew managed to continue the flight and performed a safe landing at Faro airport. No injuries were reported among the three flight crew members and two rescue men on board.
Aircraft and Operator
The helicopter involved was a Kamov Ka-32A11BC, a twin-engine rotorcraft. It was owned and operated by the ANPC, the Portuguese National Civil Protection Authority. The registration number CS-HMP was assigned to this specific airframe.
Sequence of Events
According to the preliminary report issued by the GPIAA (Gabinete de Prevenção e Investigação de Acidentes com Aeronaves), the incident occurred near São Brás de Alportel, in the municipality of Loulé, Portugal. During the training mission, which included hoist operations, the right engine failed. The crew responded by continuing the flight and proceeding to Faro airport, where they landed without further incident. The exact cause of the engine failure was not determined in the preliminary report.
Investigation
The investigation is being conducted by the GPIAA, the Portuguese aviation safety investigation board. Due to previous occurrences of engine failures involving Ka-32A11BC helicopters operating in Portugal, the GPIAA notified the Interstate Aviation Committee - Air Accident Investigation Commission (IAC - AAIC) and invited them to participate. The IAC appointed an accredited representative and experts to assist. As of the preliminary report, no conclusions or probable cause had been established. The report notes that the information is subject to change and may contain errors that will be corrected in the final report.