History of the Flight
On 2 July 2012, a Bell 412 helicopter, registration EC-KSJ, departed from the Siete Aguas base in Valencia at 12:55 local time to participate in firefighting efforts at a large fire in Cortés de Pallás. The helicopter flew to La Forata reservoir, located 20 km south in the municipality of Yátova. Its mission consisted of wetting down extinguished ground using a bambi bucket suspended beneath the helicopter. The pilot performed several water loading and dropping cycles, each following an elliptical route. At 13:53, while approaching the reservoir to take on more water, the helicopter fell into the reservoir and sank.
Injuries to Persons
The sole occupant, the pilot, was killed. The pilot's body was recovered at 15:00 the following day.
Damage to Aircraft
The helicopter was found at the bottom of the reservoir on 3 July 2012. It was refloated nine days after the accident. The flight recorders (DFDR and CVR) were recovered, but parts housing the memories had detached after being struck by a blade. The DFDR memory was located on 6 September; the CVR memory was never found. The helicopter sustained damage including a damaged fairing, and the left horizontal stabilizer suffered damage to its lower surface and leading edge.
Aircraft Information
The helicopter was a Bell 412 operated by Inaer. It was equipped with a bambi bucket assembly for water scooping. The aircraft carried a digital flight data recorder (DFDR) and a cockpit voice recorder (CVR).
Investigation Findings
The investigation recovered data from the DFDR, which provided information on the accident flight. Analysis indicated that during the water loading maneuver, the bambi bucket entered the water while the helicopter was at speed, rather than descending while in a hover. This introduced a large amount of drag, acting as an anchor. When the bucket was pulled out of the water, it swung uncontrollably, causing the bucket, the load hook, and the top of the bucket to strike the bottom of the helicopter. This damaged the fairing and affected the control bars on both engine throttles and the left horizontal stabilizer. The pilot subsequently lost control of the aircraft, which fell into the reservoir.
Cause
The accident occurred because during the water loading maneuver, the bambi bucket entered the water with the helicopter at speed instead of descending while in a hover. This introduced significant drag, and when pulled out, the bucket swung uncontrollably, striking the helicopter and damaging critical components, leading to loss of control.