What happened
On October 31, 2012, at 11:18 JST, a serious incident occurred at Yakushima Airport involving two aircraft. A Eurocopter AS 350 B3, registered JA35BB, operated by Noevir Aviation Co., Ltd., was preparing for a familiarization flight to Tanegashima Airport. At the same time, a Bombardier DHC-8-402, registered JA849C, operated by Japan Air Commuter Co., Ltd., had just landed and was taxiing toward the apron.
While the helicopter pilot was performing pre-flight checks and air-taxiing, the remote air-ground communication facility instructed the helicopter to enter Runway 32, noting that the arrival aircraft was on final approach. The helicopter pilot, focused on instrument checks, did not maintain an effective outside watch and assumed the runway was clear. Upon entering the runway and aligning with the centerline, the pilot encountered the DHC-8-402 taxiing toward him.
In a state of panic caused by the unexpected face-to-face encounter, the pilot initially intended to return to the apron. However, after communicating this intention to the remote controller, the pilot made a sudden decision to take off directly from the runway, flying diagonally to the right to avoid the oncoming airplane. The helicopter became airborne at 11:17:41, before the airplane had vacated the runway.
The investigation
The Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) examined communication records from the remote air-ground facility, the airplane's digital flight data recorder, and video footage from the apron. The investigation also included interviews with the helicopter pilot, the airplane flight crew, and the air traffic services officer.
The investigators analyzed the helicopter pilot's experience, noting he had only 1 hour and 50 minutes of experience on this specific aircraft type. They also evaluated the effectiveness of the video subsystem used by the remote controller to monitor airport activity, finding that the grainy imagery provided poor operational performance for tracking aircraft movements.