What happened
On October 14, 2013, at approximately 11:01 JST, an air proximity incident occurred near a temporary helipad adjacent to Kumamoto Airport in Japan. A Eurocopter AS365N3, operated by the Kumamoto Prefectional Disaster Prevention Fire Fighting Aviation Unit, was hovering at roughly 18 meters above the ground. The aircraft was conducting rescue training and was under the supervision of a ground controller.
Simultaneously, a privately owned Robinson R44 II, registration JA344T, departed from runway 07. The pilot of the JA344T had requested and received approval for a straight-out departure. However, in an attempt to vacate the runway quickly for other traffic, the pilot executed a right turn immediately after takeoff without notifying the Tower controller. This maneuver placed the JA344T on a flight path that intersected with the training area of the AS365N3. The two aircraft passed within approximately 15 meters of each other, with the JA344T flying just above the hovering AS365N3.