What happened
On the night of August 24, 1995, at approximately 01:01 local time, a Hughes 369HS helicopter, registration OH-HIU, crashed in the village of Tammisla, Piikkiö. The aircraft, operated by Copter Action Oy and owned by Turun Helikopteripalvelu Oy, was performing a repositioning flight from Turku to Korso.
The pilot, a commercial pilot with recent experience in night flying, departed Turku after receiving clearance. During the flight, the aircraft encountered cloud cover. While attempting to maneuver out of the clouds, the pilot lost spatial orientation, leading to a loss of control and a subsequent impact with the ground. The crash resulted in one fatality, the pilot, and the total destruction of the aircraft. The impact also ignited a forest fire in the area.
The investigation
The investigation examined the aircraft's technical condition, the pilot's training, and the operational environment. Investigators inspected the wreckage, including the engine, transmission components, and control systems. The investigation also reviewed the pilot's training records, the company's maintenance procedures, and the meteorological conditions at the time of the accident. Technical analysis of the instrument panel was conducted to determine if any equipment failure contributed to the loss of control.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was that the pilot flew too low at night and unintentionally entered cloud cover.
- While attempting to exit the clouds, the pilot suffered a loss of spatial orientation, which led to the loss of control.
- The pilot's limited experience in night flying and a lack of specific instrument flight training were significant contributing factors.
- There were deficiencies in the oversight of commercial pilot training programs, specifically regarding the adequacy of night flying and instrument flight training requirements.
- The company's maintenance management structure was noted to have an overly broad scope of responsibility for a single individual.