Eurocopter AS350 BA Accident at Aywaille

Incident Overview and Context On Sunday, 5 August 2007, a Eurocopter AS350 BA helicopter, registered OO-HCW, was operating a local flight from Spa Airport as part of a fly-in event. The aircraft, owned by Heli and Co SA, was conducting popular first flights. The flight carried one pilot and five passengers, comprising two adult males, one adult female, and two children. The helicopter departed Spa Airport at approximately 11:40 UTC for a local flight of about 15 minutes. The accident occurred around 13:50 UTC above the area of Aywaille/Remouchamps. At the time of the incident, the helicopter was in steady level flight at an altitude of approximately 500 feet and a speed of 100 knots. The pilot was a 43-year-old Belgian male with a total of 11,621 flight hours, including approximately 200 hours on the AS350 type. The aircraft had a total of 285.3 flight hours and 314 flight cycles at the time of the accident. The helicopter was maintained by the Ixair group, and the magnetic seal of the aft transmission box had been replaced on 18 July 2007, a maintenance action that required the removal and installation of the aft rotor transmission shaft.