Accident
On 3 June 2009, approximately at 15:00 local time, a flight assistant working with the helicopter HB-ZJO (Eurocopter France AS350 B3) was caught by his glove on the aircraft's cargo hook and lifted to a height of 6 to 7 meters before falling to the ground from about 4 to 5 meters. The impact resulted in a broken right leg. The aircraft, operated by Heli TV SA, was undamaged, and no other persons were injured.
Sequence of Events
The helicopter was engaged in commercial VFR transport of material from Monti di Scaiano to the unloading area Sass di Sciatt in the municipality of San Nazzaro/TI. The day's schedule included 25 missions with 79 rotations; the accident occurred during the 24th rotation. At about 14:45, the pilot, accompanied by two flight assistants, departed from a construction site in Brissago for Monti di Scaiano. There, one flight assistant disembarked to hook a first load, and the pilot, with the second assistant, flew to Sass di Sciatt. After placing the load on the ground, the pilot lowered the assistant to unhook it. At that moment, the pilot noticed a second helicopter (AS350 B2, HB-XVM, operated by Heli Rezia) also active on the same unloading area. The second helicopter's pilot, warned by his assistant, was hovering over the lake waiting for the area to clear.
On the ground, the Heli TV assistant, two Heli Rezia assistants, and a truck driver working for Heli Rezia's client were present. All assistants wore required SUVA protective clothing, but the driver did not. The driver moved his truck outside the area but later returned and was not asked to leave the danger zone.
After unloading, the pilot of HB-ZJO departed for a second load, a construction shed weighing 920 kg. With help from the assistant and the driver, the shed was placed and unhooked. It could not be determined who performed the unhooking. After receiving confirmation from the assistant, the pilot began climbing for the third rotation. During the climb, the assistant remained hanging on the cargo hook with his right glove, being lifted to 6 to 7 meters. The pilot stopped the climb and began to descend. The assistant first pulled his right hand out of the glove and grabbed the hook with his left hand, but lost strength and fell from 4 to 5 meters, breaking his right leg. One of the Heli Rezia assistants, a professional paramedic, provided first aid and called an ambulance.
The accident was not reported to the Swiss Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) via the Swiss Air Rescue (REGA), nor was the cantonal police alerted. At 18:15, the pilot faxed information to the safety section of the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA). The AAIB was informed indirectly by witnesses, and the investigation began the following day.
Cause
The accident is due to a flight assistant getting caught with his glove on the cargo hook and subsequently falling to the ground. Contributing to the accident was poor coordination at the unloading area.