HELI APCH TO HELIPAD HAD NMAC WITH TAXIING BE55. SEE AND AVOID CONCEPT. LIGHT TWRS AROUND HELIPAD AREA A HAZARD TO FLT.

Date: 1995-03 · Aircraft: S-76/S-76 Mark II

Anomalies: conflict-ground-conflict|critical|conflict-nmac|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-far

Synopsis

HELI APCH TO HELIPAD HAD NMAC WITH TAXIING BE55. SEE AND AVOID CONCEPT. LIGHT TWRS AROUND HELIPAD AREA A HAZARD TO FLT.

Narrative

WE WERE IN CONTACT WITH KENNEDY TWR; LNDG AT THE GAT HELIPAD ADJACENT TO TXWY Q. THE WIND WAS OUT OF 320 DEGS NEAR 20 KTS WITH GUSTS. DEPS WERE OFF RWY 31L. WE APCHED BTWN THE RWYS (31'S) FROM THE W. I WAS IN R SEAT WITH THE GAT OUT MY SIDE. THE OTHER PLT BEGAN THE R BASE AND TWR ADVISED A DEPARTING ACFT OF OUR LNDG TO HIS R. BECAUSE OF THE STRONG WINDS; THE ACTIVE RWY IN CLOSE PROXIMITY; AND THE PLACEMENT OF THE TALL LIGHT POLES AT THE GAT PREVENTING A COMFORTABLE APCH; WE OVERFLEW TXWY QUEBEC FOR LNDG. AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LNDG PHASE THE OTHER PLT TURNED R APPROX 45 DEGS TO VIEW THE LNDG PAD. AT THAT TIME HE NOTICED A TAXING BEECHCRAFT BARON ON TXWY Q TURNING INTO THE GAT. IT CAME AS A SURPRISE TO BOTH OF US AS NEITHER HAD THE TFC PRIOR OR WAS ADVISED OF ANOTHER ACFT GOING INTO THE SAME LOCATION. NOTHING WAS SAID BTWN OUR 2 SHIPS WHEN WE WERE ON THE RAMP. UPON RETURNING TO OUR BASE AT TETERBORO; NJ; WE WERE ADVISED BY OUR DISPATCHER THAT THE PLT IN QUESTION WAS INDEED UPSET AND WANTED TO SPEAK TO US. I EXPLAINED THAT WE DID NOT HAVE HIM VISUALLY UNTIL THE LAST MOMENTS. I FEEL THAT AT NO TIME WAS THERE A DANGER OF A MISHAP AS WE WERE NOT LNDG ON THE TXWY. UNLESS HE CHOSE TO TAXI OVER THE HELIPAD THERE WAS NO DANGER OF A COLLISION. I UNDERSTAND HIS CONCERN; HOWEVER; AS WE WERE UPSET ALSO NOT TO HAVE BEEN VISUAL. IN OUR OPINION; THE FAULT LIES WITH THE POOR DESIGN OF THE GAT HELIPAD. THROUGH OUR INSISTENCE WE HAD ONE OF THE LIGHT POLES REMOVED THAT WAS RIDICULOUSLY CLOSE TO THE PAD; BUT THE REMAINING ONES STILL HAMPER THE APCH. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 298452: WHILE ON APCH TO THE NEW HELIPAD AT THE JFK GA TERMINAL; WE PASSED OVERHEAD A TAXING TWIN WHO WAS ALSO INBOUND TO THE GAT. DUE TO OBSTRUCTIONS SURROUNDING THE FACILITY; APCHS ARE LIMITED TO OVER THE BUILDING; (DSNDING OVER PARKED ACFT) AND OVER THE ACTIVE TXWY. THE TWR DISCLAIMER IS 'LNDG IS AT YOUR OWN RISK' - AREA NOT IN SIGHT FROM THE TWR. DUE TO THE INHERENT NOSE HIGH LNDG ATTITUDE POOR CHIN VISIBILITY OF S76 AND AN APCH; RESTRICTED FURTHER BY DEPS AND WIND; WE DID NOT SEE THE TWIN UNTIL WE PASSED OVERHEAD ON THE APCH. RECOMMENDED CORRECTIVE ACTIONS: RELOCATE HELIPAD OR REMOVE LIGHT TWRS OR HAVE GND (WORKING ACFT) COORDINATE WITH TWR (WORKING HELI) TO ADVISE EACH OF ACFT INBOUND TO GAT.CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: TWR SUPVR STATED SOP IS FOR THE GND CTLR AND LCL CTLR TO COORDINATE INBOUND AND OUTBOUND TFC FROM THE HELI PAD AREA AND ADVISE OF TFC. HELI PAD IS NOT A CTLED MOVEMENT AREA AND SEE AND AVOID CONCEPT IS IN EFFECT. SUPVR STATED THEY HAVE HAD COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE LIGHT TWRS BUT THAT IS THE PORT AUTHORITY PROB.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.