SMA ACFT RPTED DAMAGE DURING A ROTARY WINGED TFC ACFT'S APCH TO LNDG ON THE ARPT RAMP.

Date: 1995-06 · Aircraft: Helicopter

Anomalies: conflict-ground-conflict|critical|other-unspecified

Synopsis

SMA ACFT RPTED DAMAGE DURING A ROTARY WINGED TFC ACFT'S APCH TO LNDG ON THE ARPT RAMP.

Narrative

CLRED TO LAND AT TEB 1ST AVIATION RAMP BY TWR. A LOW PWR; STEEP APCH; WAS USED TO A SUITABLE AREA WITHIN THE RAMP. CLRNCS TO OTHER AIRBORNE AND GND ACFT WAS NORMAL AS PREVIOUSLY CONDUCTED BY OTHER HELIS. AFTER LNDG; TAXI-IN; AND PAX DISCHARGE WE WERE TOLD TO HOLD POS BY GND CTL UPON REQUESTING CLRNC OUTBOUND -- THE REASON STATED WAS THE OPS MAN WISHED TO SPEAK WITH US. A LENGTHY DELAY ENSUED AND EVENTUALLY WERE CLRED TO DEPART WITHOUT AN OPS PERSON SPEAKING WITH US. WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT THIS PERSON WANTED TO SPEAK TO US ABOUT. TWR REQUESTED WE CALL ON THE PHONE UPON LNDG -- THIS WAS DONE. IN HARTFORD; CT. THE TWR CTLR INFORMED ME A LADY PLT IN A SMALL CIVIL SINGLE ENG FIXED WING ACFT CLAIMED OUR ROTOR WASH DID DAMAGE TO HER ACFT. WE WERE THE LAST TO BE INFORMED! NO ONE; NOR ANY CTLR ADVISED US OUR ROTOR WASH WAS ALLEGED TO HAVE CAUSED DAMAGE TO AN ACFT. THE BIGGEST CONCERN WAS THE SAFETY OF THE LADY PLT WHO STATED SHE WAS NOT HURT. THE NEXT IS HOW THIS COULD HAVE OCCURRED. SLANT RANGE AND HORIZ CLRNCS WERE NORMAL AND BOTH I AND THE COPLT OBSERVED THE FIXED WING ACFT PASS TO OUR R AND LOW -- AT THAT POINT I HAD NO IDEA MY ROTOR WASH COULD HAVE BEEN HAZARDOUS. I; THE COMPANY; THE MANUFACTURER AND THE FAA ARE INVESTIGATING TO WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED. I AND THE COMPANY HAVE REVISED LNDG FLT PATH SEPARATION CRITERIA FROM OTHER ACFT TO VERY SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE POTENTIAL OF THIS OCCURRING. THE ACFT DAMAGE WAS DECLARED AN INCIDENT.

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