NMAC BTWN AN AS350 HELI AND A TWIN CESSNA DURING AN AIR TOUR FLT IN HAWAII.

2002-10 · NASA ASRS report 563017

Date: 2002-10 · Aircraft: Eurocopter AS 350/355/EC130 - Astar/Twinstar/Ecureuil · Phase: cruise

Anomalies: conflict-nmac|other-see-and-avoid

Synopsis

NMAC BTWN AN AS350 HELI AND A TWIN CESSNA DURING AN AIR TOUR FLT IN HAWAII.

Narrative

I WAS ON MY WAY BACK FROM A TOUR FLT AND AS I WAS REACHING A KNOWN FIX CHK POINT (OPANA POINT) A CESSNA WAS COMING TOWARDS ME HEAD ON AND I HAD TO DIVE TO AVOID A MIDAIR COLLISION. THIS IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE THAT I HAVE TO DIVE OR TURN FROM AN AIRPLANE WITH 6 PEOPLE ABOARD MY HELI AND THE SIMPLE REASON IS THE SFAR RULING IN HAWAII. ACCORDING TO THE SFAR WE MUST MAINTAIN 1500 FT OVER PERSONS OR PROPERTY AT ALL TIMES. THIS IS CRAZY. AGAIN AIRPLANES CANNOT SEE UNDER THEIR NOSE AND WE ARE CONSTANTLY FLYING IN THE SAME AIRSPACE. IT DOES NOT TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO SEE THAT WE WILL HAVE A MIDAIR COLLISION SOONER OR LATER. REMEMBER THAT THE REST OF THE UNITED STATES UNDER FAR 135 RULES; THE HELI CAN FLY OVER CONGESTED AREAS AT 300 FT THAT IS WHY THERE ARE NO MIDAIR COLLISIONS. THERE IS LOTS OF ROOM TO AVOID ONE ANOTHER. WE MUST PUT A STOP TO THIS DANGEROUS RULE SFAR 71 HERE IN HAWAII. I HOPE THAT SOMEONE IS LISTENING AND PLANNING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO STAY CLR OF CLOUDS ON TOURS SINCE MANY TIMES IT IS SAFER TO DSND TO A SLIGHTLY LOWER ALT IN ORDER TO AVOID TFC CONFLICTS AS IN THIS INCIDENT. HOWEVER; THE SFAR 71 DOES NOT PERMIT A LOWER ALT; FOR WHICH HE HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN FOUND TO BE IN VIOLATION.

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

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