HELI OPERATOR IN GRAND CANYON EXPERIENCES NMAC WITH HELI FAILING TO FOLLOW SFAR OPERATIONAL PROCS.
Synopsis
HELI OPERATOR IN GRAND CANYON EXPERIENCES NMAC WITH HELI FAILING TO FOLLOW SFAR OPERATIONAL PROCS.
Narrative
I WAS FLYING A TOUR TO THE GRAND CANYON. WE LEFT LAS VEGAS IN AN EC130. AT APPROX XA50 WE WERE APCHING THE ENTRANCE TO THE GREEN 4 HELI RTE LOCATED INSIDE THE GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK SFAR AREA. WE WERE CLBING UP TO 5000 FT MSL ON AN EBOUND HDG WHEN I OBSERVED ANOTHER HELI S OF MY POS. WE WERE CATCHING UP ON THEM; AND I TRIED TO CALL THEM UP ON THE RADIO. THEY DID NOT ANSWER AFTER MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS; AND I DECIDED TO SLOW DOWN AND FOLLOW THEM. I MADE A RADIO CALL TO ENTER THE GREEN 4 RTE. THE OTHER HELI NEVER MADE THE RADIO CALL; WHICH IS REQUIRED BY THE SFR. I POSITIONED MYSELF WITH THE OTHER ACFT AT MY 2 O'CLOCK POS AND 1/4 - 1/2 NM SEPARATION. BEHIND ME AT MY 4-5 O'CLOCK POS WAS ANOTHER HELI WITH SIMILAR SEPARATION; AND BEHIND HIM WAS ANOTHER. IT IS A VERY BUSY AIRSPACE. I MADE SEVERAL MORE ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT THIS GUY ON THE RADIO -- STILL NO ANSWER. ALL OF A SUDDEN HE INITIATES A VERY ABRUPT AND AGGRESSIVE L TURN; BRINGING HIM ON COLLISION COURSE WITH US. I IMMEDIATELY INITIATED A RAPID DECELERATION (QUICK STOP) TO AVOID IMPACT; AND HE CROSSED APPROX 100 FT IN FRONT OF US CONTINUING FLYING 'SLALOM' ON A RTE THAT DOES NOT ALLOW SO -- YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO FLY A STRAIGHT LINE. EVERYBODY BEHIND ME ALSO SLOWED DOWN; AND WE INCREASED SEPARATION TO APPROX 1 NM TO THIS GUY WHO APPEARED TO BE ON A RAMPAGE. AT THE NEXT MANDATORY RPTING POINT; HE MADE A RADIO CALL; AND WHEN ASKED WHY HE DID NOT ANSWER EARLIER; HE STATED THAT HE HAD TURNED THE VOLUME DOWN ON HIS RADIO?! THE GRAND CANYON SFAR AREA IS A VERY BUSY AIRSPACE; AND IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT EVERYBODY FOLLOWS THE RULES. I HAVE FLOWN IN THIS ENVIRONMENT ALMOST 3 YRS; THERE HAS BEEN A STEADY INCREASE IN TFC; AND ALL OPS HAVE GROWN. OBVIOUSLY; THERE ARE A LOT OF 'NEW GUYS' OUT THERE. JUST LOOKING AT MY OWN COMPANY; ALMOST 70% OF OUR PLTS HAVE BEEN THERE LESS THAN 1 YR. ALL THE OTHER OPERATORS HAVE SIMILAR STATISTICS. ONE APPARENT RESULT OF THIS MASS HIRING AND TRAINING OF NEW PLTS IS THAT SAFETY IS REDUCED. I HAVE NEVER SEEN AS MANY PLT ERRORS; INADVERTENT AND UNFORTUNATELY ALSO DELIBERATE VIOLATIONS OF THE REGS ON A REGULAR BASIS BEFORE. THERE ARE INCIDENTS ALMOST ON A DAILY BASIS. SINCE THE OPERATORS MAINLY FOCUS ON THE PROFIT RATHER THAN SAFETY; THE ONLY SOLUTION -- AS I SEE IT -- IS THAT THE FAA NEEDS TO BE MORE ACTIVE. THEY NEED TO EVALUATE THE TRAINING BEING CONDUCTED; AND ALSO ENFORCE THE REGS THAT EXIST CURRENTLY; THEY MOSTLY CONDUCT RAMP CHKS; WHILE THE FLT PORTION APPEARS TO BE UNMONITORED. IT IS ALSO SCARY TO SEE THAT WHEN ONE OPERATOR TERMINATES A PLT FOR BEING UNSAFE; THE VERY SAME PLT JUST WALKS OVER TO THE NEXT OPERATOR AND GETS HIRED. MY LESSON FROM THIS CLOSE ENCOUNTER IS: TRUST NO ONE; ASSUME NOTHING; AND STAY AS FAR AWAY FROM EVERYBODY ELSE AS POSSIBLE!
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.