RA-25464

NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD

AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT

IMPACT WITH MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN, AT NIGHT

INTERNATIONAL CHARTER INC. OF OREGON, Mi-8MTV-1, RA-25464, 38 MILES NORTH OF PORT-AU-PRINCE, MARCH 14, 1999; IAD99RA036

1. FACTUAL INFORMATION

1.1 History of Flight

On March 14, 1999, about 1945, a Mil Mi-8MTV-1, registration RA-25464, operated by International Charter Inc., of Oregon (ICI), impacted mountainous terrain, 15 miles west-southwest of Hinche, Haiti (Unless otherwise noted, all times are local, eastern standard time, est.). The flight had a dual mission of emergency medical evacuation (medevac) pickup, and the transport of maintenance and security personnel to assist a sister helicopter, RA-25463 (RA-63). All 13 persons on board RA-64 sustained fatal injuries. ICI, in contract with Vladivostok Air (V/A), provided two Mi-8 helicopters in Haiti, and flight and maintenance personnel. The operator was brought to Haiti by letter of agreement between the U.S. Embassy and the Haitian government, to replace CH-47 Chinook helicopters in a transport mission. ICI held FAA certificate number 17CA0811, effective January 8, 1998, and was certified to operate as an "air carrier and conduct common carriage operations," in accordance with 14 CFR Part 135 (ICI Operator's Certificate, Attachment 1). The Mi-8s were certified in Russia for flight and maintenance in accordance with Russian Civil Aviation Regulation no. 15.07.91r-17.07.91. RA-64 held Airworthiness Certificate no. DB-645, dated March 26, 1998, and was registered in Russia under Certificate of Registration no. 3231, dated April 20, 1998 RA-25464 (Certificates of Registration and Airworthiness, Russian Federation, Attachment 2). The flightcrew was comprised of two pilots and a flight engineer (Russian citizens). An ICI corporate officer, who was a U.S. citizen, served as the aviation officer, stationed in the cabin. The passengers consisted of three Russian maintenance personnel (to performance maintenance on RA-63) and six Argentine Gendarmeria security personnel, serving in the United Nations civil police mission to Haiti (MIPONUH). RA-64 was verbally tasked by the tasking officer of the UN mission to Haiti for the emergency medevac. Flight orders for a Canadian utility helicopter squadron, which ICI replaced, were on file at ICI base operations. A specific flight plan was not filed for the accident flight (The operator provided Attachment 3, regarding the flight plan. The attachment outlines a radio check with operations base to "Open my flight plan").

The ICI base radio operator stated that during the afternoon of March 14, he received a call from the tasking officer, who said that a written task order would follow by FAX. The mission was to fly an Mi-8 to Labadee, near Cap Haitien, about 85 miles north of the ICI facility at MTPP (MIPONUH AIR REQUEST, TASK/MISREP form, Attachment 4. The landing field at Labadee was a soccer field. There were no navigation aids at Labadee. The nearest airport was at Cap Haitien). The ICI on-call crew was notified and an ICI corporate officer took the position of in-cabin air officer. At 1735, RA-63 departed MTPP and at 1801 called base and reported landing assured at Labadee (ICI Radio Log, transcription and rewriting of transcription, 2 pages, Attachment 5).

The chief air traffic controller at MTPP later stated that the tower operator staffed the tower until 2200 local. The 1700 and last recorded meteorological observation for MTPP was "visibility unlimited, few clouds broken at 3,000 feet, cumulonimbus, few clouds at 8,000 feet, and few clouds at 23,000 feet, temperature 29 degrees Celsius, dew point 22 degrees, QNH (barometric pressure) 1012.4, cumulonimbus north (Tower hourly weather log, Attachment 6. CAA, Haiti, stated that the meteorological observer departed the tower after the 1700 observation). The captain of RA-63 later stated that he flew to Labadee, flying northeast, and near the city of Hinche turned to the northwest, in order to take advantage of valleys and lower en route terrain. He stated that he noted clouds in the mountains but was not particularly concerned regarding weather for his return flight from Labadee.

The medevac was a woman from Finland who had been struck by a boat and seriously injured. Upon RA-63 landing at a soccer field at Labadee, she was brought into the aircraft cabin. Prior to takeoff, the air officer, standing outside the helicopter, noted that the exhaust cowling for one of the engines was missing. The flight did not depart, and a call was made to ICI operations to state that the injured woman was still in need of transport and the aircraft was down in the landing zone for maintenance. According to the ICI base radio dispatcher, a company officer who had been in ICI operations throughout the afternoon, soon conferred in person at ICI with the MIPONUH tasking officer. Shortly thereafter, three V/A mechanics gathered with their tools to fly on board RA-64 to assist RA-63. Also, six Argentine Gendarmeria arrived to also fly on board RA-64, in order to provide overnight security for RA-63. A typed log, submitted by Port-au-Prince Tower, records that at "001520 [Zulu] RA464" initially contacted Tower for departure (Port-au-Prince "Pilot Controller Communications," Attachment 7. "001520" is 0015:20 Zulu/Greenwich Mean Time or 1915: local). RA-64 lifted-off with maintenance and security personnel on board. The ICI company officer was stationed in the cabin as the air officer. The ICI radio dispatcher recorded that at 1935 the flight radioed base that they were passing over Point November (five miles north of the ICI facility), outbound, and estimated landing at Labadee at 2000. The flight again contacted ICI base, about 4 minutes prior to impact (See CVR transcript, Attachment 8, two copies: complete in Russian and partial English translation).

The RA-64 cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was recovered from the crash site and read-out at the Interstate Aviation Committee investigative laboratories in Moscow. The CVR conversation revealed that the flightcrew was aware that they were in mountainous terrain, attempting to maintain visual contact with the terrain, and turning and climbing prior to impact. ICI and V/A personnel stated that flightcrew were equipped-with and could have been wearing night vision goggles (NVGs. An investigator, early on-site, reports that he saw a "set of two rings" attached to the front of one of the flightcrew helmets. Flightcrew NVGs were not seen by other investigators or recovered from the wreckage.). As evidenced in the CVR transcript, the captain was at the controls, and immediately prior to impact, one flightcrew member stated, "Altitude 100 [meters radio altimeter], Altitude 70, Altitude." There was no moon that night (Quarters of the moon, by month, 1999; Attachment 9).

A UN police advisory (CIVPOL) detachment at Gonaives, Haiti, submitted a log that stated that at 1940 they started a search, after receiving a radio transmission from RA-64 that said they were changing the itinerary because of bad weather conditions. The CIVPOL stated they later could not reestablish radio contact with the helicopter (This conversation is not on the CVR. The air officer in the cabin had a separate FM transmitter/receiver. The CIVPOL detachment at Gonaives did not contact ICI or other known agency, on the evening of March 14, regarding the radio conversation).

About 2000, not having heard from RA-64, the ICI base dispatcher attempted to contact the flight by radio, without success. At 2035, the ICI air officer for RA-63 called by telephone to the base dispatcher. They agreed to keep trying to contact RA-64, but did not yet call the U.S. Coast Guard facility at MTPP (Statements of Josh Cotes and Lara Brekken, ICI employees, Attachment 10). At 2200, the ICI radioman called the company president in Oregon, and stated that he wished to call the USCG, which he did. At 2320, a USCG HH-60J Jayhawk departed north from MTPP, in a search attempt for RA-64 (Statements of HH-60J search and rescue pilots: RAF Flight Lt. Miller and USCG Lt. Bullock, Attachment 11. Additional witness statements, Attachment 12.). The route north was obscured by clouds and the HH-60J flew northeast towards the city of Hinche and the lower terrain in that vicinity. The USCG crew, wearing night vision goggles, found the mountainous areas obscured by clouds and were not able to search above 3,500 feet mean sea level (msl). After dawn, the USCG renewed the helicopter search for RA-64. Shortly after noon, March 15, a USCG HH-65 crew observed a crowd of people on a mountain slope, and then observed burned wreckage. The wreckage was found at an elevation of 4,200 feet msl, in a wreckage path approximately 90 meters in length, on an impact course of approximately 170 degrees.

Examination found no evidence of any system problem with the aircraft prior to impact. A person who lived about five miles to the south of the accident site stated in interview that he observed the aircraft pass overhead with smoke coming down from the fuselage and then fire. There was no evidence of pre-impact fire found in wreckage examination. The turbine engines evidenced normal power at the time of impact. On-site examination was followed by instrument examination at the Interstate Aviation Committee Headquarters, Moscow. Wreckage examination evidenced that at the time of impact the helicopter was in a slight climb. Instrument examination revealed that the helicopter was in a 35 degree right bank at the time of impact. The impact was approximately 30 meters below the top of a ridge, beyond which mountain peaks and ridge lines gradually descended towards the south.

The accident occurred at nighttime in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), at 72 degrees 10 minutes West, 19 degrees 03 minutes North. (Coordinates...