N44NY

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On December 3, 1998, about 1742 Eastern Standard Time, a Eurocopter EC-135-P1 helicopter, N44NY, operated by Aerial Films Inc, was destroyed during a precautionary landing in the Passaic River, Newark, New Jersey. The certificated airline transport pilot and camera operator received minor injuries. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the aerial observation flight that originated from Palisades General Hospital Heliport (07NJ), North Bergen, New Jersey, about 1645, and was planned to terminate at Essex County Airport, Caldwell, New Jersey. No flight plan had been filed for the flight, which was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

The helicopter was engaged in electronic news gathering (ENG) for a local television station, and used a radio call sign of CHOPPER 4. According to the air/ground communications tape from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), at 1736:30, the pilot contacted the control tower at Newark International Airport (EWR), Newark, New Jersey, and was cleared into the Class B airspace to cover a story near downtown Newark.

The planned route of flight took the helicopter west, across the final approach course for Runways 22L/R. At 1738:02, prior to the helicopter crossing the final approach course, the Newark local controller advised the pilot of traffic, 4 miles away, an MD-80, descending out of 2,000 feet. The pilot was instructed to report when he had the traffic in sight.

At 1738:08, the pilot transmitted, "chopper four has the m d eighty, we'll maintain visual separation", which was acknowledged by the local controller.

At 1739:05, the pilot transmitted, "chopper four got the next arrival behind the m d eighty."

As the helicopter proceeded west toward its destination, the pilot was advised of other helicopters in the same area, and reported that he had visual contact with them.

The onboard gyro-stabilized camera was pointed toward Newark airport, and transmitting to the parent television station. An airplane similar in lighting configuration to an MD-80 was seen descending into Newark. At 1739:53, as the helicopter neared the extended centerline of Runway 22L, the camera recorded a momentary vertical oscillation.

Both occupants were wearing David Clark headsets. The pilot was talking to the Newark local controller, and the camera operator was talking to the news desk. The camera operator's microphone recorded some of the conversation from the pilot. In addition, the background noise, which consisted of wind, engines, transmission, and the main rotor blades, was also recorded.

Following the vertical oscillation, there was a discussion between the pilot and camera operator as to what had happened. The background noise, which had been constant prior to the vertical oscillation, became variable with noticeable increases and decreases in frequency and intensity.

According to a transcript of the onboard conversation prepared by the Safety Board cockpit voice recorder laboratory, at 1740:19, the pilot was believed to have stated,"...i'm turning the throttles...."

At 1741:16, the pilot said, "turn the light on and get it out so it turns down."

According to a Safety Board CVR analysis of the background noise from the onboard recording system, at 1741:48, the main rotor RPM had decreased to 73 percent.

At 1741:51, the pilot transmitted, "mayday mayday chopper four is...."

The sound analysis of the background noise also revealed a rapid increase in main rotor rpm, to about 125 percent, which occurred at 1741:53, after which the camera operator stopped the onboard recording.

At 1741:56, the pilot transmitted, "mayday mayday, our engines are out, we're going down." The Newark local controller acknowledged this. No further transmissions were received from the helicopter.

The pilot of another nearby helicopter reported that when he heard the mayday call, he scanned for, and visually acquired "Chopper 4." He then flew toward Chopper 4, and his camera operator aimed their onboard camera at it.

The video was about 25 seconds in duration; however, the helicopter was not visually acquired until 9 seconds had elapsed after the start of the tape. The video was initially taken from the right side of, and then from behind Chopper 4. When Chopper 4 was visually acquired, a momentary burst of flame was observed emitting from the helicopter. The source could not be determined.

As Chopper 4 continued to descend, the glow of both engines could be discerned. Occasional bursts of flame were seen from the rear of the helicopter; however, the exact location they originated from was not determined. About 5.5 seconds prior to water impact, as the helicopter slowed and descended, bright flashes were observed, and several bright glowing objects exited from the rear of the helicopter and fell toward the ground.

During the descent to the water, the helicopter maintained its heading. As the helicopter struck the water, a bright flash was observed near the rear of the fuselage. The flash was obscured by the water spray, after which, the helicopter disappeared from view, and the tape stopped.

At 1742:23; the pilot of the following helicopter transmitted to Newark control tower, "he's [Chopper 4] in the water now...."

The occupants reported they exited the helicopter and swam to shore. Emergency vehicles were on scene within 2 minutes.

When interviewed, the pilot reported that before the crash, the helicopter had encountered a "violent" vertical oscillation which he described as "hard and abnormal", with minimal left-right yawing. He did not recall any noise accompanying the oscillation. He had scanned the gages and everything looked normal. The pilot had seen an airliner about to land at Newark, and thought he may have encountered wake turbulence. His next memory was of being in the hospital.

The camera operator reported the helicopter was headed west over the Stickel Bridge toward downtown Newark, when he felt something like a bird strike on the tail rotor blades. He said the vertical oscillation was the largest event he had experienced in-flight. The helicopter momentarily "dropped" and then continued. The camera operator said the pilot thought it was turbulence, but the camera operator reported that he was skeptical. Everything seemed "OK", and the flight continued toward the news story location.

The camera operator further reported that when the pilot asked for the light to be turned on, he initially thought the pilot wanted the external searchlight on. However, the pilot reported that he had wanted the overhead internal spotlight shown on the collective mounted throttles, located between the seats. The camera operator also reported that he noticed the main rotor rpm had decreased, and the rotor light had illuminated and stayed on until the helicopter struck the water.

The camera operator also reported that during the descent, the helicopter started to become unstable like it was in turbulence. He thought the pilot was visibly shaken, but was still flying, and he tried to get the pilot to relax. The pilot said he was going to put the helicopter down in the river. Further, the camera operator reported in his statement, "...I began to smell what seemed to be burning metal as we continued to descend...."

The camera operator reported that he had removed his seatbelt and shoulder harness before touchdown, and upon water impact was not thrown out of his seat. He also opened the left side cockpit door before water impact. The skids hit first, and he exited the helicopter. He felt a main rotor blade strike him in the head after he exited the helicopter. He was uncertain if the helicopter rolled after touchdown.

In a follow-up interview, the camera operator reaffirmed there was no noise or yawing of the helicopter, when they encountered the vertical oscillation. It was about the vertical axis only. After the mayday call, the helicopter continued in coordinated flight, while it oscillated. The accident occurred during the hours of darkness, at 40 degrees, 46.10 minutes north latitude, and 74 degrees, 09.42 minutes west longitude.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate. His total flight experience was 3,926 hours, with 123.8 hours in make and model. He had flown 64 hours in the preceding 90 days, with 60 hours in make and model. His last flight review was conducted on November 18, 1997, in a Bell 206. He held a type rating in a Bell 204.

He was last issued a FAA first class airman medical certificate, with no limitations, on July 10, 1998.

According to documents from American Eurocopter, the pilot was trained on the EC-135, in July 1998, at Morristown, New Jersey. The training included ground school, and 3.2 hours of flight training. The training included operation of the helicopter with engines in manual control, and returning the engines to full authority digital engine control (FADEC) once they were in manual.

ORGANIZATIONAL AND MANAGEMENT INFORMATION

The helicopter was operated by Aerial Films, Inc, and was under contract to the local NBC affiliate in New York City. The responsibility for pilot training, operations, and maintenance of the helicopter, remained with Aerial Films. Both the pilot and camera operator were employees of Aerial Films.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The helicopter was manufactured, assembled, and tested in Germany. It was then disassembled and shipped to the American Eurocopter (AEC) facility in Grand Prairie, Texas. The engine and main transmission were serviced with Mobil Jet II, a synthetic lubricant. In Germany, the hydraulic system was serviced with Shell brand Mil-H-5606 fluid hydraulic fluid. At the AEC facility, and in Morristown, New Jersey, the helicopter had been serviced with Texaco brand Mil-H-5606 hydraulic fluid.

The helicopter was equipped with a single main rotor and fenestron tail rotor. At 100 percent rpm, the main...