The Squirrel helicopter Bill Reid was flying crashed as he battled bush fires in Pigeon Valley, Nelson, in February. Photo / Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC)
The Squirrel helicopter Bill Reid was flying crashed as he battled bush fires in Pigeon Valley, Nelson, in February. Photo / Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC)
Crash investigators are probing similarities between the chopper accident that killed ex-SAS war hero Steve Askin during the 2017 Port Hills fires and the crash of industry legend Bill Reid during the Tasman bush fire earlier this year, the Herald understands.
Both experienced pilots were flying Eurocopter AS350 "Squirrel" helicopterswhile fighting two of the biggest fires in New Zealand's modern history.
Suggestions that gear failures on the monsoon buckets slung beneath the machines contributed to the crashes are being looked at, the Herald has been told.
After father-of-two Askin's fatal crash, where his empty monsoon bucket's line swung up and struck his tail rotor, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued a safety update to commercial helicopter operators and the New Zealand Helicopter Association.
It revealed 15 accidents involving external loads since 2000 and highlighted a service letter released by Eurocopter in 2006, which said 41 per cent of reported sling load accidents occurred when the sling or load made contact with the helicopter.
The Eurocopter letter stated: "… the sling contacts the tail rotor, which may cause the tail rotor gear box and parts of the fin to be damaged. The two main reasons are either an abrupt dive manoeuvre or bursting of the bag which behaves like a parachute when empty."
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued a safety update to commercial helicopter operators after Steve Askin's fatal accident. Photo / Facebook
Reid was fighting the massive 2400-hectare Tasman blaze just before 3pm in the Eves Valley area just south of Nelson on February 17 when he noted a sensation that "something let go", according to a CAA narrative of the accident.
He immediately jettisoned the 500-litre monsoon bucket and made an emergency heavy landing in a clearing.
Reid made a textbook mayday call and was found at the wreckage. He was taken to Nelson Hospital with a minor ankle injury and discharged later that day.
Sources have told the Herald only Reid's vast experience saved his life.
The helicopter suffered major damage, with its tail section torn off.
An injured Steve Askin on June 29, 2011, after Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo / AFP
A Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) inquiry was immediately launched.
The Herald has been told by sources that TAIC is looking at potential similarities with the Askin accident.
It allegedly relates to the performance of stainless steel rings that reinforce the monsoon buckets.
However, the Wellington-based commission with an annual budget of around $5m, has refused to answer specific questions about the inquiries.
Legislation prevents TAIC from sharing any evidence or conclusions while the investigation is ongoing, a spokesman said.
Aviation crash inquiries typically take one to two years to complete. The investigation team is still in the analysis stage.
Bill Reid was fighting the Pigeon Valley scrub fire in February this year when he was forced to make an emergency heavy landing.
Bill Reid's son Toby Reid, chief executive and chief pilot of Wakefield-based Reid Helicopters, also refused to comment when approached by the Herald. He said he couldn't talk while the TAIC investigation was ongoing.
Askin died on February 14, 2017 after his chopper, the same Eurocopter AS350 Squirrel model that Reid was flying, crashed near the Sugarloaf carpark while returning to a dipping pond to refill a 1000-litre monsoon bucket.
TAIC's final crash investigator's report found that the machine's pilot-side doors had been removed, contributing to fluctuating pressure inside the cabin.
Askin, a decorated SAS legend who was wounded in a five-hour shootout in 2011 after the Taliban stormed the InterContinental Hotel in Kabul, reduced speed, causing the tail rotor to dip.
"The monsoon bucket swung up and backward, and the bucket line damaged the tail rotor assembly. This made the helicopter uncontrollable and it crashed," TAIC's chief investigator of accidents Captain Tim Burfoot concluded.
"It was very likely that the monsoon bucket flew up towards the tail rotor due to a combination of forward air speed and turbulence."
However, the final report didn't find any issues with Askin's monsoon bucket.
Helicopter pilot Steve Askin lost his life fighting the Port Hills fires. Photo / Supplied
Yesterday his father Paul hoped for some more clarity on the safety of pilots using helicopters fighting fires.
"I didn't find the TAIC explanation for [his son's crash] to be particularly convincing," he said.
"It is a reasonably tight-knit community and obviously the pilots, and the companies, have got a lot on the line. Helicopters really are a critical tool in fighting these big fires and it's in everyone's best interests to make them as safe as possible."
CAA deputy director for general aviation Steve Moore said the authority acknowledges that firefighting using monsoon buckets is "a high-risk operation".
"Operators need to be aware of the risks involved and to mitigate them as much as possible to ensure a safe operation. This includes ensuring the suitability of the monsoon bucket used," Moore said.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand manages "the safety and risks" of helicopters using monsoon buckets while firefighting in accordance with CAA rules and its Standard for the Use of Aircraft at Wildfires, which provides guidance for managing aerial firefighting at vegetation fires and sets out specific aircraft and equipment requirements to ensure aerial firefighting is managed safely and effectively. It's complemented by a Rural Fire Air Operations handbook along with air division commanders, air attack supervisors and air support supervisors who all receive specialised training to ensure safe and efficient operations, says national manager for response capability Paul Turner.
"When fighting wildfires, the safety of our people, partners and communities is paramount," he said.
