Report on serious incident at Kvamsdal in Masfjorden municipality, Hordaland county, Norway 24 February 2018 with Airbus Helicopters AS 350 B3 Ecureuil, LN-OWE, operated by Nord Helikopter AS
Aviation report 2019/09
The serious incident occurred during operations related to construction of a new power line. A total of four persons where on board; the commander, the loadmaster and two passengers to be transported to an operating site. At positioning of the helicopter during landing, the main rotary blades came in contact with a container. The commander manouvered the helicopter away from the container. There were insignificant vibrations in the helicopter. The helicopter was controllable and therefore the commander decided to return to the departing site one to two minutes flight time away. After shutdown, it was found that the outermost part of all three main rotor blades was damaged. None of the persons sustained any injuries.
Since the previous landing, the landing site had changed considerably. The contractor had carried out work with an excavator at the landing site and physical obstacles were placed too close.
The AIBN believes that in this case the commander should not have accepted the reduced safety margins, and consequently refrained from landing.
This report is in Norwegian only.
No safety recommendatioon is issued i connection with this investigation.
Facts
| Location | Kvamsdal, Masfjorden municipality, Norway |
| Occurrence date | 24.02.2018 |
| Aircraft | Airbus Helicopter AS 350 B3 Ecureuil |
| Operator | Nord Helikopter AS |
| Registration | LN-OWE |
| Meteorological conditions | VMC |
| County | Hordaland |
| Type of occurrence | Accident |
| Type of operation | Commercial, other |
| Category of operation | Light, helicopter (<= 2 250kg) |
| Aircraft category | Helicopter, Single-engine, Turboprop/turboshaft |
| FIR/AOR | ENBD (Bodø ATCC) |