Remember when Skydiving was dangerous and Robinson Helicopters were fun?
How is it that a tiny and remote country finds itself in the front lines of the biggest issue in Helicopter Aviation? Most of you are thinking; where is New Zealand? New Zealand is tiny. It is two main islands at the bottom of the planet; a land mass 3.5% the size of Australia, a population 3.5% the quantity of Mexico, exactly half the number of civil helicopters in comparison to Australia but half as many more civil helicopters than Mexico.
As a nation we’ve embraced Aviation since the early 1900’s and we’re into helicopters [and aeroplanes] since our home is well designed for flying. Both major islands are long and narrow with rising terrain running longitudinally and both sport a road network designed for motorcyclists (if you like falling off and speeding fines…)
Flying is an expeditious and convenient option since driving is unreasonably dangerous and has managed to contribute to three thousand seven hundred and twenty-three [3,723] deaths in the last ten years. New Zealand is surrounded by ocean and punctured with lakes and swimming pools. On average seventy-seven [77] people drown each year and if swimming isn’t your thing, then boating is very popular pastime which contributed two hundred and thirty-three [231] fatalities between 2003 and 2012. If you find balancing difficult, 4x4 quadbikes are a fun distraction that have killed thirty-four [34] riders in the last six years and just showing up for work on Monday morning kills sixty [60] people a year.
But I digress.
New Zealand is ground zero for the most polarising debate in the global Helicopter community. A dysfunctional consortium of New Zealand Government agencies, TV and Radio media, watch dogs, talking heads and my physio are focused on stopping the propagation of the Robinson Helicopter. A helicopter pilot can’t have a quiet G&T without a well-informed soccer mum letting you know that Robinson Helicopters just fall out of the sky. They just randomly plummet from the heavens on a regular basis. Sadly some of that statement is true. Eighteen [18] people have died flying in a Robinson Helicopter in New Zealand since 2000. Six [6] in the R44, thirteen [13] in the R22 and one [1] in the R66.
So, while we die in droves on the roads, waterways and workplaces there continues a serious infatuation with helicopters. The posse is out to prevent Robinson Helicopters continuing an assault against our community.
Bob Muse inspired me to write. Bob is Robinson Helicopters prophet in the wilderness, working to calm the hysteria and bring clarity to the anti-Robinson campaign. In 2017 when the NZ Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) served Robinson with a ‘watchlist’ label, he toured the country using organic New Zealand data and astute audits of accidents to highlight the underlying cause being pilots making poor command decisions. Last week he parachuted in as Robinson Helicopters came under heavy bombardment from the media following the announcement that NZ Department of Conservation (D.O.C our version of National Parks & Wildlife Service) effected a complete ban on Robinson Helicopters being used in our National Parks. This came after an R44 crashed in February, allegedly bouncing off a tree before clipped a rock and then rolling up. Thankfully nobody was hurt but D.O.C decided that enough is enough and immediately the tabloids dredged up the Mast Bumping story without providing any context… yet again. Not so much fake news, just distorted news. Ignore the facts, bend the truth and sell a headline to solicit a few google clicks. The irony didn’t go unnoticed since Bob had returned to NZ to tell the bureaucrats in TAIC some good news about Robinson undertaking a fully independent test of the Main Rotor System by the University of Maryland.
You’ll note I highlighted the work underlying. There is no argument that a Mast Bump is often responsible for the in-flight break up of a Robinson Helicopter. However, the mitigating circumstances clearly indicate that the Mast Bump is “secondary damage” (as we say in mechanical terms) it’s a reaction. Much like the engine in my sons Mazda. Last month it suffered a catastrophic failure resulting a complete power loss as the engine pistons seized in the cylinders. Cause of death. Seizure. Mitigating circumstances – heat from combustion and friction unregulated by the circulation of coolant. The engine seized because it overheated. It overheated because he failed to repair the leak in his radiator and failed to check the coolant level.
Let’s change the narrative.
The subject Robinson Helicopter suffered a catastrophic in-flight break-up. Cause of death. Mast Bumping. Mitigating circumstances. Flight into moderate to severe turbulence, mountainous terrain or IFR conditions (chose one or all three in some instances) The helicopter crashed because the pilot elected to take-off/depart/continue flight into environmental conditions beyond the capability of the aircraft. Said pilot may also have applied too much speed to the conditions, have overloaded the helicopter, not be suitably experienced or simply not a very good pilot. It happens and it happens to a lot of two bladed helicopters.
Muse’s tour in 2017 was to packed rooms of mostly commercial Helicopter Pilots and there wasn’t resounding debate. Together we watched and winced as the low Rotor RPM horn blared endlessly. Nobody enjoys watching pilots being tested and found wanting and all were sobered at the knowledge, that those videos we watched, were someones last moments. It’s an ugly truth that Aviation is a great leveller and is no respecter of man. If you are found wanting or just plain unlucky, then the ramifications are serious no matter what aircraft you fly.
For the New Zealand Helicopter community this public battle is expensive and embarrassing. Dozens of small business owner operators fly, maintain and support their families using Robinson products and the public banning with the bad press directly impacts thousands of family incomes. One would think that since we are the ‘end users’ of the suffering and loss that someone in TAIC, the Government or the media would seek the opinion of the Helicopter community or testimony in this matter. Personally, my role is to represent Robinson Helicopters in the South Island and our company is the largest provider of support and maintenance to all of New Zealand Aviation. We haven’t sold a new Robinson R44 since Dec 2016 and nationally our engineering divisions are reporting a lack of demand for spares and overhauls. To date nobody from our upper management team has been consulted on the decision to place the type on the watchlist. The industry has just been a spectator to TAIC, NZCAA, DOC and the media batting this subject around without any tangible results.
If the problem the Government seeks to avoid is design based, then it’s an absurd debate. As sure as God made Helicopter Pilots in his image, Robinson Helicopters will receive a clean bill of health from the Maryland University Study and they are not going to modify their Main Rotor System because little New Zealand has a problem. One positive of the furore is to remind pilots that they make mistakes. Any significant change in the incident/accident rate is simply going to be due lack of usage or a change in operator attitude.
Furthermore, the loss of a couple of sales to Robinson Helicopters means nothing but the loss of capacity causes the public to pay more for helicopter support. Equally as many other brands of helicopters have been involved in accidents and you still have the same operators and the same crews flying but you simply pay more for a larger machine with identical risk profiles.
The weight of evidence is levied at the Kiwi psyche and our utilisation of the aircraft and since all we are contributing to the brand currently is bad news, the problem will be self-healing. No Robinsons to fly = no Robinson accidents. Problem solved.
I’m getting on my motorbike to head home.
Fingers crossed.