Sun, Jan 02, 2011
You Can't Fly Safely Without Proper Rest
You could have seen this one coming a mile away, and yet as I
read the report, I remember a LONG night I spent flying frost
control in an R22 quite a few years ago... ALL night long -- with
few breaks -- and then flew the machine another hour in the morning
to get it back to home base and was about as tired as I have ever
been... so there for the grace of God, go I. Yeah... this one could
have been me, and all I can say is that you sure can rationalize a
lot when there is a paycheck involved. So... be careful and think
twice when you get asked to push proper limits... the first life
you save is probably yours. -- Jim Campbell, ANN E-I-C.
NTSB Identification: ERA11CA082
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, December 08, 2010 in Canal Point,
FL
Aircraft: BELL 206L-3, registration: N955GT
Injuries: 1 Serious.
The pilot stated his duty day started at 2000 hours eastern
standard time the night before the accident. He repositioned the
helicopter to an airport near the bean fields in preparation for
low-level agricultural sustainment flights. He drove a vehicle to
several bean fields and preformed a ground reconnaissance of known
hazards in preparation for flights that would be flown that evening
or in the early morning hours on the following day. He flew one
mission that lasted 1 hour 30 minutes before midnight, landed, and
went to bed.
He was awakened when another helicopter had an accident on the
airport at 0030. He went back to bed at 0100, was awakened again at
0300 and departed to fly at 0330.
He was flying up and down the bean field at a low altitude, from
south to north, with an east to west pattern. He observed power
lines at the end of the field, crossed over them and descended the
helicopter into the ground at 0730. When asked if there were any
mechanical problems with the helicopter, the pilot stated no.
Bell 206L File Photo
He stated he was tired. He had been awake for 18 hours and 30
minutes and had slept 2 hours prior to the accident. He
further stated he had slept 5 hours 30 minutes in the last 24 hours
and 14 hours in the last 72 hours.
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