Helicopter crash 'caused by cleaning cloth'

A helicopter crash in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath last year was caused by a cleaning cloth, an investigation has found.

A report from the Air Accident investigation Unit said cleaning cloth material was found entangled in the tail rotor drive shaft, which caused caused it to fail. The drive shaft was completely severed, the report found, cutting off power to the tail rotor gearbox.

The 41-year-old pilot suffered serious back injuries in the crash on March 20th, 2008, and significant damage was caused to the helicopter.

The pilot was flying from Celtic Heliport in Knocksedan, Co Dublin, to Weston Airport in Co Kildare when he encountered problems.

After taking off from Knocksedan at 3.32pm, he was approaching Dunshaughlin when he alerted air traffic controllers of a problem. The pilot later told investigators he had heard "a loud bang" from the rear of the helicopter, and experienced problems controlling the aircraft.

After informing air traffic controllers that he needed to make an emergency landing and transmitting a mayday call, the pilot went out of contact. The pilot attempted to keep clear of built-up areas in Dunshaughlin and then shut down the engines and lowered the undercarriage.

He told investigators the helicopter was spinning at such a rate that he was forced back into his seat.

The accident happened at about 3.40pm, less than a minute after the pilot first experienced trouble.

Witnesses reported seeing the helicopter spinning, and those at the scene said its rotor blades were "embedded in the ground".

The subsequent examination of the damaged helicopter revealed the cloth, which was wrapped tightly around the tail rotor drive shaft.

The helicopter had been recently inspected, and the pilot did not see the cloth in two daily pre-flight checks he carried out prior to the Weston Airport flight. However, the report also noted that that cloth may not have been immediately visible, and factors such as the height of the pilot could have impacted the ability to see the cloth.

The investigation could not establish who left the cloth in the area of the tail rotor drive shaft, or when. However, new procedures have since been put in place to control the issue of the cloths by maintenance companies, the reports added.