A helicopter pilot involved in a crash that injured four people, including a bride and groom on their wedding day, faced “the worst possible emergency”, a fellow pilot says.
Christchurch couple Mahdi Zougub and Fay El Hanafy were injured in the wedding day helicopter crash on June 12. Wedding photographer Rachel Jordan was also seriously injured along with pilot Lynda Harrap.
The owner of the helicopter, Wyndon Aviation, earlier said the inquiry was in its early stages, but it had confirmed the engine suffered a “total power loss shortly after take off”.
John Kirk-Anderson/Stuff
Four people were injured when the helicopter crashed near Windwhistle, in the Canterbury high country.
The company did an internal investigation after the crash, including a review of the data and other evidence gathered by independent helicopter pilot Simon Spencer-Bower.
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In a statement released by Wyndon Aviation, Spencer-Bower said helicopters were able to land safely in the event of an engine failure using a procedure called autorotative descent.
“[It] is essentially gliding the helicopter down close to the ground and then cushioning the helicopter onto the ground with little or no forward speed.”
Spencer-Bower said practising emergencies was a “major component” of any aviation flight training.
An engine failure just after takeoff left a pilot with limited options for a safe outcome, he said.
Supplied
Newlyweds Fay El Hanafy, left, and Mahdi Zougub, had their June 12 wedding day cut short when their helicopter crashed. Both were seriously injured.
“In this case the pilot was only just above tree height, the worst possible time for a total loss of engine power.”
Surviving a total and sudden engine failure largely depended on a pilot’s “split second initiation” and having enough altitude and airspeed to do a stable autorotation.
Spencer-Bower said Harrap had only “fractions of a second to react”. She was not only a highly experienced commercial pilot, but also a senior helicopter flight instructor, he said.
“All parameters of the flight leading up to the time of engine failure were conducted entirely ‘by the book’. No compromises were made.
“Faced with the worst possible emergency, with very little altitude and limited landing area options, the pilot was able to react immediately to the dire situation and established the helicopter into autorotational descent.
“[She] avoided trees ahead and steered to a clear area, and was able to flare to helicopter on to the ground with as little vertical descent as possible in the situation, reducing the impact forces sufficiently and thereby saving everyone’s lives.”
Rachel Jordan/Supplied
This photo was taken by wedding photographer Rachel Jordan shortly before the helicopter she was in crashed at Terrace Downs.
The pilot’s actions were a “great example of a professional pilot flying by the book”, he said.
A Wyndon Aviation spokesman said the company was “extremely proud” of Harrap.
Harrap, who suffered spinal injuries, remained in Burwood Hospital and continued to make “positive gains”, the company said.
