Door change, turbulence contributed to crash that killed war hero and helicopter pilot Steve Askin

Tuesday, 26 June 2018

Steve Askin died in a helicopter crash on February 14, 2017, while fighting the massive Port Hills fires.

An investigation into the death of a decorated war hero has revealed some of the doors of his helicopter had been removed to give him a better view while he fought a massive wildfire above Christchurch.

David Steven Askin, known as Steve, was a former SAS soldier who received New Zealand's second highest medal for bravery and was once injured in a Taliban shootout. The 38-year-old had been working for Way To Go Heliservices when he crashed near Sugarloaf while fighting a massive fire in the Port Hills on February 14, 2017.

Steve Askin was a former SAS soldier and was involved in the same action for which Willie Apiata received the Victoria Cross.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) released its final report on the crash on Tuesday.

Askin's father, Paul, said in a statement his son 'loved his life and lived it to the full'. Way To Go Heliservices declined to comment on the report.

Steve Askin with his wife Elizabeth. They have two young children Isabelle and Bowie.

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'He is sorely missed by us and all who knew him. He was an awesome man.'

The report said the monsoon bucket's suspension had contacted the helicopter's tail rotor while Askin was returning to a dipping pond to fill the bucket.

The damage to the tail rotor caused the vertical stabiliser to tear off the tail boom, and the helicopter became uncontrollable and crashed.

A video recording taken from a camera mounted underneath the helicopter showed the monsoon bucket rising towards the tail rotor. The video also showed an object had fallen from the helicopter shortly beforehand. It was 'virtually certain' the object was the dislodged window. Askin had experienced a similar incident while flying the same helicopter on a firefighting mission in 2015.

The helicopter was fitted with sliding doors on the left side of the cabin and standard doors on the right side. All the doors on the right side had been removed to give Askin a better view of the underslung bucket while firefighting, and the doors on the left side were closed. A supplement to the flight manual said such a door configuration was prohibited. Way To Go Heliservices said the supplement was ambiguous and it was not aware the configuration was prohibited.

The door configuration meant there was fluctuating pressure inside the cabin as the helicopter encountered turbulence and wind shear.

The report said it was 'very likely' that the window panel was dislodged from the door by a sudden increase in air loading due to turbulence or a change in airspeed. The dislodging of the window would have caused a sudden change in airflow through the cabin and an increase in noise and a sharp sound.

'It was very likely that the monsoon bucket flew up towards the tail rotor due to a combination of forward air speed and turbulence,' the report said.

'At the same instant, the pilot's slowing of the helicopter in response to losing the window resulted in the tail rotor dipping and making contact with the rising suspension line for the monsoon bucket.'

The hazard of an underslung load striking a tail rotor is a known risk to helicopter operations.

Although not directly contributing to the crash, TAIC found three deficiencies that indicated the helicopter operator's quality assurance system should be reviewed.

TAIC found it was very unlikely that Askin was impaired by his recent use of cannabis, but reiterated its view that drug use is a serious risk to aviation safety.

An interim report released last May revealed Askin made a mayday call moments before his Eurocopter AS350-BA 'Squirrel' went down.

Evidence showed the monsoon bucket suspension cables struck and damaged the tail rotor and caused the loss of the vertical stabiliser. The helicopter rolled to the right as a result and descended until it struck the

The final report said two safety issues were identified in the inquiry – the first being a lack awareness within the helicopter industry of the additional risks involved with underslung load operations. The second was that Way To Go Heliservices did not have adequate systems allowing the pilot to determine the total weight and balance of the helicopter for the firefighting operation. The operator also did not ensure that incidents such as the previous loss of a window were recorded, notified to the Civil Aviation Authority and investigated.

Askin began learning to fly helicopters in 1998 and gained his commercial helicopter pilot licence in 2002. His total helicopter flying experience was about 2350 hours, including about 500 hours in the AS350-BA.

Paul Askin, responding to last May's interim report, said he had spoken with several pilots, as well as his son's boss, who all said Steve Askin was a 'careful, deliberate pilot'.

'He was not a cowboy. He wasn't a corner cutter, he wanted to fly very well and professionally and do a good job, use the machine within its capabilities to do the work in hand,' he said at the time.

'We've lost a wonderful member of our family and he's left a big hole in our family and in our hearts.'

The former SAS soldier was awarded the New Zealand Gallantry Star in 2014 for his service in Afghanistan, including a 2011 incident in a Kabul hotel where he was wounded by grenade and rifle fire, yet carried on his mission and rescued guests as a fire broke out.

New Zealand Defence Force chief of army Major General Peter Kelly said earlier Askin lived up to the finest traditions of the New Zealand Army.

'He was an outstanding soldier who served his country with bravery and commitment – the same bravery and commitment he showed in helping his community fight these fires.'