Helicopter crash that claimed two lives near Queenstown 'avoidable'
Monday, 14 June 2021
The deaths of two men in a helicopter crash six years ago near Queenstown would not have happened had they not been flying in a Robinson 44, a coroner has heard.
James Patterson Gardner, 18, and Stephen Anthony Combe, 42, of Wānaka, were killed in the helicopter crash in the Lochy Valley, near Queenstown, in February 2015.
They were the 17th and 18th people to die in Robinson helicopters in New Zealand and there had been more since, counsel Garth Gallaway told an inquest on Monday.
Robinson Helicopter Company representatives were invited to participate in the inquest but declined, he said.
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“This is an indictment on the organisation and speaks for itself,” he said.
The crash was an accident but “completely avoidable”.
“Not because of some error being made but because had they been flying a different type of helicopter they would still be here today,” Gallaway said.
Many types of helicopters could suffer mast bumping events, as this one did. But it was well known that the consequences could be catastrophic in Robinson helicopters, he said.
Mast bumping is contact between an inner part of a main rotor mechanism and the main rotor drive shaft; it usually results in the helicopter breaking up in flight.
A 2016 TAIC report into the crash that killed Patterson Gardner, a trainee pilot, and Combe, his instructor, found the helicopter broke apart in mid-air due to the rotor blades striking the cabin.
The TAIC (Transport Accident Investigation Commission) report found no pre-existing mechanical defect or failure in the Robinson R44 helicopter. The only scenario deemed “about as likely as not” involved turbulence.
While the weather was calm and suitable for flying, the report found there could have been small pockets of turbulence in the area.
It was not clear whether the student or instructor was piloting the craft at the time, it said.
The families of the victims issued a joint response to the report, calling for Robinson helicopters with the same rotor design to be banned.
In 2018, Wānaka helicopter pilot Matthew Wallis died in a Robinson 44 crash, and an interim Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) report found the wreckage showed evidence of mast bumping.
On Saturday, a bride and groom, their wedding photographer and a pilot were injured when a Robinson crashed at Terrace Downs Golf Resort in rural Canterbury.
Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame noted Patterson Gardner and Combe were held in high esteem.
“They were both committed to aviation, committed to family, courageous and curious,” she said.
Gallaway said Combe was an experienced and respected instructor with Over The Top Helicopter Company.
Patterson Gardner was an “eminently sensible student beyond his years”, he said.
He was about to leave for Australia to study engineering and was the son of Over The Top owner Louisa “Choppy” Patterson.
Patterson told the coroner it was unacceptable for an aircraft to break up in flight with no known cause.
Worldwide, there had been 313 Robinson R44 crashes resulting in 176 deaths. The cause of the crash was unknown in nearly 60 per cent of the cases.
“No other aircraft type has these atrocious statistics,” she said.
“Let's put a stop to these unexplained in-flight break-ups by raising awareness, gathering evidence, fixing the problem, enhancing aviation safety.”
Over The Top senior pilot Brad Collier said he had not flown in a Robinson helicopter since the crash.
“I don't think they are suitable for flight … I don't trust the aircraft,” he said.
Asked if he thought the pilots were responsible for Robinson crashes, he said there were no other helicopters that reacted in the same way.