Robinson helicopters plunge in popularity amid reports about safety concerns, crashes
Thursday, 2 September 2021
New Zealand’s love affair with Robinson helicopters is waning after a string of high profile crashes, but not everyone is pleased.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) figures show Robinson helicopters made up 42 per cent of New Zealand fleet in 2010, with 320 registered. By 2021 that dropped to 25 per cent of the fleet (or 223 helicopters).
Over the same period, Robinson helicopters accounted for 42 per cent of all helicopter crashes, and 54 per cent of fatal crashes (14 out of 26 crashes).
New Zealand Helicopter Association chairman Scott McKenzie said the decline in Robinson ownership was largely driven by Robinson helicopters being placed on the Transport Accident Investigation Commission’s (TAIC) watchlist after two men died in a crash near Queenstown in a 2015.
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Several organisations stopped using the machines, including the Department of Conservation – the largest user of helicopters in New Zealand, spending more than $20 million on them a year.
More sightseers were also asking about what type of helicopter was being used before booking scenic flights, he said.
“Increasingly members of the public are requesting not to fly in Robinson helicopters because of the publicity they’ve had.”
Queenstown-based Over The Top Helicopter owner Louisa ‘Choppy’ Patterson lost her son James Patterson Gardner and pilot Stephen Combe in the Robinson R44 crash in 2015.
TAIC attributed the crash to mast bumping, which is when the inner part of a main rotor mechanism and the main rotor drive shaft connect, causing the helicopter to break up in flight.
A recent coroner’s inquest heard the weather was perfect for flying on the day of the crash, the pilots were extremely well qualified, and there was no known cause for the mast bumping.
Louisa Patterson, a New Zealand aviation industry stalwart, told the inquest she would “never again allow my pilots to fly in a Robinson helicopter”.
Robinson helicopters remain popular with some as they are relatively cheap for agricultural use and private flying compared to larger helicopters.
Auckland-based helicopter pilot and training instructor Roy Crane said he had owned two R22 Robinson helicopters and trained pilots in them without incident for 18 years.
“Yes, they have limitations but if you fly them according to the pilot operating handbook limitations then most on the time they will be fine.
“Mechanically they don’t fall out of the sky. It’s the nut behind the wheel.”
Mast bumping could happen in any two bladed system, he said.
“It’s about how the pilot operates it and conditions they are flying them in.”
NZ Agricultural Aviation Association chairman Tony Michelle said he had operated Robinson helicopters for 32 years but was phasing them out because clients, primarly government departments and corporate entities, had banned their use after they were put on the TAIC watchlist.
“We didn’t want to … the aircraft has been, via the media, judged in the court of public opinion and the brand is tarnished.”
He believed it was a very good aircraft for some work his company did, including removing wilding pines and small agricultural jobs.
Robinson helicopters were relatively modern and cost-effective in terms of maintenance, but like all helicopters they had limitations that pilots needed to be aware of, he said.
There was also an industry-wide move to larger helicopters that partly accounted for the shift, he said.
“I still haven't been presented with a convincing argument either way. I’m still just observing and waiting for something that’s definitive.”
There had been a marked reduction in Robinson crashes internationally after the introduction of specific training, but not in New Zealand, despite getting the same training here, he said.
He was looking forward to seeing what recommendations and statements the coroner would make in the Over The Top case.
Since 2010, six fatal Robinson crashes had been attributed to mast bumping, according to CAA statistics. The most recent was the 2018 crash over Lake Wānaka that killed pilot Matt Wallis.
The CAA has three investigations open into Robinson helicopter crashes, including a crash involving a wedding party in Canterbury in June.
The crash was probably caused by a total loss of engine power while the engine was operating at high power while taking off, a CAA spokeswoman said.
The other two crashes happened in December 2020 during agricultural spraying operations and involved wire strikes.
A CAA spokesperson said safety initiatives regarding Robinson Helicopters included specific training by senior instructors.
The agency and the Ministry of Transport were also continuing work to encourage the use of helicopter data recorders in New Zealand. The recorders, similar to an aircraft’s black box, could help explain why Robinson helicopters sometimes break-up mid-flight.
The California-based Robinson Helicopter Company did not respond to a request for comment.