The selection of the wrong destination on a global positioning system (GPS) unit probably contributed to a pilot’s spatial disorientation in the seconds before his Eurocopter AS355 F2 crashed in dark night conditions after departing from a South Australia island, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says.
The 16,000-hour pilot and his two passengers — members of a film crew working on a television documentary — were killed in the crash 145 km (78 nm) north of Marree, South Australia, at 1902 local time Aug. 18, 2011. The helicopter was destroyed.
In its final report, released in November 2013, the ATSB said that the pilot probably became spatially disoriented seconds after he intentionally began a gentle right turn at 1,500 ft (Figure 1).
“Factors contributing to the disorientation included dark night conditions, high pilot workload associated with establishing the helicopter in cruise flight and probably attempting to correct the fly-to point in a GPS unit, the pil…
