A newly hired pilot was receiving instruction in nighttime marine pilot transfer (MPT) operations when, during the second approach to land on a bulk carrier off the coast of Australia, the Airbus Helicopters EC135 descended into the water, rolled over, floated briefly and then sank. The instructor exited the flooded cabin, but the new pilot was unable to escape; his body was later found in the submerged wreckage.
The pilot’s most recent helicopter underwater escape training (HUET) had been conducted seven years before the March 14, 2018, accident, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said in its final report on the accident, made public in mid-June, and the intervening years reduced the pilot’s preparedness for an escape.
The report identified eight factors that contributed to the accident, including that the flight was conducted in “a degraded visual cueing environment with associated increases in pilot workload and risk of disorientation.”
Among other factor…
