Pzl-Swidnik SW-4 SP-SSW

Summary

On 15 January 2012 at about 18:23 local time, a Pzl-Swidnik SW-4 registered SP-SSW, operated by PZL, Swidnik S.A., was involved in an accident near Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 January 2012 at 18:23

Classification

Accident

Location

Fairbanks, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Fairbanks Internation (FAI)

Coordinates

64.8000, -147.8500

Aircraft

Pzl-Swidnik SW-4

Registration

SP-SSW

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

PZL, Swidnik S.A.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fairbanks → Fairbanks

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC12LA017

Nobody was injured.

A loss of control during a simulated hydraulic emergency, which resulted in an inadvertent dynamic rollover from the which the pilot could not recover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a hover test above the departure end of the runway, the flight test technician turned the hydraulics system off to simulate an in-flight hydraulic failure. During a series of prearranged hover maneuvers, the pilot began to hover the helicopter to the left, at which time, the cyclic and collective became very "stiff and ratchety," which was followed by a forward and left movement of the cyclic that the pilot was unable to physically overcome. The helicopter subsequently descended, the left skid struck the runway, and the helicopter rolled onto its left side, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage, tail boom, and main rotor drive system. A postaccident examination revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.   

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.