EC225, vicinity Dokdo South Korea, 2019

EC225, vicinity Dokdo South Korea, 2019

Summary

On 31 October 2019, an Airbus Helicopters EC225LP departing a helipad at Dokdo, South Korea, at night crashed into the sea after the pilot became spatially disoriented and did not respond to alerts from both the travelling engineer and the copilot to the unintended descending flight path. All seven occupants were killed and the helicopter was destroyed. The absence of a departure briefing was assessed as contributory. However, findings on the underlying context for the accident involved procedural and training issues regarding the operational regime for emergency medical flights.

Description

On 31 October 2019, an Airbus Helicopters EC225LP (HL9619) operated by Korean National 119 Rescue Headquarters had just taken off from the Dokdo Helipad for Daegu in night visual meteorological conditions (VMC) after picking up a casualty and an accompanying colleague for transport to a hospital when it impacted the sea and was destroyed. All seven occupants were killed.

Investigation

An investigation was carried out by the Korea Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB). The combined voice and flight data recorder (CVFDR) was submerged in the wreckage at a depth of 250 feet and was eventually recovered three weeks after the accident along with the enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS). Both were sent to the French BEA for data extraction and analysis. All wreckage was also recovered to support the investigation.

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