The National Transportation Safety Board Monday
called on the Federal Aviation Administration to prohibit commercial flights
that use passenger harness systems that do not allow for easy release during
emergencies.
The urgent recommendation
stems from the ongoing NTSB investigation of a fatal accident in New York
City involving an Airbus Helicopters AS350B2 helicopter. The
helicopter impacted the East River during an autorotation maneuver after the
pilot reported a loss of engine power. The helicopter subsequently rolled
inverted. The pilot, who was not wearing a harness, only
manufacturer-installed lap and shoulder belts, escaped from the helicopter
with minor injuries. Five passengers who wore the harnesses in addition to
the safety belts remained inside the helicopter and drowned.
“While we applaud the FAA’s intention to move forward on banning
these types of doors-off flights, the
FAA has not outlined how or when they plan to take action,’’ said NTSB
Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt. “And definitive action needs to be taken.”
The doors-off aerial photography flight was scheduled for 30 minutes
and was operated by Liberty Helicopters under the provisions of Title 14 Code
of Federal Regulations Part 91.
NEW YORK (March 13, 2018) --Harald Reichel,
an Aerospace Engineer with the NTSB's Office of Aviation Safety, examines the
engine of a Liberty Helicopters' helicopter that crashed in the East River
here Sunday, March 11, 2018. The NTSB's Go Team has formed an operations
group, airworthiness group, powerplants group and a survival factors group to
conduct the NTSB's investigation of the crash. Reichel is the chair of the
powerplants group. A weather group and air traffic control group were also
formed using NTSB investigators in Washington. (NTSB Photo by Chris O'Neil)
The additional harness system consisted of a nylon
fall-protection harness tethered via a lanyard to the helicopter. The
harnesses allowed passengers to move securely within the helicopter,
including sitting in the door sill, while airborne. The harness system was
not installed by the helicopter manufacturer; it was comprised of
off-the-shelf components that were provided to the passengers by FlyNYON, the
company that sold the experience to the passengers. Under normal
circumstances at the conclusion of each flight, FlyNYON personnel would
release a locking carabiner located on the back
of the passengers’ harnesses.
Despite being given a briefing on how to remove these additional
harnesses using a provided cutting tool, none of the passengers were able to
escape after the helicopter rolled over into the water. The pilot’s
manufacturer-installed restraint system was required to comply with 14 CFR
section 27.785(c), which states that “Each occupant’s seat must have a
combined safety belt and shoulder harness with a single point release.” The
harness system provided to the passengers on the accident flight was not
evaluated by the FAA.
The NTSB has a long-standing concern with safe egress for
passengers aboard helicopters. As a result of a helicopter accident that
occurred in 2008, the NTSB found that three of the surviving passengers’
unfamiliarity with the type of buckles on the restraints in the helicopter
significantly hindered their ability to release their restraints when they
attempted to evacuate the cabin under emergency conditions. In the 2008
accident, passengers received a briefing that described how to operate the
rotary restraint, but the surviving passengers said they became confused with
its release when the accident occurred.