The final report from the Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft and Rail Accidents (GPIAAF), accessed by press today, details the accident involving a firefighting helicopter on August 30 in Cambres, Lamego, Viseu district, resulting in the deaths of five military personnel from the GNR/Emergency Protection and Relief Unit (UEPS).
Investigators noted the normalization of deviations and a general acceptance among those involved in aerial firefighting operations of low-altitude flight practices without operational cause by aircraft from the DECIR – Special Device for Fighting Rural Fires, distributed across the country.
The investigation identified mission cancellations with route deviations upon returning to bases without apparent justification at various operational bases nationwide.
“Relaxation of procedures or simple acceptance of deviations like low-altitude flights without mission reason, notably over areas of scenic interest, are frequently observed practices which, if avoided, could have prevented the occurrence,” highlights the GPIAAF.
The agency found that although data was available, these deviations over the years were not detected or reported by any parties involved in the process, including operators, the GNR/UEPS, the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), and the Portuguese Air Force (FAP), which contracted the service.
Regarding the accident, the GPIAAF supports that “the pilot’s decision on the return trajectory to the base” in Armamar, Viseu district, after the firefighting mission in Baião, Porto district, was canceled, flying over the Douro River “at high speed and low altitude, significantly increasing flight risk,” contributed to the crash of the AS350 — Écureuil.
The absence of oversight of this type of flight by the operator, HTA Helicopters, the FAP, and the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) is also cited as a contributing factor to the accident.
Two weeks before the incident, the same pilot undertook two flights in the same area, again violating the minimum flight altitude.
“The flight on August 15 was recorded on video, accessible to the investigation, where a passage just meters from the water’s surface (approximately two meters vertical distance) is observed. A similar situation [occurred] on the 16th with a mission canceled in flight and the helicopter returning via the same route, after reversing flight direction,” the report states.
The pilot did not provide an explanation for the low-altitude flights.
“The pilot could not explain, and the investigation could not determine, the reason for deviating from the direct return route to the base during several flights, including the accident flight, following the winding Douro River valley at low altitude,” the investigation adds.
The GPIAAF states that the pilot’s testimony, along with information from other pilots assigned to different bases in other years, “confirm deviations with their consent for specific site flyovers, including those carried out at the request of helicopter-borne team soldiers (GNR/UEPS).”
“The pilot mentioned that, on several occasions, he acceded to requests from UEPS elements for route deviations to fly over specific sites outside the mission’s scope, noting that this practice has been accepted among pilots and UEPS for several years. This information was corroborated by other pilots and members of brigades from various bases across the country,” says the GPIAAF.
