Helicopter 100m from paratroopers: a pilot "completely unconscious"

A helicopter escaped a skydiving mistake after unauthorized aerodrome refueling

An official investigation concluded: "The helicopter pilot was completely unaware of the possibility of skydiving. "

to highlight the frightening incident of Jan. 4 this year, which is one of dozens of near misses of the New Zealand skies in recent years.

A report from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on the near miss has been published. The Herald, Sunday, under the Official Information Act

Two helicopters operated by the same company were flying together when they headed to Franz Josef Airfield to refuel, after the Chief Pilot contacted a local operator confirming that the airport had fuel. ] However, no contact has been established with the private airfield for permission to land.

"If the pilot had contacted the operator, the pilot would have received a presentation on the parachuting activity d) location of the used parachute landing zone", says CAA report

After taking off fuel pumps, a helicopter made a slow orbit to give the other pilot time to catch up

He was contacted by radio by Plane on which the paratroopers had jumped and was told to leave the area immediately.

"The pilot of the helicopter was completely unaware that there was a parachute jump," says the CAA report. "It is only after the radio call that the pilot of the helicopter noticed the tandem parachute about 100 meters away."

Because of the signaling of 39 incident, a skydiving warning was placed at the fuel pumps of the aerodrome. The cautious pilot would have evacuated the aerodrome via the circuit, thus completely avoiding the parachute landing zone, CAA said. "This is also a good opportunity to remind all pilots of the importance of making proper radio calls to uncontrolled aerodromes."

The CAA refused to publish the full report and associated photographs, and did not mention the operators involved. this could discourage pilots from reporting nearby collisions in the future.

Franz Josef Glacier in the South Island. (Photo / file)

James Meldrum, CEO of Skydive Franz Josef, confirmed the incident to the company's paratroopers.

"Our tandem masters saw this happen and went on patrol.The paratroopers landed as usual, in their planned landing zone, although we had an area of ​​?? # 39; secondary landing.

"We take safety seriously and we have taken steps to reduce the likelihood of this situation in the future, including signaling on fuel pumps, and talking to itinerant operators informing them of our operations and our landing zones. "

Franz Josef Glacier's airspace is very busy in high season with several flights and helicopters

In March of 39; last year, there was another deadly crash at Franz Josef between two helicopters and local pilots were angry when the US Air Force F-16 flew The CAA recorded 50 incidents narrowly avoided at scale no. Since January 2017, near-miss crashes have increased by more than 50% over the last year and CAA is developing a strategy to try to reduce such incidents.