G-LADZ, my first chopper, was involved in a precautionary landing just south of Biggin Hill over the weekend after it suddenly developed severe vibration, accompanied by not very healthy sounding banging noises, whilst in the climb.
I wasn’t in the aircraft, an Enstrom 480, but three of my closest mates were and I’m obviously pleased to report that they got the machine down safely into a field.
LADZ had been on a continuation training exercise, navigating the London Heli Routes, with Steve and Mike (two of the owners) and JJ. They had completed one trip and then popped into a pre-arranged helicopter fly in for lunch before setting out on their return trip. The lads had just received clearance from Thames radar to enter there area and were approximately 4 miles south of H4 (the route that takes them along the Thames river) when their problem presented itself.
They immediately put out a PAN call and chose to land in a field. According to the boys, Thames Radar were fantastic and followed their progress all the way down, whilst simultaneously scrambling the local Police chopper to the area to ensure they were all O.K. Understandably the team were slightly anxious during the trip down but with three experienced pilots on board there was a full comprehension by all on board as to the process involved. (Although I feel a little sorry for Mike who was sat in the middle seat at the time with no controls to fiddle with – apparently he found something else to fiddle with on the way, which was apparently a little distracting, but that’s another story!!!)
Once on the ground, the locals were quick to come to the boys assistance and helped with refreshments and one even ferried the boys to Gatwick, some 45 minutes drive away, in order for them to orgabie a rental car for their journey home. It was only whilst they were on the ground that it also dawned on the boys that another 3 or 4 minutes would have seen them auto-rotating into the Thames itself. Thankfully this wasn’t the case because they would then have ended up paying the congestion charge which would have really been a pain!
A quick diagnosis revealed metal fragments in the gearbox and the initial assessment is that some of the teeth within it have sheared off. Not pleasant, and probably not cheap either. As I write this the machine has been recovered by a low loader and is sat in their maintenance facility awaiting a thorough inspection prior to it being repaired. The CAA have been in touch with the owners and are happy that no injuries or damage has occurred and will not be investigating further.
Well done lads. Hope to see the machine very soon, parked next to mine, at Barton.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Barton, Enstrom 480, G-LADZ, London Heli Routes, Thames Radar |
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What a coincidence I’d just done H4 with a friend in a 44 and was exiting at the isle of dogs we were on frequency and heard the whole drama unfold, and yes I think a few minutes later and a landing in the Thames would have attracted a bit more attention, it all sounded very controlled on the radio though, well done.
Keith Yorke