Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rangali Maldives
Friday, December 3, 1999 2:55

On December 3, 1999, about 0255 Maldives time (2155, December 2, 1999, universal coordinate time, UTC), a Bell 212, Republic of Maldives registration 8Q-MAY, crashed at sea shortly after takeoff from a helicopter pad at the Hilton Hotel, Rangali Island, Republic of the Maldives. The helicopter, operated by Maldivian Air Taxi, Ltd., was carrying passengers from the helipad to Male International Airport, Republic of the Maldives. The helicopter sank following impact and the crew of two pilots and one cabin crewmember, and all seven passengers on board were fatally injured. The Maldivian Civil Aviation Department describes the conditions as night instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). It is not known what type of flight plan was filed. The non-scheduled domestic passenger flight was conducted under the regulations of the Civil Aviation Department, Republic of the Maldives. The helicopter came to rest at a depth of about 7 meters, at coordinates 033709 N, 0724310E. Divers later recovered the cockpit voice recorder, and the recording was read out at the NTSB CVR laboratory, Washington, D.C. The recording was of an event prior to the accident flight and contained no useful information. The aircraft was recovered and moved to Male International Airport for examination. Assisting the investigator-in-charge were investigators from Transportation Safety Board, Canada, and Bell Helicopter, Fort Worth, Texas. The helicopter was manufactured in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1978, as Bell serial no. 30887. At the time of the crash, the airframe had accumulated about 7,169 flight hours since new. The helicopter had been leased by the operator, Maldivian Air Taxi, Ltd., from Eagle Copters, Ltd., Calgary International Airport, Alberta, Canada., and held a previous Canadian registration, C-GZII. The Pratt & Whitney, Canada, PT6T-3 engines were: No. 1, serial no. 60273, manufactured in 1972, time since new 6,878 hours, time since overhaul 2,597 hours, cycles since overhaul 5,572; No. 2, serial no. 60570, manufactured in 1973, tsn 14,328, tso 0, cycles since overhaul 0. The following avionics receivers and equipment were installed in the helicopter: VHF/HF/transponder/VOR/DME/GPS The flightcrew was comprised of two pilots, reported as one Canadian and one Australian citizen. In addition to their national licenses, the pilot held Maldivian flight authorization no. P-222/H, and the copilot held P-224/H. The cabin crewmember, a Maldivian citizen, held Maldivian license CM-29, issued in 1995. Flight times and ratings for the flightcrew members have not yet been received. The U.S. Accredited Representative is Thomas R. Conroy, Senior Air Safety Investigator, NTSB, AS-20, Washington, D.C. 20594; tel. (202) 314-6314 / fax -6329 For further information, contact the Investigator-in-Charge Director General Mahmood Razee Civil Aviation Department Republic of the Maldives tel. 323507 / 321986 / 324988 / fax 323039 / telex 66034 CIVAV MF

Not Yet Reported