20 years ago today, 7-13-2005, two of my coworkers, Kevin Blount and Joe Kievernagel, were killed and another, Eric Henrikson, received severe life altering injuries, when our helicopter, Star 6 crashed.
I did not know Joe, but Kevin was and Eric is a friend of mine.
The Cause
The helicopter, a Eurocopter EC120, suffered a catastrophic engine failure due to a faulty fuel pressure regulator.
The fuel pressure regulator issue was something Eurocopter knew about, but chose to take the Ford Pinto route. They figured it would be cheaper to repair the helicopters that broke rather than recall all the faulty regulators. They figured pilots would have enough altitude to safely autorotate down if and when they failed.
When you are about 100' above a lake, which is where they were when it failed, you can't autorotate to a safe landing.
When the regulator failed, it sent the turbine engine into uncontrolled full throttle. Joe managed to gain some altitude and head toward land, but as a built in safety mechanism of the turbine engine, at a certain speed the fan blades in the engine sheared off. Compared to losing your rotor blades, the engine blades are the better option.
The Crash
When the engine blades sheared off, the helicopter lost all power and without nearly enough altitude, they dropped from the sky like a rock onto a hillside. After impact, the helicopter rolled down the hill and settled at the bottom.
Both Joe and Kevin were killed, crushed as the helicopter rolled down the hill.
Eric, who was seated in the rear seat, was saved by the firewall behind him, but he received massive traumatic injuries, including to his brain, and was in a coma for a long time. He never fully recovered physically and needs a cane to walk.
Many of my coworkers who responded to the crash (I was off that day or would have been there too) suffered from PTSD for years, from trying in vain to save the lives of their friends. A few ended up retiring due to the PTSD.
How It Still Affects Me
A couple people have commented on my Sig P320 videos that I seem worked up about it and tell me I need to calm down.
This incident, the Star 6 crash, is why I absolutely HATE companies who produce unsafe products, and rather than recall them, figure it will be cheaper to settle lawsuits.
I don’t need to calm down. Sig needs to do the right fucking thing, before someone else loses a loved one “because the lawsuit would be cheaper than a recall.”
Am sorry about your colleagues, Matt. I’m all too aware that time doesn’t make the pain disappear, only somewhat more bearable.
Talk about missing the elephant in the room standing next to the T-Rex in the room.
Did it ever occur to you that just maybe you ought to stay out of helicopters, especially the types that are used to destroy and murder?!