AO-1995-009

On Tuesday, 6 June 1995 at 1415 hours the pilot was carrying out a snow landing in ZK-HDI in the course of a scenic flight. The right skid began to drop as the pilot settled the helicopter onto the snow so he lifted off and repositioned to a seemingly flatter area 10 to 15 m away. The helicopter tilted to the right again during the second landing, and as the pilot attempted to retrieve the situation the helicopter rolled rapidly onto its right side. The causal factors in this accident were the difficulty of assessing snow conditions accurately and "dynamic rollover". As a result of the accident the operator re-emphasised and developed further the use of an existing system of pilot/task grading, and reviewed the suitability of various helicopter types for snow landing operations when flown by pilots with relatively limited helicopter experience.