Dramatic AW139 Accident at Houma: Effective CRM contributes to recovery from a latent defect

Source: Aerossurance

This comprehensive accident case study is brought to you by Aerossurance.

On 24 September 2022, a Leonardo AW139 of ERA Helicopters, was involved in a dramatic accident near Houma, Louisiana from which the two pilots and four passengers emerged uninjured. It was an outstanding example of how when faced with a complex and ambiguous emergency effective CRM can make the difference.

Faced with smoke in the cockpit, seized flight controls, and engines that would only output maximum power, the crew managed to work together to get the crippled aircraft back to the field by cycling the engines from flight to idle, and then achieved an engines off landing to the runway.

This case study looks at the CRM aspects of the excellent job the crew did to land their aircraft safely. Asked how he handled the emergency afterwards, one of the pilots answered:

Keep flying. Keep talking and keep engaged. Push those scared thoughts out of your head and keep working the problem.

The analysis also looks at the impact of a latent defect that took almost 7,500 flying hours and 11 years to emerge and the importance of human centred design in aircraft maintenance.

Follow the link here for the full case study: https://aerossurance.com/safety-management/aw139-houma-ewis/