Pilot's crash experience becomes training aid

A rescue helicopter pilot who hit a tree, creating her own emergency, is using the experience to help reduce aircraft accidents.

Sue Dinkelacker was on a rescue flight from Wellington to Masterton Hospital in January 2003 when she clipped the tree.

She managed to fly to Masterton Airfield so her crew could jump free while she kept the damaged helicopter airborne and then she landed it on a bed of tyres.

Mrs Dinkelacker is passing on the lessons she gained from the experience to the country's professional and recreational pilots in a series of DVDs for the Aircare Trust.

The DVDs were recently produced for the trust by the Aviation Industry Association, Civil Aviation Authority and Accident Compensation Corporation. The trust, formed in 2001, is campaigning to reduce aviation accidents.

Mrs Dinkelacker, who immigrated from South Africa with her husband five years ago and now works with Westpac Waikato Air Ambulance, remembers the 2003 flight well. She was working for the Wellington rescue helicopter and was on a flight with a doctor and nurse from Wellington through the Tauherenikau pass in the Tararua Ranges to the hospital.

"It's fairly zigzag and I had it programmed into my Global Positioning System. Although I was under the cloud base and had been able to see the ground below me as well as the lights of my destination, I missed one of the turns in the pass and lost my visual reference.

"My options suddenly reduced: continue, attempt to turn in the narrow pass, or use blind flying instruments and climb into the cloud.

"It was a long time since I had an instrument rating to use these instruments so these were all poor options."

She chose to climb into cloud, but her radio altimeter alarm went off.

"Suddenly the aircraft hit a dead tree. I watched the floor at my feet munch up - right to my shoes, the windshield shattered and one skid and the radio antennas were smashed."

She nursed the damaged machine to Masterton airfield where she hovered for 90 minutes so the doctor and nurse could jump out unhurt and allow emergency services time to cut off the helicopter's damaged skid.

She then landed the helicopter on the bed of tyres, severing a tendon in her "flying hand" in the process.

The accident taught Mrs Dinkelacker a lesson she will never forget - pilots need to set personal safety rules they never breach.

"It's the decisions you make before you fly that are the most important. Even though my flight was legal if I stayed within the clear visibility area, I had decided to fly despite the cloud base being below the prescribed minimum safe altitude level."

Mrs Dinkelacker said the accident made her more aware of her personality traits.

"It's not just male pilots who can become too goal oriented. The task of getting a doctor and nurse to that hospital for a patient transfer became too dominant in my thinking."

Aviation Industry Association chief executive Irene King said knowing how to make good decisions - and how to stick to them - had proven time and again to make the difference between life and death.

"Added to that is the financial loss, not just from damage to aircraft, but through business failure and reputation damage."

Cost of accidents

* On average there are 14 fatal aviation accidents annually, which claim the lives of 26 crew and passengers.

* The Civil Aviation Authority says the cost to NZ of general aviation accidents on average is $62.8 million per year.

* NZ has 14,000 professional and recreational pilots.

- NZPA