Contributor - Safety

David Jack Kenny

<h2>Preliminary Reports</h2>
<h3>No Casualties in Florida Keys Midair</h3>
Beechcraft King Air 200 and Cessna 172S, April 11, 2026, Marathon, Florida
Both aircraft made successful emergency landings at Florida Keys Marathon International Airport (KMTH) after colliding about 10 miles to its northwest at an altitude of 5,500 feet. None of the occupants were injured. The two pilots on the Cessna were northeast bound on a VFR instructional flight and receiving traffic advisories from air traffic control.&nbsp; The King Air was inbound from Leonard M. Thompson International Airport, formerly Marsh Harbour International Airport (MYAM) in the Bahamas, on a Part 91 business flight, with two pilots and four passengers on board.
About 20 miles northeast of KMTH, the King Air pilots canceled IFR and were cleared for a frequency change. ATC advised them of VFR traffic 15 miles ahead at 5,500 feet “following the keychain [sic]” opposite their direction of flight. Descending through 11,000 feet, they reset their transponder code to the generic VFR code of 1200. ATC subsequently advised the Cessna pilots of “unknown traffic” one mile straight ahead descending through 6,200 feet; they reported the collision immediately afterward and subsequently recalled catching a brief glimpse of the King Air too late to take evasive action.&nbsp;
The King Air pilots likewise reported seeing the Cessna just before impact. The accident sheared off the outboard 36 inches of the Cessna’s left wing; the aileron remained partially attached. Damage to the King Air’s left propeller, engine intake, and left wing’s leading edge was described as “minor.”
<h3>Silenced Alarms Preceded Gear-up Landing</h3>
Cessna 750 Citation X, May 9, 2026, Fort Myers, Florida
After leveling off in cruise on the second flight in which the crew alerting system (CAS) produced multiple warnings, including cautions for “Stab Bleed Leak” and “Tail Cone Door Open,” the captain had the first officer pull the audio warning circuit breaker. The first officer recalled the captain having coached him through the approach phase of the Part 91 positioning flight, but could not remember whether he’d verbally called for the before-landing checklist. The captain said that he’d begun the checklist at the final approach fix but was interrupted when air traffic control issued their landing clearance, and neither returned to the checklist nor called it complete.
Airport surveillance footage showed the jet approaching and touching down with the landing gear retracted and sliding to a stop on the runway. Both pilots acknowledged that they’d landed with the gear up. The first officer reported that after the airplane came to a stop, the captain moved the gear handle to the “down” position, and the surveillance footage showed the nose gear beginning to deploy about six seconds after the jet came to rest. Damage to the fuselage was described as “substantial.”
<h3>Air Force Reserve Rescues All 11 from Atlantic King Air Ditching</h3>
Beechcraft King Air 300, May 12, 2026, off Melbourne, Florida
U.S. Air Force Reserve crews rescued all 11 occupants of a Beechcraft King Air 300 that ditched in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida’s east coast on May 12, reportedly following an engine failure. The 920th Rescue Wing, based at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, recovered the survivors from life rafts approximately five hours after the aircraft went down.
The airplane, registered HP-1859 in Panama, departed Leonard M. Thompson International Airport (MYAM) in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, on a flight to Grand Bahama International Airport (MYGF) before the pilot declared an emergency and communication was lost with air traffic control. An ELT signal alerted U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders in Florida around 11 a.m. local time.
Pararescuemen aboard an HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter completed nine hoists in three- to five-foot seas, finishing the recovery with only five minutes remaining before reaching bingo fuel. Crews located the survivors shortly after beginning the search and dropped an MA-1 survival kit containing two additional life rafts, food, water, and survival tools. An HC-130J Combat King II crew assisted with the operation, as did a Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater C-27 Spartan crew that helped locate the downed aircraft and life raft.
The rescue marked the first for the 920th Rescue Wing with its new HH-60W fleet. Three survivors suffered injuries, according to news reports; the remaining eight were uninjured.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority of the Bahamas said it does not intend to investigate based on the occurrence location and has notified Panama, the state of registry for the King Air, and authorities in the U.S. The investigating authority for the accident has not yet been determined.
<h2>Final Reports</h2>
<h3>Hard Landing Attributed to Unsecured Power Bank</h3>
Eurocopter EC155B, Sept. 15, 2022, Shannon Airport, County Clare, Ireland
The pilot’s inability to slow the helicopter to a hover was traced to a “portable power bank device” that slipped off the center avionics console and obstructed movement of the collective lever, preventing him from flaring to stop its forward movement. The aircraft sustained a fractured nose gear torque link, decompression of the left main gear strut, and a fluid issuing from a displaced transmission deck drain after touching down on Taxiway D1 “with considerable horizontal and vertical acceleration.” Witnesses described the impact as “nose heavy.” The 12,591-hour airline transport pilot was uninjured.
Data recovered from the flight recorder showed a groundspeed of 43 knots as the helicopter hover-taxied above Taxiway D1 toward the light aircraft parking area. When the pilot tried to flare, he found that the collective “would only move one to two inches from the full down position.” The craft remained upright after touching down and continued “towards cargo trailers and ground personnel (who took evasive action).” The pilot used differential braking to steer left and avoid a collision, and the helicopter stopped on the east apron.
The power bank, used to charge mobile telephones for passengers and crew, was found to have slipped forward into the gap between the center console and the adjuster sleeve for the collective’s friction lock, effectively jamming the collective. Crush damage to the power bank’s aluminum case corroborated this finding.
<h3>Two Casualties in Ground-run Accident</h3>
Airbus Helicopters AS350B3, May 6, 2023, Smithers Airport, British Columbia, Canada
An apprentice aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) was killed, and a more senior AME suffered injuries requiring multiple surgeries when both were struck repeatedly by the tail rotor on the third of a series of ground runs required to balance the short section of the tail rotor’s driveshaft. The work was part of the helicopter’s scheduled 600-hour maintenance checks and required the engine to be operated at flight idle to measure shaft balance and assess vibrations. Having no intention of flight, the pilot was following a sporting event on his mobile phone while guarding the controls.
During the second run, the pilot both started and shut down the engine, relying on memory rather than the written checklists. He was subsequently found to have forgotten the freedom of flight controls, hydraulic accumulator, and hydraulic pressure isolation checks before starting, and the yaw load compensator check during shutdown. After power was set at flight idle on the third run, the helicopter lifted slightly and began rotating to the right. The AMEs, standing on its left side, were unable to move out of the way as it spun through 540 degrees before the pilot reduced power to idle and applied the rotor brake. First responders were unable to revive the apprentice; the AME was airlifted to the hospital in Prince George, B.C.
<h3>No Injuries in Lightning Strike</h3>
Sikorsky S-76C++, Oct. 24, 2023, Vancouver, British Columbia&nbsp;
The captain recovered from an uncontrolled descent that reached a rate of 5,240 feet per minute, and the helicopter landed safely after having been struck by lightning during a scheduled IFR flight between Vancouver Harbour and Victoria Harbour Heliports (CBC7 and CBF7, respectively).&nbsp; There were no injuries to either pilot or any of the 12 passengers, but one tail rotor blade assembly separated and damaged three of the four main rotor blades, the left horizontal stabilizer, the left side of the tail boom, and the left engine cowl.
The accident occurred on the third of a series of shuttle flights between the two heliports. The first officer was the pilot flying. While cruising at an assigned altitude of 4,000 feet over Pender Island, the weather radar began showing precipitation echoes, and the ship entered an area of heavy rain and turbulence. At 09:29:56, “the occupants heard a loud bang and saw a bright white flash that encompassed the helicopter.” The autopilot, flight director, and all four electronic flight instrument displays (EFIS) “momentarily turned off,” and the crew immediately recognized a lightning strike. Though the EFIS displays powered back up, only those on the left side displayed valid data.
The captain took control as the helicopter climbed 100 feet and then twisted downwards, reaching a maximum left bank of 63 degrees in a 44-degree nose-down attitude and descending from 4,029 to 885 feet in 36 seconds. As it exited the base of the clouds, he was able to level off and stop the descent. Vertical acceleration peaked at 2.48 G while the helicopter climbed to 2,073 feet. The crew first requested and then canceled a diversion to Victoria International Airport (CYYJ) and eventually proceeded to CBF7 VFR at 1,300 feet.
—Amy Wilder contributed to this report

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