Global Fastener News

Improper Fastener Torque Caused Fatal Helicopter Crash

Jason Sandefur

MEDIA SPOTLIGHT
Editor’s Note: Articles in Media Spotlight are excerpts from publications or broadcasts that show the industry what the public is reading or hearing about fasteners and fastener companies.

Improper torque on aerospace fasteners led to a 2005 helicopter crash that killed two men in Scotland, authorities determined. Both men died instantly when the helicopter dove nose-first into a field on December 21, 2005.
The crash reportedly occurred after a vertical fin detached from the helicopter’s tail and struck the rear rotor, ripping the rotor and gearbox from the tail, which caused the fatal loss of control, the Press Association of Scotland reported.
Investigators said the cause of the fin detachment was fatigue, caused by “insufficient torque in the fin attachment fasteners.”
The 36-year-old Bell 206 helicopter was on its way to a routine safety inspection when it crashed. The aircraft would have arrived with just 15 hours’ flying time remaining before a scheduled 100-hour check-up. An approved safety check on the helicopter carried out five weeks beforehand included an inspection of the fin.
Preliminary findings about the crash led to a recommendation that the fin attachments on all Bell 206 aircraft in Europe and the U.S. be inspected. �2006 FastenerNews.com