A screen grab of two Pasadena Police helicopters collide in Altadena in 2012 (Photo – YouTube).
On November 17, 2012 a Pasadena Police Department helicopter struck another stationary Pasadena PD helicopter while maneuvering to park at the Pasadena Police Benedict Heliport in Altadena.
By News Desk
The video was newly released by the National Transportation Safety Board nearly six years after the incident took place. The video shows the accident happening on a rainy day. According to the NTSB final report:
The pilot was not sure if the main rotor blades were turning or not. The pilot continued the approach, and radioed her intention and location, but received no response from anyone…
At the time of the accident, there was no established monitored UNICOM frequency at the heliport, and there were no procedures to alert ground personnel that a helicopter was arriving to the heliport other than by ground personnel “hearing” it approach.
Six people were injured in the accident and were sent to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries and released. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause(s) of the accident to be an error of both pilots with the weather being a contributing factor:
The landing pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a parked helicopter and the other pilot’s failure to park the helicopter inside of a marked parking pad. Contributing to the accident was the landing pilot’s obscured visibility due to moisture on the windscreen.
> Click to read NTSB’s final report.
> Click to watch a video of the 2012 Benedict Heliport open house made by Pasadena Media few months before the incident.
> Watch a video showing the events immediately preceding and following the occurrence below:
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