All Rights Reserved. As a UAS, the unmanned K-MAX can lift and deliver a full 6,000 lb of cargo at sea level, or more than 4,000 lb at 15,000 ft density altitude. From the front it is very narrow, allowing the pilot to easily look straight down at the ground from both windows. A company support helicopter was sent to search the area of the ocean pen since the pilot could not be contacted by radio and did not return to the cut block. To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). A Portuguese water-scooping air tanker, a CL-215, crashed in Spain August 8 while battling a wildfire that started near Lindoso, Portugal and burned across the international border. Helicopter is one owner. Comments are welcome while open. Above: A K-MAX helicopter under production at KAMAN Aerospaces facility in Bloomfield, Conn. KAMAN photo. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. On 18 October 2021, TSB investigators linked up with the RCMP Sechelt, BC, detachment and travelled to the accident site. There will be an investigation into the crash. It does not store any personal data. KPTV in Portland reported that the pilot worked for a private company contracted through the U.S. Forest Service out of Bozeman. Last edited on 22 February 2023, at 22:44, "Kaman restarts K-Max production on new commercial orders", "Composites take off in some civil helicopters", "Advanced rotor designs break conventional helicopter speed restrictions", "Kaman Ending Production of K-Max Heavy-lift Helicopter", "Civil Tiltrotor and K-Max Aerial Truck Back in the Saddle? [1] During May 2017, the first flight of a K-MAX built on the restarted production line took place; two months later, the first new-build aircraft since 2003 was delivered to a customer based in China. An issue with the planet carrier has appeared and must be checked with a borescope and thereafter, every 100 hours. Pilot killed in helicopter accident while battling Oregon fire, Ride with the pilots as C-130 aircraft drop retardant on fires, Lockheed looks ahead to advancing capability in wildland firefighting, Aerial Firefighters Association to promote safety, standards, innovation, Coulson tanker down in Western Australia, pilots okay, Helicopter crash kills 2 in Chilean fires. A Black Tusk Helicopters Inc. Kaman K-1200 (K-max) helicopter was conducting heli-logging operations in the vicinity of Killam Bay, in Jervis Inlet, BC, with 1 pilot on board. It could, for example, transport weapons and vehicles from an offshore ship past a closed or destroyed port to a point where they are needed by troops. 30 Old Windsor Rd The first flight of the single-engine, single-seat helicopter was completed in March 1992. The pilot killed in the August 24 helicopter crash has been identified as Tom Duffy, 40. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? The White River Fire is burning in the Mt. Max take-off weight. CNN . The Kaman K-MAX (Company designation K-1200) is an American helicopter with intermeshing rotors (synchropter) built by Kaman Aircraft. The aircraft was being used for heli-logging, according to the Transportation Safety Board (TSB). The firefighter has not yet been identified. Photo by Bill Gabbert. "I imagine everything else had sunk by that point. Changed it. This allowance is based on the limited storage compartment capacity of the aircraft and the capability of the pilot to unload the bucket when carried. Max Take Off Weight: 5,443 Kg 12,000 lbs Max Landing Weight: Max Payload: 3,109 Kg 6,854 lbs Fuel Tank Capacity: 229 gallon 867 litre It was working on the Comet fire north of the city. The Marine Corps was looking into acquiring the unmanned K-MAX as a program of record, and the United States Army was also looking into it to determine cost-effectiveness. For more information, see our Investigation process page. Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. ), Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative], Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Phase, Nature, Source, Damage, Narrative], Updated [Registration, Source, Narrative]. The pilot of a helicopter was killed August 24 while assisting firefighters on the White River Fire in Oregon. [13][14] An unmanned mostly autonomously flying, optionally remote controlled and optionally piloted vehicle (OPV) version, the K-MAX Unmanned Multi-Mission Helicopter was developed for hazardous missions. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Hood since it started from a lightning strike August 17. A Kaman K-Max K-1200 helicopter is pictured during tree felling works in Zurich, Switzerland on Dec. 17, 2019. The K-MAX UAS demonstrates autonomous take-off and . Two single engine air tankers (SEATs) crashed after a mid-air collision while working the Bishop Fire in southeast Nevada. Officials confirmed the helicopter went down around 2 p.m. PT in the area near Killam Bay, at the entrance to Jervis Inlet, around 40 kilometres northof Sechelt, B.C. N314 crashed - Kaman K-1200 K-Max N314 of Central Copters Inc crashed on August 24, 2020 near Warmic,OR during firefighting bucket operations while helping fight a wildfire in the Mount Hood National Forest. At the time of the announcement, they had flown over 1,000 missions and hauled over three million pounds (1,400 metric tons) of supplies; assessments for their use after the deployment were also being studied. A medical transport flight that crashed in a mountainous area in northern Nevada, killing five all five people aboard the plane including a patient, apparently broke apart before hitting the . The pilot was fatally injured. The aircraft was under an exclusive use contract with the USFS. Other rotorcraft used for these tasks are adapted from general-purpose helicopters, or those intended to primarily carry passengers or internal cargo. Between 2001 and 2014 two Kaman K-MAX helicopters converted to UAVs capable of autonomous or remote controlled cargo delivery transported thousands of loads of supplies and equipment to soldiers in Afghanistan. The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by: On August 24, 2020, about 1800 Pacific daylight time, a Kaman, K-1200 helicopter, N314, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Pine Grove, Oregon. This cookie is set by Google. (Doc. During the early 2010s, a pair of unmanned K-Maxes underwent an extended battlefield evaluation as a cargo UAV, for which purpose they were deployed to provide logistics support to United States Marine Corps (USMC) ground forces during the war in Afghanistan. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. The K-MAX can lift almost twice as much as the Bell 205 using a different version of the same engine. Used by sites written in JSP. Some of the aircraft are already flying and others are still in the concept stage. The identity of the pilot has yet to be released. MT. Kaman Has Been Recognized for Technical Breakthroughs and Innovative Solutions to Critical Challenges in the Aerospace and Defense Markets. Kaman Aerospace has delivered the first new-build K-Max "Aerial Truck" helicopter since the first nine-year production run ended in 2003. Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted. Propelling our customers forward by imagining and delivering highly-engineered solutions. Gray saidhe was about five minutes away from the scene at the time,so he jumped in his boat to see if hecould help. Gallatin County Search & Rescue pilot as well. Like the Erickson Air-Crane, the K-MAX is a purpose built aircraft designed without compromises to do one thing well. WORLDS LARGEST HELICOPTER Russian Mil V 12 Mi 12 bigger than us army Boeing CH-47 Chinook [2:56] The Mil V-12 (also referred to as the Mi-12, NATO reporting name Homer) is the largest helicopter ever built. However, in January 2023, amid a downturn in demand, Kaman announced its intention to shutter production of the K-MAX once again. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA have been notified. October 4, 2022 11:51am. The Transportation Safety Board says it has recovered the wreckage of ahelicopterthat crashed into the water off B.C. The occurrence. It is registered to Central Copters out of Bozeman Montana. These cookies are set via embedded youtube-videos. The helicopter was transporting logs from a cut block to an ocean pen approximately 0.6 nautical miles to the northwest. Join the conversation . Have a fire aviation news tip? They register anonymous statistical data on for example how many times the video is displayed and what settings are used for playback.No sensitive data is collected unless you log in to your google account, in that case your choices are linked with your account, for example if you click like on a video. Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Gerald. SECHELT, B.C. Rather than design an aircraft from scratch, they found the Kaman K-1200 K-MAX, which it fit their needs perfectly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. The USFS contract (on page 102) carves out an exception for the K-MAX when used on initial attack: For initial attack only, Kmax operators are authorized to use any water bucket with a capacity of over 200 us gallons. Class 3 investigations are generally completed within 450 days. . The pilot told US investigators that the . During the 49-day period that began July 7 there were six crashes of firefighting aircraft three helicopters and three air tankers. 1 April - A Eurocopter AS332L2 Super Puma Mk 2 of Bond Offshore Helicopters suffers a mechanical failure and crashes into the North Sea off the coast of Aberdeenshire. The unmanned K-MAX supported U.S. Marines in Afghanistan and has demonstrated remotely-piloted wildland fire missions. These investigations analyze a small number of safety issues, and may result in recommendations. We send out our sincere condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers of the pilot. EXTEX Engineered Products designs, inventories, and supplies high-precision certified aftermarket replacement aerospace parts for Engines, Helicopters, and Fixed-wing aircraft. In 2015 a remotely-piloted K-MAX demonstrated for wildland fire officials how an optionally piloted helicopter could drop water on a simulated fire and haul cargo in an external load. The helicopter involved in the incident was a Vietnam-era . These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. [48] The investigation determined that the crash had been caused by unexpected tailwinds that the helicopter experienced while making the delivery, instead of headwinds, which caused it to begin oscillating. The helicopter was a Kaman Aerospace K1200, better known as a K-MAX. About 1 minute after departing the cut block with a load of 3 logs in the grapple, workers at the cut block heard a loud noise that came from the area of the ocean pen. The White River Fire has burned 1,102 acres of timber and light logging slash 11 miles southeast of Mt. The Transportation Safety Board says the pilot, who was the lone occupant on the Kaman KMax helicopter, was conducting heli-logging operations when the chopper crashed into the inlet. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.