Berlin - Faulty settings for the rotor controls have been named as the main cause of the crash of a German Bundeswehr Tiger gunship helicopter that killed both crew members. The helicopter crashed on July 27th 2017 during a combat sortie 50 miles north of the German base in Gao, Mali.
The investigation by the flight safety bureau of the armed forces (General der Flugsicherheit der Bundeswehr) concludes that settings made by technicians of Airbus Helicopters prior the deployment of the machine are to blame for the loss of the Tiger. As a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense told AviationUpdate on Wednesday on the phone, the pilots had no chance in regaining control over the machine. The helicopter that flew in a two-ship-formation suddenly dived towards the ground without any obvious reason. After the crash the wreckage caught fire. Neither of the two officers aboard had a chance to escape.
The confidential report, which was apperently leaked to Reuters news agency on Tuesday also concludes that other causes like mechanical failure, lack of fuel, bird strike, pilot error or enemy fire could be ruled out. Airbus Helicopters did not respond to a press request from AviationUpdate on the matter.
After the accident the entire Tiger fleet remained grounded. Some commentators say, the crash contributed a great deal to Germany ending rotary wing deployments to the western African country.
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UPDATE 11.00
In a writen press statement Airbus Helicopters spokesman Gregor von Krusell regrets that "faulty settings to the rotor controls have been named as a contributing factor" for the crash of the gunship helicopter. He ensures that "measures have been taken to ensure something like this can not happen again." Due to the ongoing investigation, the statement did neither name any of the measures in particular, nor other consequences.
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pvk/AviationUpdate
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| A German Bundeswehr Tiger in flight. Pic: Archive |
The investigation by the flight safety bureau of the armed forces (General der Flugsicherheit der Bundeswehr) concludes that settings made by technicians of Airbus Helicopters prior the deployment of the machine are to blame for the loss of the Tiger. As a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense told AviationUpdate on Wednesday on the phone, the pilots had no chance in regaining control over the machine. The helicopter that flew in a two-ship-formation suddenly dived towards the ground without any obvious reason. After the crash the wreckage caught fire. Neither of the two officers aboard had a chance to escape.
The confidential report, which was apperently leaked to Reuters news agency on Tuesday also concludes that other causes like mechanical failure, lack of fuel, bird strike, pilot error or enemy fire could be ruled out. Airbus Helicopters did not respond to a press request from AviationUpdate on the matter.
After the accident the entire Tiger fleet remained grounded. Some commentators say, the crash contributed a great deal to Germany ending rotary wing deployments to the western African country.
#
UPDATE 11.00
In a writen press statement Airbus Helicopters spokesman Gregor von Krusell regrets that "faulty settings to the rotor controls have been named as a contributing factor" for the crash of the gunship helicopter. He ensures that "measures have been taken to ensure something like this can not happen again." Due to the ongoing investigation, the statement did neither name any of the measures in particular, nor other consequences.
#
pvk/AviationUpdate
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