Wildfire Crash Probe Reveals Violations And False Records

ALAN LEVIN
USA TODAY

Federal investigators probing a helicopter crash that killed seven firefighters during a California blaze have uncovered widespread violations and falsified records, the latest in a string of accidents raising questions about the safety of flights operated for government agencies.

Carson Helicopters was attempting to evacuate a group of smoke jumpers from a 6,000-foot mountain on Aug. 5, 2008, when its chopper slammed into trees and burst into flames. The crash also killed one company pilot and a flight inspector. Four others were injured in the flight, which was under contract to the U.S. Forest Service.

The Carson pilots had made two improper takeoffs in the hours before the crash and the firm used false information about the weight of the large helicopter, according to federal records reviewed by USA TODAY. The result was that the chopper had no margin for error when it lifted off in a mountaintop clearing, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Public records released by the NTSB also show that Forest Service inspectors did not notice problems before the accident.

Carson declined to comment on the accident. In a submission to the NTSB, the firm argued that NTSB documents were wrong and an engine failure caused the crash.

Forest Service spokesman Joe Walsh also declined to comment.

Aircraft operated on behalf of government agencies are "an orphan of the safety system," said former NTSB chairman Jim Hall. The Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees commercial and private aviation, has no legal authority to regulate government flights.

"The standards that we have for other categories of aircraft are essentially ignored," he said.

The NTSB has repeatedly raised concerns about safety on government flights, citing the problem in accident reports and issuing a 2001 special study on the issue.

Since 2007, 17 people have died in five crashes of flights operated for the Forest Service alone, according to NTSB records.

Investigators have not issued their final report on the helicopter accident in 2008 near Weaverville, Calif., but documents revealed so far raise safety concerns similar to what has arisen in earlier cases on government flights:

- The Carson Sikorsky S-61N weighed about 1,000 pounds more than its pilots realized because of inaccurate information kept by the company. After the accident, the Forest Service found "significant discrepancies" in weights reported for Carson's other helicopters and terminated its contract.

The weight was significant because NTSB data show that the helicopter was nearly too heavy to fly and well above the maximum approved weight for flight, which includes a safety margin.

- The company gave pilots a chart showing the helicopter's lifting power that dramatically overstated its capabilities.

- Some survivors of the accident reported that they were not told before liftoff how to use the helicopter's unusual seat belts, which made it difficult to unbuckle and escape from danger before fire engulfed the craft.

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