Cause of Bell helicopter crash that killed 2 pilots in Texas released in final report
Officials at the
"
The crash killed pilots
Both pilots were members of the Select
Grogan lived in
On the morning of the crash, Grogan received an email from his daughter, then 8 years old, who had asked him what he was doing at work that day. Grogran replied that he was "going to fly a big orange helicopter" but would be home on time.
The aircraft broke up in mid-flight
The pilots were conducting routine tests that included shutting off one of the aircraft's two engines to see how the helicopter would perform if one engine failed, company officials said.
About 11 seconds into the test, the crew experienced unexpected vibration in the cabin.
"Vibration at the pilot seat led to unintentional control inputs that rapidly amplified the vibration as the crew attempted to respond," company officials said. "Approximately 20 seconds into the test, rotor RPM slowed significantly and the ship broke up in flight."
Since the crash,
Testing of the 525 Relentless resumed in
The aircraft was originally scheduled to go to market last year, but sales were postponed while the crash investigation was under way.
"The
The 525 Relentless is a civilian helicopter designed to carry up to 20 passengers, according to specifications provided by
"We remain committed to the 525 program," spokeswoman
'Somebody has to test those limits'
In the hours after the 2016 crash, Grogan's widow,
"She told me that as long as he's flying, I need to wake up every day prepared that will be the day he won't come home,"
As a test pilot, she said, "somebody has to test those limits, and that's what he did."
Grogan flew the 525 Relentless three to four times a week as a test pilot.
Before working for
Boyse was from
Big
In 2016,
The helicopter was traveling 199 knots (about 229 mph) at an altitude of 1,975 feet immediately before the crash. The 525 Relentless had been in the air for an hour and eight minutes.
Radar data show that before that, the helicopter increased and decreased speed several times, from 190 knots at an altitude of 2,650 feet down to 150 knots.
In its promotional material,
The 525 Relentless is the first commercial helicopter in the
"This helicopter will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with fly-by-wire flight control system (FBW FCS) functions that affect the structural integrity of the rotorcraft," the
This report includes information from the
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