A Kaman is a heavy-lift utility helicopter with intermeshing blades that rotate in opposite directions. The aircraft has no tail rotor and the blades have a fixed pitch. Servo-flaps are mounted near the end of each blade to flex the blades for lift.
In this case, the pilot had loaded a Bambi bucket full of water to help fight a wildland fire. When he started to ascend, one of the servo flaps malfunctioned and caused at least 2 of the 4 blades to detach, causing the aircraft into a uncontrolled decent.
There were no eye-witnesses to the accident and the pilot perished. Mountain Graphix was asked to recreate the incident using the NTSB investigation report and from expert witnesses for the plaintiff.
Mountain Graphix utilized GIS mapping to create 3D mesh of the V-shaped valley terrain where the incident occurred. High resolution terrain mesh was created for the area near the site of the accident based on drone footage. The dense forest in the area was created from both Satellite photos and drone footage.
Mountain Graphix obtained the GPS flight data and the precise location of the servo flats and rotor blades to help experts animate the flight path of the helicopter and orient the aircraft at the time of the incident.
At the trial, the animation helped illustrate that the pilot operated the aircraft at a safe distance away from tree tops and that the cause of the incident was a construction defect in the servo flap not operator negligence.
