Helicopter Accidents in Spain: The Highest Rate in Europe
27/10/2011
Spain is the European country with the highest rate of helicopter accidents as it was announced recently by the Spanish Union of Airline Pilots. In this sense, 2011 is turning out to be a tragic year in what concerns light aircrafts accidents in Spain and the recent accident occurred in the province of Albacete has increased the number of deaths in helicopter accidents during this year, to 17. Ten aircrafts have been involved in nine accidents, the highest number in years. Tragically this positions Spain in a lead place in the accident rate list for this type of flights.
According to SEPLA, the number of helicopter accidents would reduce drastically if a series of irregularities affecting the control of the operating systems, the maintenance of the aircrafts, as well as working hours of the air crew, were corrected.
Within the applicable European Regulations that regulate this sector, on the 22nd of March 2000 an Agreement regarding crew’s working hours was signed. Months later, the Directive 2000/79/CE of the 27th of November 2000, was enacted enforcing the application of the aforementioned agreement. The Directive and the agreement are aimed at improving the security and health of the crew in the civil aviation, sector which does not only include air transport but also other air related jobs that require the use of an aircraft. The aim of such regulations is clearly to avoid this type of accidents.
Whilst the causes that originate helicopter accidents, tragic in the majority of cases, are of very diverse nature, the European regulations incorporated into the Spanish Legal System by means of the Royal Decree 294/2004, of the 20th of February, which modifies the Royal Decree 1561/1995 of the 21st of September, and which concerns the working hours in civil aviation, intends to be a key instrument to reduce the number of aircraft accidents.
The regulation of working hours of civil aviation employees, in the European scope, is contained in different rules depending on who it is intended to: ground crew would be included in the Decree 2000/34/CE and flight crew in the Decree 2000/79/CE. Both the European Regulation and its adaptation to the Spanish System (by means of the Royal Decree 294/2004) limit the maximum number of working hours to 2.000 for airline crew.
If we focus only on the accidents occurred in September this year, we must highlight the accident that the Augusta Bell 412, of Faasa Aviación, suffered in Granada when it was heading towards the Andalucía Forest Fire-fighter’s base, in Alhama de Almería. This aircraft was going to replace another one that was due a maintenance service. Three people were killed in the accident.
On the 18th of the same month, another helicopter crashed, apparently due to a technical fault, in the centre of a village called El Puerto de Santa María in Cadiz, injuring three German photographers on a photographic trip.
Thereafter, on the 30th of September, two fire-fighter helicopters, contracted by INAER, crashed into each other in the province of Albacete whilst carrying out a loading manoeuvre in a dam. As a result, a Danish pilot was fatally injured.
Even though most of the accidents resulting in fatalities have happened in disaster relief operations, air emergencies or extinguishing fires, we must not forget that recently, there has been a high number of accidents involving helicopter trips to take aerial photographs and videos, many for leisure, others as a way to support their passion or profession. The helicopters that are used for these activities normally fly at such a low height that enables them to picture very precise angles and take breathtaking photographs. Having said this, the proximity to the ground has been the main cause of many of these accidents in our country.
We can therefore conclude that, despite the variety of causes which have originated numerous helicopter accidents in Spain in recent years, we can identify a common denominator for this kind of accidents which would be the lack of development of specific regulations for these types of activities, unlike other countries which would reduce the high accident rate registered in our country.
In what concerns the claims for personally injury derived from this type of accidents in Spain, including personal injury or fatalities of the occupants of the aircraft, we must mention that according to the Article 150 of the Spanish Air Transport Law, which is of application as a supplement to the Montreal Convention in our legal system, private transport aircrafts that carry out technical or scientific works, tourism or sporting activities, will be subject to the dispositions of the mentioned law. In this sense, the victims who have been injured or families of those who have passed away as a result of an accident which does not involve transportation from the place of origin to a place of destiny in strict sense, would still be able to claim compensation in the same terms as occupiers in commercial flights.
For more information on this subject, please do not hesitate to contact Ana Romero ana.romero@irwinmitchell.es, Jesus Pérez jesus.perez@irwinmitchell.es.
back to news