Technical Briefing

Controlled Landing on Water of EC225 (G-CHCN)

Incident date: 22 October 2012

Table of Contents
1. Event Summary 2. Incident Outline 22nd October 3. EC225LP MGB Design Architecture 4. EC225LP MGB Internal Layout 5. EC225LP MGB Internal Layout 6. EC225LP MGB Lubrication System 7. EC225LP Emergency Lubrication System 8. Super Puma Lubrication System Comparison 9. Investigation Outcomes after Bond Incident 10. Bevel Gear Vertical Shaft 11. Shaft 1 vs. Shaft 2 12. Current flight status? 13. Whats next ? Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Pages 8 - 9 Page 10 Page 11 Pages 12 -14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17

Event summary
Date: Location: Type of Flight: Persons on Board: Injuries: Reason for Ditching: Total Flight Time:
22 October 2012 at 1425hrs In the North Sea, approximately 32nm southwest of Sumburgh, Shetland Islands Commercial Air Transportation (Passengers) 17 passengers + 2 crew None Loss of main and Stand-by MGB Oil Pressure, followed by fail indication of MGB Emergency. approximately 53minutes
2

Incident Outline 22 October 2012

Aircraft at 140kt, 3000ft amsl, 81% Torque XMSN (Transmission) caption on CWP with - M.P (Main pressure) - MGB.T (Main gearbox oil temp) - S/B.P (Standby oil pump pressure) - MGB.P (Main Gear box oil pressure) - VMS gearbox oil pressure reading zero Crew actioned Total loss of MGB Oil Pressure Checklist MGB emergency lubrication system EMLUB failed within 1 minute resulting in an Emergency Landing Power on as per the Emergency Check List Passengers and crew evacuated the helicopter boarding liferafts, before being rescued by boat and helicopter.
3

EC225LP MGB Design Architecture

Oil pump drive shaft

The MGB oil pumps (main & standby) are driven by two pinion gears located on the lower part of the bevel gear vertical shaft

Main Oil pump

Standby Oil pump

4

EC225LP MGB Internal Layout

Bevel Gear Vertical Shaft

EC225LP MGB Internal Layout

Main Rotor

Tail Take Off Shaft failure point Note: CHC s and Bonds failures are in approximately the same area
6

EC225LP MGB Lubrication System

EC225LP MGB cut away Standby Lubrication system using RAM air to cool MGB oil through secondary oil coolers

Main and Standby Lubrication Pumps

EC225LP Emergency Lubrication System

In the event of a total loss of the MGB oil the EC225LP is equipped with an emergency glycol spraying system (Hydrosafe 620) providing up to 30min run dry capability

EC225LP Emergency Lubrication System

Engine air pressurises a glycol container and delivers atomised glycol directly onto the gears to provide cooling and lubrication

Super Puma Lubrication System Comparison

AS 332 L / L1 / L2 MGB driven Main and Standby oil pumps MGB driven oil cooler

EC225LP MGB driven Main and Standby oil pumps MGB driven oil cooler RAM air cooled standby oil cooler system Emergency Glycol lubrication spraying system (Hydrosafe 620)

10

Investigation Outcomes after Bond Incident

The Main Gear Box (MGB) fitted to the EC225LP is of a similar design architecture to the MGB fitted to the AS332L2 but with a 15% greater Torque capability Bevel Gear Vertical shaft changed from carburized steel alloy (old) to nitrated steel alloy (new) The initial design was for a 100 1 countersink (chamfer) at both ends of the 4.2 mm diameter hole Countersink was changed to 90 1 When the PTFE plug is fitted in the hole with a 90 1 countersink, a small annular gap remains
11

Bevel Gear Vertical Shaft

12

PTFE Plug Fitment

13

Drilled Hole

14

Shaft 1 vs. Shaft 2

Shaft 1 Bevel Gear Vertical Shaft
P/N 331A32-3115-09 331A32-3115-14 331A32-3115-15 331A32-3115-16 331A32-3115-17 331A32-3115-18 331A32-3115-19 Eurocopter Service Life Limitation (SLL) is 50,000 Hours All above PN shafts are not approved for installation on an EC225LP MGB Manufactured from two sections welded together Carburized Steel Alloy

Shaft 2 Bevel Gear Vertical Shaft

P/N 332A32-5101-00 332A32-5101-05 332A32-5101-10 332A32-5101-15

Eurocopter Service Life Limitation (SLL) is 20,000 Hours Note: if installed on L/L1/L2 SLL is 50,000 H Manufactured from two sections welded together Nitrated Steel Alloy Altered manufacturing and heat treatment process

15

Current flight status?

Type of shaft
Shaft 1

Can be fitted in:

L, L1 and L2 models.

What is it?
This is the original design of shaft. Has accumulated 4.5 million flight hours without incident. A change in the manufacturing process of specific batches of Shaft 2 was originally thought to be the cause of the Bond (G-REDW) ditching in May. New evidence is coming to light which suggests that the scope of the problems associated with Shaft 2 are wider. Use of aircraft which feature this shaft is not supported by the aircraft operators/OGP Customers at this time

Currently Accepted for use?

Yes

Shaft 2

L, L1, L2 and EC225 L, L1 and L2 aircraft can be fitted with either Shaft 1 or Shaft 2. If not already so, these will now be re-fitted with shaft 1 in order to be fly again. All EC225s feature Shaft 2 and cannot be fitted with Shaft 1.

No

16

Whats next ?
AAIB investigation is on-going Aircraft has been disassembled as an important part of the AAIB investigation, augmenting technical data and information from interviews with crew members and passengers Eurocopter is fully cooperating with the investigation and continues to work on a new shaft system Eurocopter is also looking at the MBG EMLUB system to prevent a failure indication when the system is operating correctly Returning the EC225LP to service is still under review and will be discussed in detail with our Customers, Eurocopter, the CAA UK, the European Helicopter Operators Committee (EHOC) and the Helicopter Safety Steering Group (HSSG) - which includes Offshore Oil and Gas companies, helicopter operators and Trade Unions As of 1 November, Eurocopter is finalising a detailed presentation of technical and other relevant information. Eurocopter is launching a micro site (as part of its main corporate website) where they will host and maintain up-to-date information for customers and media this will go live from 2 November. A link to the site will be shared widely as soon as it is live

17

Questions Investigations are ongoing Any Questions ?

Thank you, CHC Helicopter

18