<< >> NASA ASRS Report 603388, December 2003

2 AS350 helicopter's experience near midair collision in narrow hawaiian valley during commercial sightseeing flight.

Attributes
ACN	603388
Time
Date	200312
Day	Fri
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	navaid : lih.vortac
State Reference	HI
Altitude	msl single value : 1800
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air taxi
Make Model Name	AS 350 Astar/Ecureuil
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 135
Navigation In Use	other
Flight Phase	cruise : level
Flight Plan	None
Aircraft 2
Operator	common carrier : air taxi
Make Model Name	AS 350 Astar/Ecureuil
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 135
Flight Phase	cruise : level
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air taxi
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : cfi pilot : commercial
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 200 flight time total : 17000 flight time type : 8000
ASRS Report	603388
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air taxi
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Events
Anomaly	conflict : nmac
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	flight crew : took evasive action
Miss Distance	horizontal : 200 vertical : 200
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Flight Crew Human Performance Environmental Factor Airspace Structure
Primary Problem	Airspace Structure

Narrative:

The near miss occurred during flight over mountainous terrain. I didn't hear any radio xmissions. The aircraft color blended in with the background, during cruise flight talking to my passenger, pointing out points of interest during the tour. The other aircraft was coming from left to right towards a waterfall in a narrow valley. After the aircraft passed and turned, I saw the aircraft at the last min. Evasive maneuvers were made to avoid a midair collision. There are site specific areas where radio calls are mandatory but with this valley there is only 1 call entering the valley from the north. Random radio calls would help if stopping or seeing other waterfalls within this long valley.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: 2 AS350 HELI'S EXPERIENCE NMAC IN NARROW HAWAIIAN VALLEY DURING COMMERCIAL SIGHTSEEING FLT.

Narrative: THE NEAR MISS OCCURRED DURING FLT OVER MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. I DIDN'T HEAR ANY RADIO XMISSIONS. THE ACFT COLOR BLENDED IN WITH THE BACKGROUND, DURING CRUISE FLT TALKING TO MY PAX, POINTING OUT POINTS OF INTEREST DURING THE TOUR. THE OTHER ACFT WAS COMING FROM L TO R TOWARDS A WATERFALL IN A NARROW VALLEY. AFTER THE ACFT PASSED AND TURNED, I SAW THE ACFT AT THE LAST MIN. EVASIVE MANEUVERS WERE MADE TO AVOID A MIDAIR COLLISION. THERE ARE SITE SPECIFIC AREAS WHERE RADIO CALLS ARE MANDATORY BUT WITH THIS VALLEY THERE IS ONLY 1 CALL ENTERING THE VALLEY FROM THE N. RANDOM RADIO CALLS WOULD HELP IF STOPPING OR SEEING OTHER WATERFALLS WITHIN THIS LONG VALLEY.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.