2007 Zell am See mid-air collision

The 2007 Zell am See mid-air collision was an aviation accident that occurred on 5 March 2007, at 10:53 a.m. CET (09:53 UTC), in which eight people died when an Aérospatiale SA 332 Super Puma helicopter, operated by Helog, collided with a private Diamond DV20 Katana light aircraft near Zell am See, Austria.

2007 Zell am See mid-air collision
Accident
DateMarch 5, 2007 (2007-03-05)
SummaryMid-air collision
SiteZell am See Airport (LOWZ); Austria
47°18′13″N 12°46′17″E
Total fatalities8 (all)
Total survivors0
First aircraft

A Super Puma similar to the one involved in the incident.
TypeAérospatiale SA 332 Super Puma[1]
OperatorHelog
RegistrationD-HLOG[1]
Passengers6
Crew1
Fatalities7 (all)
Survivors0
Second aircraft

A DV20 Katana similar to the one involved in the incident.
TypeDiamond DV20 Katana[1]
OperatorPrivate
RegistrationOE-CEF[1]
Passengers0
Crew1
Fatalities1 (all)
Survivors0

At the time of the accident, both aircraft were operating under visual flight rules. The weather was good, with a few clouds and 50 km visibility. The collision occurred at an altitude of about 5,090 feet (1,550 m), approximately 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) north-west of Zell am See Airport, as the helicopter flew over the airport's traffic pattern travelling north-north-eastwards. At the same time, the light aircraft was climbing through the traffic pattern and was subsequently involved in a collision with the helicopter, destroying both aircraft.[2]

The Austrian Federal Department of Aviation's Air Accident Investigation Board launched an investigation into the accident, releasing the investigation report on 9 April 2008. The report stated that the main cause of the accident was the inability of both pilots to see the other aircraft in time to avoid the collision as a result of the reduced fields of vision allowed by the cockpit designs. Another factor in the collision was the subtle limitations on visual perception relating in part to the proximity of the mountain slope not far below both aircraft, requiring both pilots' attention to maintain suitable terrain clearance.

See also

  • Inattentional blindness, also known as perceptual blindness, is the failure to notice a fully visible, but unexpected object because attention was engaged on another task, event, or object.
  • Change blindness is a surprising perceptual phenomenon that occurs when a change in a visual stimulus is introduced and the observer does not notice it.

References

  1. "Aviation Safety Network summary". Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  2. Horvath, Harry (21 March 2006). "GZ. 85.007/0001-FUS/2006 Investigation Report: GZ. BMVIT-85.121/0002-II/BAV/UUB/LF/2008 (Untersuchungsbericht: Zusammenstoß in der Luft eines Motorflugzeuges type DV 20 und eines Hubschraubers type AS 332" (PDF). Verkehrssicherheitsarbeit für Österreich. Unfalluntersuchungsstelle (in German). Austrian Federal Department of Aviation (Bundes Fachbereich Luftfahrt). Retrieved 5 April 2015.

Further reading

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