RWS 107 - ATSB Request for Information with Robert Chopin

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Outside of the ATSB, Rob is a Technical Councillor and Safety Officer for the Sport Aircraft Association of Australia (SAAA), is currently building an experimental kitplane (‘Van’s RV8’), and is the Deputy Wing Aviation Safety Officer with the Australian Air Force Cadets.

Halfway through 2021, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) put out a call for assistance for information from the aviation community.

What they are looking for is feedback or more information about any ground handling incidents on Robinson type helicopters, especially focused on the aft tail cone bulkhead or tail rotor gearbox areas

If you think back to whenever you have taken someone for their first helicopter ride, especially in smaller machines – there is an amount of trepidation in their eyes – “are you sure this thing is safe?” has to be going through their mind even if they aren’t one of the ones to ask that out loud.

And when you look at a helicopter as a collection of parts, it still amazes me that it all works together correctly even today.

A part of the reason that helicopters are so safe and that anyone would actually insure them is because of the rigur that has gone into investigating previous accidents and incidents. Organisations such as the ATSB, NTSB, AAIB and others have built up decades of experience retracing the events that lead up to an accident.

Over time those lessons have been incorporated back into designs and regulations. Rob Chopin has been fixing helicopters since 1988 and for the last 14 years has worked at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

In today’s episode Rob gives some background into the ATSB’s current request for information about helicopter ground handling damage and then we chat a bit about the accident investigation process that results in a report and how that comes together.