Weather and human error, most likely causes of crash chopper in Puerto Rico

Details of the night when a National Guard chopper went down paint a picture of human error, exacerbated by bad weather.

The error was probably caused by a series of bad weather patterns that showed up in the flight profile of the aircraft.

On Dec. 20, a National Guard chopper carrying six people went down in the waters just north of the coast of Río Grande during a mission sponsored by the Justice Department.

Five bodies have been recovered so far. The other is still missing and presumed dead.
In the early evening, at least two radar systems in the island painted the area between Loiza and Ceiba in red, meaning that there was a high degree of bad weather, including thunderstorms with lighting associated with them.

According to Weather Underground, an online radar system, the area was seriously contaminated with several bad weather patterns.

The flight pattern of one mile off the coastline and the operational ceiling at the time, 400 feet, suggested that the pilots of the downed UH-72 Lakota were trying to avoid rough weather.

Several experts, who preferred to remain anonymous, have told the Daily Sun that the debris recovered from the fuselage points to a violent collision at sea.

There are two ways to down a troubled chopper if the pilot has some control of the aircraft, even without power.

One is a controlled crash landing and the other is forced landing.
There are two recent examples of these types of landing.

In the last decade, the local police department has landed two choppers, in the sea, with partial control. One of those instances occurred while chasing a high speed boat believed to be carrying illegal drugs.

The parts of the fuselage recovered from the latest crash suggest that the landing was not a controlled one.

The destruction seen and the matter in which the bodies were found points to a collision speed of 100 to 120 knots, or 100 mile per hour.

At a 400 foot ceiling, meaning that the aircraft crashed violently, argues one expert, destroying the insides of the cockpit, which explain the absence of security harnesses on each of the five bodies found.

According to Defense policy, the search and recovery effort will be conducted by Army aviation regulations.

A team of three aviation accident specialists from Fort Rucker, Ala., with the assistance of two officials from the Coast Guard Board, based on Virginia and a member of the Puerto Rico National Guard, a physician, are conducting the investigation.

In an effort to recover the remains of the missing airman and the rest of the fuselage, including the cabin, Defense contracted the services of Titan Maritime LLC, a world renowned salvage company that has provided services for the Pentagon for decades.

The debris recovered is in storage at the Muñiz Air Base in Carolina.

There are rumors that the crash was caused by several of the Lakota’s instruments -- including the multi functional display and vehicle engine monitor display -- which could have shorted out due to malfunction provoked by high temperatures in the cabin.
That theory has been partially dismissed by investigating officers.

The Daily Sun has learned that the main theory which could have led to a crash landing was the weather and a possible disorientation on the part of the crew.

Investigators are also mulling whether there was a struggle between the pilot and co-pilot in a frantic effort to gain control of the chopper.

The absence of radio communication and even a cell phone call, also points to the fact that the aircraft suffered from a catastrophic and sudden crash, which suggests a forced landing due to crew disorientation.

The mission started a month before the actual flight occurred when Justice Secretary Guillermo Somoza met with National Guard Adjutant General Antonio J. Vicéns, to discuss details of a multi-pronged operation involving at least two targets.

Several sources told the Daily Sun that besides Vieques, at least one luxury marina in the eastern section of the island was a target.

It all started on Dec. 20 at the Aviation Assistance Area of the Army National Guard at the Isla Grande Airport.

Around 5:50 p.m., Guard officials submitted the flight plan for the Lakota, as well as four other choppers, including three Black Hawks and one Kiowa reconnaissance helicopter.

The Lakota is part of the United States Army Light Utility Helicopter fleet. In 2006, Defense selected the rotary-winged aircraft as a replacement for its aging fleet of Vietnam-era Kiowa choppers.

At 6:40 p.m., the Lakota took off from the base en route to Vieques, on a trip intended to take from 15 to 25 minutes.

According to Vicéns, the Lakota was assigned the task of an aerial command center for the overall mission, including Vieques and possibly the Puerto Del Rey Marina in Ceiba, where it was scheduled to touch down after completing its mission.

The Lakota was the second aircraft dispatched from Isla Grande that night.

First to depart was a Blackhawk, followed by the rest of the force several minutes later.

The magnitude of the operation could be measured by the allocation of National Guard resources. In a 35-minute period, the force dispatched almost half of its available helicopters.

As it took off, the Lakota maintained radio and radar contact with the other members of the fleet as well as with the San Juan Radar Station at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.

In fact, the pilot of one of the Blackhawks, José García, confirmed that twice during the flight, the Lakota maintained contact with the other members of the fleet through the radar station.

“We had communication with [the Lakota] twice before 7 p.m., and in none of those communications did the pilot express any problem with the aircraft," García said. "Nor did he report anything unusual about the weather.”

Around 7 p.m., García reported that he had noticed the absence of the Lakota and started to search from Loíza to Río Grande, ultimately landing his Blackhawk in the coastal area outside the Hotel Meliá in Río Grande. It was approximately 7:40 p.m., he said.

Another Blackhawk came to his aid to look for the missing Lakota. The initial search lasted about two hours.

García said he was near the Sandy Hills condominiums when he decided to turn back and start looking for the missing aircraft.

“At no time during my return did I encounter a bad weather pattern. In fact, I flew by visual flight rules, not instrumentation,” said the experienced aviator.

He recalled there were several rainy areas to the east of his positions. According to his recollection, the bad weather area was a mile off the coast of Río Grande, where the Lakota apparently crash landed.

Garcia argued that during the Lakota’s two communications with the SJRS, the pilots never mentioned bad weather.

His assumption was that the Lakota had to have gone through the bad weather area without any trouble.

After several passes through the area, Garcia’s chopper landed back in Ceiba and at 8:02, the Coast Guard took control of the search.

For four hours, the Coast Guard and several other National Guard helicopters searched the area until the initial debris began to appear at midnight.

The UH-72 Lakota is the backbone of the U.S. National Guard. The downed aircraft was brought to the island in May and had its last inspection on Dec. 14, six days before the fatal crash.

By Raul Colon for the Puerto Rico Daily Sun