Risk management and aviation safety specialist Gerardo Portela stated that factors linked to the intense air traffic in the Recreio dos Bandeirantes and Barra da Tijuca regions should be among the points analyzed by authorities investigating the collision between two helicopters that occurred this Sunday morning (14), in Rio de Janeiro.
In an interview with Young PanPortela highlighted that it is still premature to identify the causes of the accident, which left six people dead, but highlighted that the area where the collision occurred concentrates a lot of aircraft movement.
“We need to be very cautious at this time, because an investigation is already underway and evidence is being collected from the accident scene,” he said.
According to the expert, the information available so far does not indicate problems related to meteorological conditions or the models of the aircraft involved.
“The conditions were reasonably favorable. It wouldn’t be a cause in and of itself,” he said.
Portela also noted that both the Bell helicopter and the Esquilo model are widely used aircraft and considered reliable when operated within established standards.
“They are two very reliable aircraft,” he stated.
Region has intense flow of aircraft
In the expert’s assessment, one of the aspects that deserves attention from investigators is the intense air movement in the region where the accident occurred.
According to him, Barra da Tijuca and Recreio dos Bandeirantes concentrate operations linked to private aviation, executive flights and helicopters that meet different types of demand, in addition to being close to Jacarepaguá Airport.
“Traffic is very intense on any given day,” he explained.
Portela highlighted that the investigation should seek to understand what factors may have contributed to two aircraft occupying trajectories that resulted in the collision.
“The big question is: what caused this error? What factors induced the pilots to collide?”, he stated.
According to the expert, human factors are usually one of the main focuses of aeronautical investigations. He highlighted that situations involving excess information, the need to monitor other aircraft and sudden changes in the operational environment can influence pilots’ decision-making.
Various security barriers
The expert recalled that helicopters have navigation equipment, position identification and radio communication systems, mechanisms that help avoid collisions in flight.
“They have flight support equipment and transponders that indicate their position. They also communicate by radio. There are several barriers that have to be broken for an accident like this to happen,” he said.
According to Portela, precisely because there are several layers of security, the investigation must analyze not only what happened inside the aircraft, but also the entire operational context of the region’s airspace.
Images can help investigation
The expert also highlighted the importance of security camera images in clarifying the case. As the area where the accident occurred is densely urbanized, with condominiums, commercial establishments and busy roads, the expectation is that there will be several records of the moment of the occurrence.
“Technicians look for these images to gather exactly what information can help in this investigation process,” he said.
Portela also noted that the models involved in the accident are not required to have black boxes, but highlighted that investigators rely on different types of evidence to reconstruct the dynamics of the collision.
“Various information will enable us to identify exactly what happened and produce recommendations to prevent this from happening again”, he concluded.
