Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 7, 1994 TAG: 9407070131
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
A 65-page report by the National Transportation Safety Board, released Tuesday, did not point to a probable cause. But it said the NASCAR Winston Cup star had only 2.8 hours of instruction in his Hughes 369HS helicopter, and 54 hours total flight time in choppers before the crash.
No evidence of mechanical failure was cited in the report, which will be used by the board to determine a probable cause.
Allison, 32, who had owned the helicopter less than a month, died of massive head injuries. His only passenger, former driver Red Farmer, was hospitalized with broken ribs and a fractured arm and collarbone.
Allison had been attempting to land the 2,500-pound helicopter in a parking lot at the speedway when it suddenly rose and began to spin out of control, witnesses said. Allison was trying to land downwind - the opposite of the usual procedure.
A licensed airplane pilot, Allison had received his helicopter rating a year before the crash. But of the 54 hours of helicopter flight time he had when he died, 45 were accumulated in the less-demanding Robinson R-22 helicopter, the NTSB reported.
John Corley, a flight instructor for Southeastern Helicopters in Saluda, S.C., who gave Allison the 2.8 hours of instruction June 21, 1993, told the NTSB that Allison demonstrated ``about average'' pilot skills for someone who had not flown a helicopter in six months, and with his limited amount of experience. They did not practice downwind landing, Corley said.
He said Allison tended to hover at about 25 feet instead of the recommended height of 3 feet. He also said Allison had a propensity to make his approaches too fast and shallow, a result of having trained on the much smaller and slower Robinson R-22.
Farmer told an investigator this had been his first ride in a helicopter, so he was not sure what to expect. But he said they approached the parking lot at what seemed to be a normal angle, using the parking lot's center strip as a reference.
He said Allison hovered about 6 inches to a foot above the ground, attempted to turn to the right and then the helicopter ``shot up very quickly.'' Then the ride became very violent, Farmer said.
``I saw sky. I saw ground, and I said, `Hold it, Davey,''' Farmer said.
Farmer said the helicopter then began to climb - maybe 75 or 100 feet. The craft banked sharply to the left and struck the ground and a 10-foot fence.
``When we stopped, I yelled, `Davey, let's get out of this thing before it catches on fire,''' Farmer told the investigator.
Allison was hanging upside down by his seat belt, unconscious, Farmer said. ``I did not want to release his belt because he would fall,'' he said. ``I could not hold him up and release because my arm was broken.''
Farmer said he kicked out the front window and climbed from the helicopter.
The report said a metallurgical examination of the fractured main rotor drive shaft showed the break was consistent with a violent crash.
An examination of the tail-rotor pedal stems showed overstress fractures, but with no evidence of pre-existing cracking, the report said.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING FATALITY
by CNB