Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office plane had already been grounded

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

0 6 minutes read

A National Transportation Safety Board report says poor maintenance caused a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office helicopter to crash two years ago due to engine failure. Target 7 has learned that the 52-year-old plane has had to be grounded several times in the past. and there were difficulties in maintaining it. “Helicopters are pieces of equipment with thousands of moving parts, and if something goes wrong and you're 1,000 feet in the air, there's not a lot of opportunity,” said l Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White. , who was responsible for the aircraft for seven years. White said he put one of his more careful deputies in charge. This person retired several years before the accident. “There were times when I remember him coming up to me and saying, 'We have something wrong with the plane,'” White said. “We're not 100 percent sure about that. what this is about, but we're going to ground it, and it will be grounded for a while until they can figure out exactly what the problem was and what it would take to fix it, because it is It's not something you can't risk. The sheriff's office acquired the helicopter. “It was a plane that needed a lot of work,” White said. they just took ownership and put it in the air it took a lot of work “About 30 years ago the Army put together a surplus program with a variety of things they no longer had. needed and made it available to law enforcement. Among them is the Bell Huey helicopter, which was donated to the BCSO. free. It was built in 1970. This type of helicopter was designed in the 1950s and was widely used during the Vietnam War. It was previously used by the Hawaii National Guard and is designed for search and rescue missions. It's not designed for daily patrols, White said. “We have a lot of hikers who get stuck in the Sandias, and for some of them, extraction requires a helicopter,” White said. The helicopter was also used to help rescue people stuck on the streetcar, and over the years, White said, the helicopter was adapted to help fight fires. fires?' Well, because we are public safety,” White said. “That's what we do. We have the equipment available, so if we can use it to help people and keep them safe, we will. No question.” White read the report once he was released by the NTSB. “It's hard to read. There's no doubt about it,” White said. “I know if I was sitting in the office as sheriff. know that Sheriff John Allen is reading it, making sure that if something could have been done, it wasn't done. How can we ensure that we have the procedures and policies in place to ensure that this didn't happen. reproduce anymore? » Just three months before the accident, Target 7 interviewed Undersheriff Larry Koren He was piloting the helicopter and was one of the four killed He discussed the challenges of fighting the fires since. the air and maintenance of the helicopter. “These are well-maintained planes, with a very qualified crew,” he said in April 2022. “When we get into these things, the air planes and the helicopter. crew is vetted by the United States Forest Service to carry out these kinds of missions. And so, a lot of things come into play. “When Subway 2 crashed in July 2022, they were on their way home after helping fight a wildfire near Las Vegas.” Part of the reason I do this is I’m afraid for the guys on the field,” Koren said. “The men and women on the ground fighting these fires, I want to make sure they are safe. “William Taylor is a former law enforcement pilot who reviewed the NTSB report. The report states that 17 hours of flight time before the accident, the helicopter's warning light illuminated, signifying that he There was a piece of metal in the oil. “It was heartbreaking. And was it avoidable? Honestly, I don't know,” Taylor said. “When it starts showing chips, that's obviously a warning sign. » The report shows that BCSO sent the chips and oil for analysis, but they never got results. Investigators say the oil was drained and flushed, and the items were removed, cleaned and reinstalled. No further splinters were subsequently reported. Still, many questions remain about the reason for the plane's poor maintenance. “No matter the situation, at the end of the day the responsibility lies with the sheriff or whoever. the sheriff,” White said. At the time of the accident, Manny Gonzales was the sheriff. Target 7 contacted him and did not receive a response. The current sheriff, John Allen, said in a statement: “We have taken every possible step to ensure. such a tragedy will never happen again.”

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico —

A National Transportation Safety Board report says poor maintenance caused a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office helicopter to crash two years ago due to engine failure.

Target 7 has learned that the 52-year-old plane had to be grounded several times in the past and there were difficulties maintaining it.

“Helicopters are pieces of equipment with thousands of moving parts, and if something goes wrong and you're 1,000 feet in the air, there's not a lot of opportunity,” said l Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White was in charge of the plane for seven years.

White said he put one of his more careful deputies in charge. This person retired several years before the accident.

“I remember times when he would come to me and say, ‘We have something wrong with the plane,’” White said. “We're not 100 percent sure what it is, but we're going to ground it. and it would be stuck for a while until they could figure out exactly what the problem was and what it would take to fix it, because it's not something you can't risk.

The sheriff's office acquired the Huey helicopter in 2000 through a military surplus program.

He performed rescue missions and fought fires for 22 years throughout the state.

White took office two years after the sheriff's office acquired the helicopter.

“It was a plane that needed a lot of work,” White said. “It’s not something they just took possession of and threw it in the air. it took a lot of work.

About 30 years ago, the Army put together a surplus program that included various things it no longer needed and made it available to law enforcement.

Among them is the Bell Huey helicopter, which was donated to the BCSO free of charge. It was built in 1970.

This type of chopper was designed in the 1950s and was widely used during the Vietnam War.

It was previously used by the Hawaii National Guard and is designed for search and rescue missions. It's not designed for daily patrols, White said.

“We have a lot of hikers who get caught in the Sandias, and for some of them, the extraction is done by helicopter,” White said.

The helicopter was also used to help rescue people stuck on the streetcar, and over the years, White said, the helicopter was adapted to help fight fires.

“We also asked ourselves, 'Why are we using law enforcement equipment to fight fires?' “Well, because we are public safety,” White said. “That's what we do. We have the equipment available, so if we can use it to help people and keep them safe, we will. No question.”

White read the report once it was released by the NTSB.

“It’s difficult to read. The report is difficult to read. There’s no doubt about it,” White said. “I know if I was sitting in the office as sheriff, I know Sheriff John Allen is reading it, making sure that if anything could have been done, it wasn't done. How can we ensure we have the procedures and policies in place to ensure this doesn't happen again? »

Just three months before the accident, Target 7 interviewed Undersheriff Larry Koren. He was piloting the helicopter and was one of four killed.

He discussed the challenges of fighting fires from the air and maintaining the helicopter.

“These are well-maintained aircraft, with a very qualified crew,” he said in April 2022. “When we get into these things, the aircraft and the crew are vetted by the United States Forest Service to perform this type of mission. And so, there's a lot of things that come into play.”

When Subway 2 crashed in July 2022, they were on their way home after helping fight a wildfire near Las Vegas.

“Part of the reason I do this is I'm afraid for the guys on the field,” Koren said. “The men and women on the ground fighting these fires. I want to make sure they are safe.

William Taylor is a former law enforcement pilot who reviewed the NTSB report. The report states that 17 hours of flight before the accident, the helicopter's warning light came on, meaning there was a piece of metal in the oil.

“It was heartbreaking. And was it preventable? Honestly, I don't know,” Taylor said. “When chips start to appear, that’s obviously a warning sign.”

The report shows BCSO sent the chips and oil for analysis. However, they never received any results.

Investigators say the oil was drained and flushed, and the items were removed, cleaned and reinstalled. No further splinters were subsequently reported.

Yet many questions remain about the reasons for the plane's poor maintenance.

“No matter the situation, ultimately the responsibility lies with the sheriff or whoever is the sheriff,” White said.

At the time of the accident, Manny Gonzales was the sheriff. Target 7 contacted him and got no response. Current Sheriff John Allen said in a statement, “We have taken every step possible to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again.”