Accident occurred Thursday, August 18, 2011 in Marree, Australia, Australia
Aircraft: AEROSPATIALE AS355, registration:
Injuries: 3 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. The foreign authority was the source of this information.
On August 18, 2011, at 1008 universal coordinated time, an Aerospatiale AS 355F2, VH-NTV, operated by Australian Broadcasting Corporation, collided with terrain shortly after takeoff near Marree, Australia. The helicopter was substantially damaged and consumed by a postaccident fire. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The flight was operated under the pertinent civil regulations of Australia.
The investigation is under the jurisdiction of the Government of Australia. This report is for information purposes only and contains only information released by the Government of Australia. Further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from:
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB)
P.O. Box 967, Civic Square
Canberra A.C.T. 2608
Australia
Tel: +612 6274 6054
Fax: +612 6274 6434
www.atsb.gov.au
ABC helicopter pilot Gary Ticehurst, pictured covering the Sydney to Hobart yacht race for the 25th time. Picture: James Elsby
Source: The Australian
Pilot Gary Ticehurst
Gary Ticehurst potentially helped save the lives of 20 plus sailors by hovering over their stricken vessels throughout the day in horrendous conditions, answering their Mayday calls and passing crucial information on to search and rescue officials.
Ticehurst had covered more than 29 Sydney to Hobarts from the air, making him one of the most experienced pilots in world sailing. Every year he brought stunning pictures to the ABC’s TV audience and enabled radio reporters to close in on the action.
Cinematographer Andy Taylor ACS describes how valuable his flying skills were to a shoot,
“With little more than a nod and a wink to the cameraman, he would manoeuvre into position, then literally ‘fly the shot’ like some kind of magical camera platform. Beautiful creative shots that usually developed into breathtaking and picturesque reveals, sometimes tracking around the subject at very low levels. He would occasionally cue the cameraman to slowly zoom as he slowed the chopper to a hover, but generally all we needed to do was hold the camera as steady as possible, watch the horizon and hit the record button.”
Fellow chopper pilot Dick Smith knew Ticehurst well and said the crash had shocked the tightly knit helicopter community.
“He was a lovely bloke; we’re going to miss him greatly.
Gary Ticehurst, aviator for the military, police and the media, did many things in his life but nothing was as demanding as the 1998 Sydney-Hobart yacht race. The fleet was stricken by a deadly storm and he was obliged to perform far above the call of duty. Taking a mayday call from the yacht Winston Churchill, he deployed for hours, hovering above the flailing vessels and directing rescue craft.
Controlling his machine, with his own media crew on board, he survived merciless buffeting by howling winds in what might be regarded as the performance of his life. He was credited with saving more than 20 lives. Even in normal conditions, he was capable of reading ''the wind, the light and the sea'' and performing an ''aerial ballet'', an ABC cameraman said.
Gary Edwin Ticehurst was born in Newcastle on October 10, 1950, son of a customs officer, Ted Ticehurst, and Wanda (nee Fenton). The family moved to Narwee in Sydney's south and Ticehurst went to Narwee Boys High. He received a scholarship at the University of NSW and studied mechanical engineering.
Ticehurst was keen on Australian football and made surfboards that he sold to keep himself in pocket money. He did not finish his degree, joining the army instead. He attended the Officer Training Unit, Scheyville, in 1972 and became a second lieutenant. He then went to Point Cook in Victoria to do a course in military aviation.
Ticehurst was posted to the 161 Reconnaissance Squadron based at Holsworthy but flew assignments throughout Australia. He also served as an exchange officer in Britain and with the British Army in Germany.
Ticehurst married a secretary, Anne Baxter, in 1979 and a year later left the army. He did a course at the NSW Police Academy and became a helicopter pilot in the newly formed Police Air Wing.
He stayed with the police for 18 months, then formed his own company, G & A Helicopters, which secured a contract with the ABC. Ticehurst had two children, Michelle, born in 1982, and Matthew, born in 1986.
As a television helicopter pilot, Ticehurst knew what was needed and often thought of the shots before the cameramen. He formed another company, Film Helicopters Australia, and worked on films such as Australia - allowing brilliant footage of the Kimberley landscape - the Matrix series, Superman Returns, Fool's Gold and many others. Director Bruce Hunt said: ''Gary's enthusiasm and talent made the shots sing.''
Ticehurst and Baxter divorced in 2005 and he later married a management consultant, Teresa Hall. He kept up his work, flying a twin-engine Squirrel for years. During his flying career, he chalked up more than 16,000 chopper hours. The Squirrel served Ticehurst well until the final tragic moments on August 18, when it crashed at Lake Eyre, killing him, ABC journalist Paul Lockyer and cameraman John Bean.
Ticehurst is survived by his father, his widow, his former wife and children, son-in-law Damien Smith, and sisters Glenys Holmes and Denise Mackey and their families. He was looking forward to the birth of his first two grandchildren.
Malcolm Brown
A memorial service for Gary Ticehurst will be held at Rushcutters Bay Park, Sydney, at 11.30am today.
Source: http://www.smh.com.au
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