AAIB investigation to Guimbal Cabri G2, G-CILR
Aircraft fire due to electrical short circuit, Wycombe Air Park, 22 July 2019.
Summary:
The helicopter had flown from Dunkeswell, Devon, to Wycombe Air Park, Buckinghamshire. As the pilot was shutting down the helicopter, he noticed smoke emanating from the left side of the rotor mast. He evacuated the helicopter and tried, unsuccessfully, to extinguish the fire with the helicopter’s on-board fire extinguisher. The helicopter was destroyed.
Examination of the wreckage identified that the electrical cable connecting the alternator to the starter relay had short circuited against the aluminium baffle that surrounds the engine, probably as a result of the cable clips being incorrectly fitted.
As a result of this investigation the helicopter manufacturer issued a service bulletin to instruct operators to inspect for correct installation of the cable clips and has also completed a redesign of the clips to ensure they cannot be fitted incorrectly.
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