Carson Helicopters
Encyclopedia
Carson Helicopters, Inc is a helicopter
operating company based in Perkasie, Pennsylvania
, United States
. Carson operates a fleet of Sikorsky S-61
helicopters in aerial lift services
and aerial firefighting
. Carson is known for its development of the "Carson Blade" for the S-61 and H-3 Sea King.
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
operating company based in Perkasie, Pennsylvania
Perkasie, Pennsylvania
Perkasie is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, north of Philadelphia. Establishments in the borough early in the twentieth century included silk mills, baseballs, brickyards, lumber mills, tile works, a stone crusher, and manufacturies of cigars, tags and labels, wire novelties, etc. The...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Carson operates a fleet of Sikorsky S-61
Sikorsky S-61
The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the successful SH-3 Sea King helicopter. They are two of the most widely used airliner and oil rig support helicopters built.-Design and development:...
helicopters in aerial lift services
Aerial crane
Helicopters used to lift heavy loads are called aerial cranes or skycranes. As aerial cranes, helicopters carry loads connected to long cables or slings in order to place heavy equipment when other methods are not available or economically feasible, or when the job must be accomplished in remote or...
and aerial firefighting
Aerial firefighting
Aerial firefighting is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers are also classified as aerial firefighters, delivered to the fire by parachute from a variety of fixed-wing...
. Carson is known for its development of the "Carson Blade" for the S-61 and H-3 Sea King.
Incidents and accidents
- On 5 August 2008, two pilots and seven firefighters fighting a fire in Shasta-Trinity National ForestShasta-Trinity National ForestThe Shasta-Trinity National Forest is a federally designated forest in northern California, USA. It is the largest National Forest in California and is managed by the United States Forest Service. The 2.2-million acre forest encompasses five wilderness areas, hundreds of mountain lakes and of...
perished in a crash as they were taking off in a Carson Helicopters Sikorsky S-61N. Four others on board sustained serious or critical injuries. The NTSBNational Transportation Safety BoardThe National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
determined that the probable causes of this accident were several actions by Carson's: intentional understatement of the helicopter’s empty weight; alteration of the power available chart to exaggerate the helicopter’s lift capability; using unapproved torque in performance calculations—and that additional causes were insufficient oversight by the U.S. Forest Service and the Federal Aviation Administration.