An amazing story of an ERA Helicopters AW139 which suffered an electrical fire and subsequent loss of the essential bus recently. The EECs high sided which resulted in an overspeed of the rotors and engines. There was also problems with the flight controls. At 6000 feet and 185 knots the crew couldn't control it with full down collective. In an incredible display of airmanship the crew maintained control of the aircraft by cycling between idle and fly on engine mode switches. It took them 3 laps of airport until they were able to figure out how to put it down. They killed both engines at 200 feet 140 knots on final and conducted a high speed flare /auto and dumped it on. The gear collapsed and the aircraft slid off into the grass.
This crew deserves a medal:
I guess the rotor/gearbox overspeed and the hard landing will require that this helicopter has a big turbine overhaul and very expensive checkout from the rotors, via the turbines, cabin down through the electronics to the landing gear, but I guess that this aircraft won't be written off?
My necessaries are embark'd: farewell. Adieu! I have too grieved a heart to take a tedious leave.
I guess the rotor/gearbox overspeed and the hard landing will require that this helicopter has a big turbine overhaul and very expensive checkout from the rotors, via the turbines, cabin down through the electronics to the landing gear, but I guess that this aircraft won't be written off?
I wonder if Alan Bristow would have hired me for my mean money orientated comments above.
It was a Bristow amalgam that was involved here. The way the pilots responded is a huge credit to the company.
My necessaries are embark'd: farewell. Adieu! I have too grieved a heart to take a tedious leave.
It would have taken quite a bit of coordination between the two pilots to keep the rotors turning without overspeeding.
In a single like a B3 the twist grip on the collective makes it possible to make throttle changes in the event of FADEC failure but in a twin it would likely be near impossible.
As we know in a real failure such as this the mission is to get to the ground and get out of it unhurt.An undamaged machine would only be a bonus.
If I look at the video I think they would have managed to have done better by shutting the engines off at a higher altitude.When they shut off you can see the yaw it induced and it unsettled the flying pilot very close to the ground which I believe induced him to flare little to high.That said he succeeded in making sure that nobody got hurt
Life may not be the party you hoped for, but while you're here, you may as well dance. 
in the 
