In aviation, and in particular in helicopters, servo transparency (also called servo reversibility or jack stall),[1] is a phenomenon affecting the servomechanisms that assist a helicopter's flight controls, which, in certain flight conditions, can result in a significant stiffening of the controls handled by the pilot, potentially leading to loss of control and impact with terrain.[2][3]

Notable accidents involving servo transparency

  • 15 September 2007 (2007-09-15): British rally driver Colin McRae and three passengers were killed in the crash of the AS350 helicopter he was flying. Servo transparency was cited as a possible factor in the accident.[4]
  • 31 August 2019 (2019-08-31): An AS350 helicopter crashed in Alta, Norway, after entering servo transparency conditions. All six people on board were killed.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Servo Transparency". SKYbrary. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "HYDRAULIC POWER SYSTEM: Servo Transparency" (PDF). Eurocopter. 4 December 2003. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  3. ↑ Lacagnina, Mark (June 2007). "EMS Control Loss" (PDF). AeroSafetyWorld, Flight Safety Foundation: 35–36.
  4. ↑ Eurocopter AS350B2 Squirrel, G-CBHL, 15 September 2007 (Report). Air Accidents Investigation Branch. February 2009.
  5. ↑ Luftfartsulykke ved Skoddevarre i Alta kommune, Troms og Finnmark fylke, 31. august 2019 med Airbus Helicopters AS 350 B3, LN-OFU, operert av Helitrans AS [Report on air accident in the Skoddevarre mountains, Alta municipality, Troms og Finnmark county, Norway on 31 August 2019 with Airbus Helicopters AS350 B3, LN-OFU, operated by Helitrans AS] (PDF). Rapport Luftfart 2022/02 (Report) (in Norwegian Bokmål). Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority. 18 March 2022. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.


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