Black Hawk 221 Board of Inquiry
THE BLACK HAWK
The S-70A-9 Black Hawk is a twin-turbine engine, single main rotor, semi-monocoque fuselage, all weather helicopter. The Black Hawk’s typical tasks are the tactical transport of infantry soldiers, search and rescue, aero-medical evacuation, civilian disaster relief and the external carriage of heavy equipment including artillery guns and light vehicles. With a normal crew of four, it can carry ten combat-equipped troops and/or internal and external cargo.
When operationally deployed, the Black Hawk can be fitted with armament consisting of two 7.62 mm machineguns, operated by the loadmasters, one on each side of the helicopter in the forward cabin. The maximum gross weight of the S-70A-9 is 22,000 pounds. The helicopter is usually fitted with a cargo hook and a rescue hoist. Additional equipment installations for the Black Hawk include an external stores support system that can carry up to four 230-gallon long-range tanks and other external stores. While the Black Hawk can be configured to carry up to six litters for the aero-medical role, it is normally fitted with troop seats.
The Black Hawk has a conventional helicopter configuration with a main rotor and a torque balancing tail rotor. The main rotor system has four blades made of titanium and fibreglass. The propulsion system consists of two T700 General Electric gas turbine engines operating in parallel. The drive train consists of a main transmission, an intermediate gearbox and a tail rotor gearbox with interconnecting shafts. The non-retractable landing gear consists of main landing gear and tail wheel. The flight control system consists of dual-cyclic, collective, and pedal flight controls that are augmented by the inclusion of an automatic flight control system. The Black Hawk helicopter is fitted with a crash data system, which can assist with post accident aircraft location and crash sequence analysis, consisting of a crash position indicator, a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder.
Most S-70A-9 Black Hawks, including A25-221, were assembled in Sydney by Hawker de Havilland under license from Sikorsky in the USA. Black Hawks are operated in Australia by Army units in Townsville and Sydney, the School of Army Aviation in Oakey and the Aircraft Research and Development Unit in Adelaide.
Characteristics and Dimensions:
Length: 64ft 10in (17.22m)
Height: 17ft 6in (5.33m)
Width (Ferry Tanks): 20ft 2in (6.15m)
Rotor Diameter: 53ft 8in (16.4m)
Basic Weight: 12,250lbs (5,557kg)
Max Weight (Clean): 22,000lbs (9,979kg)
Max Weight (Ferry Tanks): 24,500lbs (11,113kg)
Internal Load: 8000 lbs (3,629kg)
External Load: 8000 lbs Max Weight (3,629kg)
Fuel Consumption: 750 - 1100 l/hr
Cruise Speed: 120kts (220 km/hr)
Range: 250nm / 465km
Crew: 2 pilots, 1 or 2 loadmasters
Troop Carriage: 10 seated / 18 operational contingency load