Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 300; Flight Crew Total 6000; Flight Crew Type 2000
Communication Breakdown
Conflict NMAC
Flight Crew Executed Go Around / Missed Approach; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Airport; Human Factors
While doing training in a King air 90; I'd been cleared for a visual approach. ATC advised of numerous contacts at the airport - which has become typical at that airport in the past year now that there's a helicopter school there. I cancelled services; and vectored my student out to about 13 miles for a practice ILS approach. I was in full communications with CTAF; and even used non-instrument/non-technical calls so the trainees and instructors would know exactly what I was doing. I had several responses from the heli-instructors acknowledging me and requesting me to report my position 'on final'; so they could stand aside. I reported 13 miles; 8 miles; 3 miles; and 1-1/2 short final. My student was on simulated instruments; but I was looking at the runway all the way. I received responses on CTAF that indicated they were standing aside for my landing. As I got near the airport I could see numerous 'Robinson' sized heli's doing maneuvers on the adjacent taxiways and pads. After reporting the runway to my trainee he went visual and went about landing the airplane. At about 50' AGL crossing the threshold a stationary small Robinson came into view as it rose out of the black runway onto the horizon directly in front of me. It was either dark red or black; must have been just off centerline so as not to block my clear view of the stripes; and was stationary/hovering and did not give any clues as to being there. NOTE: it was a darkly painted body on the Robinson; exacerbated by the runway being freshly paved and gloss black. As my trainee was reducing power to idle in prep for flare/landing; I saw the heli hovering directly in front of us in the center of the runway at approx the end of the fixed landing markers. I immediately grabbed the controls banked hard right. I estimate I saw him at about 500' linear distance and the closure rate was extreme! I thought it might be a foregone conclusion we would hit. As I rolled and felt the load factor shoot up (and heard no metal noise) I rolled back to keep from stalling and/or hitting the wingtip on the ground adjacent to the runway; firewalled the power nudged the nose up and executed (what became) an organized go-around. The heli never saw me; acknowledged me; or communicated whatsoever. Even other training traffic and the airport mgr subsequently got on CTAF and inquired if we were okay; and/or if the heli hovering on the runway had heard 'any' of the King air calls? That pilot never answered. As I was busy spontaneously maneuvering and thinking I was going to die; I can only imagine my left wing or wingtip must have JUST gone over his rotor by a little. I'm still replaying in my mind why I had the good sense to unload a slow airplane and rollback level then add power. I'm no stunt pilot. I'm a retired airline guy. I equally can't believe I had enough room to 'not' hit the wing on the ground off the side of the runway. As I replay this tape in my mind it completely surreal. As these things go; I suppose there were a million possibilities. Things I could have done wrong; right; or things the heli could've done that would have caused us to hit. Thank God we didn't; although I cannot explain why. I cannot imagine what I might have done differently up to the avoidance maneuver itself. I mean I could've yanked it up and fire walled it; but I didn't; and I cannot explain why. What I did worked - right or wrong. I'm not writing this report to avoid scrutiny against me. I 'think' I did most everything I was supposed to as a training instructor so I'm not worried about that. Maybe it was 'just one of those things'; but in retrospect it was scary and I thought I should submit a report in hopes that it makes aviation safer.
BE90 instructor pilot experiences a NMAC with a black helicopter hovering over a freshly paved runway. The helicopter did not respond to CTAF calls and was invisible until the BE90 was in the flare. The instructor takes control and pulls up and turns; narrowly missing the helicopter.