On 22 July 2007, the crew of a Bell 412 helicopter was conducting a night approach as part of a search for the source of transmissions from an emergency locator beacon. During the approach to a landing site, the pilot of the helicopter lost situational awareness and allowed the forward speed of the helicopter to decrease to zero. The helicopter developed a high rate of descent and, during an attempt to arrest the rate of descent, the helicopter was subjected to an over-torque condition. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau did not conduct an onsite investigation into the occurrence. However, the operator's internal investigation identified a number of safety issues. Following the investigation, the operator took safety actions to address the identified issues.
