Hot refueling not such a hot idea

MBB BO-105S, SPARTA, ILL., JUNE 8, 2002–N660SL, operated by Arch Air Medical, sustained substantial damage when a static line broke loose and hit the main rotor while hot refueling after landing at Hunter Field Airport (SAR).

The accident occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m., about an hour after it departed Downtown St. Louis Airport in Cahokia, Ill. A medic on the ground sustained serious injuries when the static line snapped loose into the rotor blades. The pilot of the nonscheduled Part 135 flight was not injured.

VMC prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed, though the helicopter was being operated as a Part 135 aeromedical flight.