Preliminary Report: AStar Substantially Damaged During Training
Airbus Helicopters AS350B3, Hemet, Calif., Aug. 28, 2014–The flight instructor and his student, both sheriff’s deputies, received minor injuries when their helicopter landed hard and rolled on its side during a late-morning VMC training flight. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department operated the Part 91 helicopter.
The instructor reported that he and the student started a maneuver to simulate a governor failure at 500 feet agl and flew an extended 2.5-mile left downwind to Runway 23 before turning base. While on final, they began descending and reduced the throttle input.
As the helicopter approached the runway threshold at 50 to 100 feet agl, the instructor noticed the rotor rpm was dropping more than he expected and attempted to roll the throttle past the limit switch. The engine did not respond. About 50 feet agl over the runway threshold, he also noticed the helicopter’s descent rate was high and that the rotor rpm was continuing to decay. He attempted to restore rotor rpm by pulling aft cyclic and lowering the collective, but was unsuccessful. As he moved the cyclic forward to a level attitude, he felt a “resistance” in the movement.
The helicopter was substantially damaged after it contacted the runway, spun left and came to rest on its left side. The instructor said there had been other instances with movement of the cyclic in the AStar being restricted.
Preliminary Report: Two Die When Helicopter Collides with Utility Wires
MD500E, Northport, Ala., Aug. 19, 2014–The Part 91-operated single-turbine helicopter collided with a utility wire in VMC conditions near Northport before striking the terrain at approximately 11 a.m. The crash killed the pilot and passenger/observer. The helicopter was scheduled to inspect a span of high-tension power lines for damage from a storm that had passed through the area the previous night.
At about 10:25 a.m. the pilot submitted a company flight plan via email and, according to satellite tracking data, departed Tuscaloosa five minutes later. The helicopter’s location, altitude, groundspeed and direction of travel were subsequently reported to the operator every five minutes, as it initially flew east, intercepted the power-line span to be inspected and then proceeded north. The final reported position, recorded at 11 a.m., showed the helicopter at a GPS altitude of 457 feet, 32-knot groundspeed heading almost due north, which placed the machine over the western edge of the easement through which the power lines ran. At about 11:30 a.m. the power company reported an additional transmission line fault along the route the accident helicopter was tasked with inspecting. Local law enforcement located the accident site about a quarter mile northeast of the helicopter’s last reported position. A shield wire strung between two towers on the eastern side of the easement was severed about mid-way.
The helicopter came to rest inverted in a forested creek bed just outside the easement. The aft portion of the tail boom and the main rotor head had separated from the fuselage and come to rest about 80 and 90 feet from the fuselage, respectively.
Preliminary Report: Business Jet Crash Fatal to Seven People
Cessna 560 Citation XLS+, Santos, Brazil, Aug. 13, 2014–Seven people aboard the business jet, including the two pilots, perished when the aircraft crashed into a residential area southwest of Guaruja Airport in southern Brazil. The jet was executing an NDB approach to Runway 35 at the time of the accident. Local weather was reported as approximately two miles visibility in light rain.
Preliminary Report: Helicopter Consumed in Post-Crash Fire
AgustaWestland A109E, Newkirk, N.M., July 17, 2014–The helicopter, operated under Part 91 by Tristate Careflight, was conducting a nighttime VMC repositioning flight between Santa Fe Municipal Airport and a hospital in Tucumcari, approximately 85 miles southeast, when it collided with a mesa near Newkirk. The pilot and two crewmembers died in the accident, and the helicopter was destroyed in a post-impact fire. A local resident first located the wreckage.
Santa Fe weather at the time of the helicopter’s approximate departure time, 12:51 a.m., was reported as clear skies, wind calm and 10 miles visibility. At 1:53 a.m., an automated weather reporting facility at Tucumcari Municipal Airport, 37 miles east of the accident site, reported northeast winds at 15 knots, 10 miles visibility and an overcast layer of clouds at 1,400 feet.
Preliminary Report: Helicopter Damaged During Takeoff from Private Residence
MD500N, near Idaho Falls, Idaho, Aug. 11, 2014–Neither the private pilot nor either of his two passengers was injured after their helicopter, registered to Kabrit of Salt Lake City, collided with terrain following a VMC departure from a residence. The pilot reported that during takeoff, the Notar (no tail rotor) helicopter was about 40 to 50 feet agl when he lost anti-torque control. The machine banked left and immediately began to rotate.
Despite his inputs, the pilot lost control of the helicopter, which was substantially damaged in the ensuing accident.
Preliminary Report: External-load Helicopter Collides with Terrain
MD500D, West Liberty, Ohio, July 29, 2014–The commercial pilot of the single-turbine 500D was seriously injured when the helicopter struck terrain after a loss of engine power. The helicopter, registered to DAH Aircraft and operated by Rotor Blade under Part 133, was substantially damaged. The local tree-trimming flight originated at 3:01 p.m. and was operated in VMC conditions.
Preliminary Report: Helicopter and Turboprop Collide on the Ground
De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 and Airbus Helicopters EC130, Boulder City, Nev., July 25, 2014–A landing EC130 and a taxiing Twin Otter collided in visual conditions at Boulder City Airport (BVU). Neither the two pilots on board the airplane nor the pilot and six passengers aboard the helicopter were injured. The helicopter, operated under Part 135 by Papillon Airways as an aerial sightseeing flight, sustained substantial damage. The airplane, operated by Grand Canyon Airlines, was taxiing out for a Part 91 repositioning flight. Local weather at Henderson Executive Airport 13 miles west of BVU reported clear skies and visibility of more than 10 miles. Wind was southwesterly at 15 gusting to 19 knots.
The helicopter pilot later reported he was inbound from the south and planned to land on the airport dedicated helicopter arrival and departure location known as “Spot 2,” a 50-foot square painted on the airport ramp. Following the company-designated arrival procedure, the helicopter flew a descending pattern first north along the centerline of Taxiway A, and then west along the centerline of Taxiway D to Spot 2. Taxiway D is 40 feet wide, oriented approximately east-west and positioned on the southern perimeter of the same ramp. The center of Spot 2 was located about 50 feet north of the centerline of Taxiway D.
Since BVU does not have an operating ATC tower, the pilot communicated his positions and intentions via radio transmissions on the BVU common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF).
The helicopter pilot first saw the Twin Otter while making the left turn from north to west near the junction of Taxiways A and D. At that time, the airplane was moving south, toward Taxiway D, along a taxi line just east of Spot 1, approximately 600 feet east of Spot 2. The airplane crew announced their intentions on CTAF to taxi to Runway 15 via Taxiway D.
The helicopter pilot said the last time he saw the airplane before the accident was as he overflew the intersection of Taxiway D and the taxi line just east of Spot 1. At that time, the airplane was turning westbound onto Taxiway D. The helicopter pilot recognized the potential for conflict, since the two were now both traveling westbound along Taxiway D and said he “immediately” queried whether the airplane crew had him in sight. The helicopter pilot heard a “double click” on the CTAF, which he interpreted as acknowledgement that the airplane was behind him and that its flight crew had him in sight.
The helicopter pilot then continued his descent along the centerline of Taxiway D toward Spot 2. At the beginning of a left turn for landing, the helicopter pilot spotted the wings and nose of the airplane through his chin windows and felt the impact. He transitioned to Spot 2, descended and landed on the ramp. The Twin Otter pilots, unaware of the collision, continued their departure from BVU, but company personnel quickly recalled the flight.
The accident occurred during the helicopter pilot’s first day of regular line flying for Papillon. The airplane captain had begun his day at 5:07 a.m. The collision occurred during his sixth flight of the day.
Final Report: Pilot Faulted in King Air Stall
Beechcraft King Air 200, Atqasuk, Alaska, May 16, 2011–The King Air stalled and struck snow-covered terrain following an instrument approach in icing conditions. The NTSB directed responsibility at the pilot for not maintaining sufficient airspeed during the approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control. Contributing to the accident were the pilot’s fatigue; the operator’s decision to initiate the flight without conducting a formal risk assessment, including time of day, weather and crew rest; and the lack of guidelines for the medical community to determine the appropriate mode of transportation for patients.
The King Air’s pilot had been off duty about two hours following a 10-hour shift when the chief pilot called around midnight about transporting a patient. The pilot accepted the flight and was on an approach to pick up the patient at the time of the accident.
All of the King Air’s anti-ice and de-ice systems were turned on and the pilot said the de-ice boots seemed to be shedding the ice almost completely. He extended the flaps and lowered the landing gear and then added power, but the airspeed decreased as the airplane continued to descend. The pilot raised the flaps and gear and applied full power. The airplane shuddered as it climbed and the airspeed continued to decrease. The pilot lowered the nose to increase the airspeed as the stall warning came alive, but the airplane descended until it struck terrain.
The minimum safe operating speed for the King Air 200 in continuous icing conditions is 140 kias. The airplane was equipped with satellite tracking and engine and flight-control monitoring that showed the airplane’s indicated airspeed dropped below 140 knots four minutes before impact. During the last one minute of flight, the indicated airspeed varied from a high of 124.5 knots to a low of 64.6 knots, while the vertical speed varied from +1,965 fpm to -2,464 fpm. The last data recorded before impact showed the airplane flying at 68 knots and descending at 1,651 fpm, with the nose pitched up 20 degrees. The pilot did not indicate any mechanical issues with the airplane.
The chief pilot later said pilots are on call for 14 consecutive 24-hour periods before receiving two weeks off and that the pilot of this flight said he felt rested enough to accept the trip. The chief pilot indicated he was aware that sleep cycles and circadian rhythms are disturbed by varied and prolonged activity. A 2000 FAA study found accidents were more prevalent among pilots who had been on duty for more than 10 hours, while an NTSB study found that pilots with more than 12 hours since waking made significantly more procedural and tactical decision errors than those with less than 12 hours since waking. The NTSB concluded that, given the long duty day and the early-morning departure time of the flight, it is likely the pilot experienced significant levels of fatigue that substantially degraded his ability to monitor the airplane during a dark night instrument flight in icing conditions.