Pilot inattention while flying in a mountainous region was cited by the NTSB as the cause of a North Carolina medevac helicopter crash on March 9. The 2012 Airbus EC135 P2+ was being operated by Med-Trans as Life Force 6 for Erlanger Health System and transporting a patient from Murphy to Asheville. The patient and two-person medical crew sustained minor injuries related to the accident. The 51-year-old pilot was uninjured but has subsequently been terminated by Med-Trans.
According to the NTSB, the pilot noted that the highest obstacle en route was at 6,100 feet, but set the autopilot to 5,500 feet. He then donned the night vision goggles that were on top of the aircraft logbook that was on the co-pilot seat. While moving the logbook, he decided to check flight times in it against maintenance requirements. During this time he noticed the cloud ceiling lowering, reset the autopilot to 5,000 feet, and again went “heads down” into the logbook. The pilot looked up and saw he was headed for trees and initiated a climb, but the tailboom struck trees and the vertical stabilizer separated. He subsequently performed a forced landing on a road, substantially damaging the helicopter.
The NTSB found the cause of the accident to be, “The pilot’s improper decision to review an aircraft logbook while en route, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.”