7 Survive Aerospatiale Accident in Arizona
December 6, 2009
7 Survive Aerospatiale Accident in Arizona
On December 6, 2009, about 1030 Pacific standard time, an Aerospatiale AS 355F1 helicopter, N548SA, was substantially damaged during cruise flight following the left engine cowling door opening in flight near Temple Bar, Arizona. The helicopter was registered to and operated by HeliUSA Airways Inc., Las Vegas, Nevada, under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135. The commercial pilot and six passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a company flight plan was filed for the cross-country flight. The air tour flight originated from the Mc Carran International Airport (LAS), Las Vegas, about 1000, with an intended destination of Grand Canyon, Arizona.
The pilot reported that during cruise flight, he heard a “thumping” noise followed by slight feedback within the cyclic control. The pilot contacted a second company helicopter to have them visually inspect the helicopter in flight. The pilot of the second helicopter informed the pilot that the left engine cowling appeared to be open and partially separated. The pilot initiated a precautionary landing to a dirt road and landed without further incident.
FAA Findings
Examination of the helicopter by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that two of the three main rotor blades were damaged. One main rotor blade exhibited a one-inch long gouge about one-quarter of an inch in depth near the blade root. A portion of the left engine cowling was separated and not located.
January 5, 2009
PHI Helicopter Crash Near New Orleans, LA
PHI, Inc Helicopter Crashes Killing Eight
[Jan. 5, 2009] Eight people were killed and a ninth was reported critically injured after a PHI,Inc helicopter bound for the offshore oil fields crashed Sunday afternoon in marshlands about 100 miles southwest of New Orleans.
NTSB Investigating Latest PHI Helicopter Crash
The helicopter, operated by PHI Inc. was carrying two pilots and seven passengers, The PHI’s helicopter crashed about 3:30 p.m. shortly after taking off from PHI’s base in Amelia, said Richard Rovinelli, a spokesman for the company. The identities of the victims have not yet been released. The cause of this latest PHI helicopter crash isn’t known at this time, but the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) crash investigators are expected to arrive today according to the company spokesman for PHI.
PHI also involved in Air Ambulance Crash in East Texas
PHI is a primary provider of helicopter services to oil and gas platforms that dot the coast of Louisiana. It also flies medical helicopters. Workers typically are flown to and from their worksites from coastal flight bases. In June, a PHI Air Medical helicopter crashed in East Texas, killing four. The medivac helicopter crash in the Sam Houston National Forest killed the pilot, paramedic, nurse and a patient who was being transported from Huntsville to Houston. That crew agreed to transport the patient after another helicopter company abandoned the mission saying that cloud cover was too low, making visibility poor in the early-morning darkness.
Talk to a Helicopter Crash Lawyer
If you have lost a loved one in this tragic PHI Helicopter Crash in Louisiana, then call us and speak to an attorney that understands helicopter crashes involving PHI and is very familar with PHI, Inc and other crashes, especially the 2008 crash in East Texas. Often we can fly and visit with you in person within 24 hours to meet you and explain the NTSB crash investigation process and the estimated timeline of events surrounding crash investigations and the legal process and help you and your family in filing the necessary paperwork that is necessary in sudden accidents and wrongful deaths. Let us know if we can help.
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December 12, 2008
Offshore Helicopter Crash near Sabine Pass, Texas
[ December 12, 2008] Sabine Pass, Texas. The U.S. Coast Guard says three people are dead and two missing following a helicopter crash in the Gulf of Mexico. The helicopter had been on its way to an oil rig. A Coast Guard cutter is at the crash site, about two miles off the Texas coast near the town of Sabine Pass. Aerial searches will resume after sunrise.
A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Washington says investigators will work with the Federal Aviation Administration to determine the cause of the crash.
October 7, 2008
Wisconsin Helicopter Crash Kills Four
Midwestern Aviation Helicopter Crashes Near Kenosha, Wi
On September 21, 2008 a Robinson R44 II helicopter owned by Midwestern Air Services LLC, was destroyed when it impacted an occupied house and terrain near Kenosha, Wisconsin. A ground fire subsequently occurred. The private pilot and a passenger were fatally injured. The five occupants in the house were uninjured. The flight originated from the Horseshoe Casino Heliport, near Whiting, Indiana, about 0430, and was destined for the Kenosha Regional Airport (ENW), near Kenosha, Wisconsin, when the accident occurred.
A Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper who was outside the weight facility on Interstate 94 at the Illinois and Wisconsin State Line about six miles south of the accident site heard a helicopter heading north at a “very low altitude” and estimated it at 500 feet. He did not see the helicopter or its lights due to the “dense fog.” He stated that the visibility there was about 300 to 500 feet.
Witnesses to Helicopter Crash
A witness who lived near the accident site gave a statement to the Kenosha Police Department. The witness stated that a low flying helicopter was heard. It circled once then went away and came back. The witness saw an orange flash through the window and heard a “boom.” The witness said the helicopter sounded “really low” and the “engine sounded like it was at low RPMs.”
A witness from the occupied house on the northwest corner of 97th Avenue and 70th Street that was impacted by the helicopter gave a statement to the police department. The statement, in part, indicated:
My family and I were fast asleep in our residence when I heard and
felt a loud bang like thunder, and then a cloud of debris came
[through] our bedroom door. My wife and I were in the southeast
bedroom. Our two sons were in the northeast bedroom and our
daughter was the bedroom over the garage. We got our kids and
[with] the help of our neighbors made it down the stairs and outside.
None of us were injured. I saw the flames across the street and one
of our neighbors told me a helicopter hit our house.
Robinson R44 Helicopter Wreckage Found
The main portion of the helicopter wreckage was found on a neighbor’s lawn across 97th Avenue. The helicopter was resting on its left side about 80 feet and about 106 degrees magnetic from the front of the impacted house. A debris path started at the rear of the second floor above the house’s central staircase where the helicopter had come through the roof. The debris path was observed down those central stairs and through the front of the house. The path continued across 97th Avenue and went up to the resting helicopter. The helicopter’s resting heading was about 180 degrees magnetic. The rear and lower portions of the helicopter cabin, inner portions of the fuel tanks, and the transmission between the fuel tanks were deformed and melted by fire. Sections of the main rotor blades remained attached to the rotor hub. The landing skids and crosstube were detached from the fuselage and were found in sections through out the debris path. The tail cone remained attached to the helicopter. The tail rotor gearbox separated from the tailcone. A circular area of lawn around the wreckage exhibited charring and blight. The hour meter read 318.6 hours.
An on-scene investigation was conducted. The engine was rotated by hand and it produced a thumb compression at all of its cylinders. The magnetos and fuel pumps sustained fire damage. The spark plugs were gray to brown in color and did not exhibit any anomalies. The fuel servo’s screen did not contain any debris. The engine’s oil screen did not contain any debris. Both fuel tanks were deformed by fire and contained a liquid with a blue hue. The tail rotor gearbox rotated by hand.
An NTSB investigation is continuing and a final report is not expected for months
September 14, 2008
Tourist Helicopter Crash Kills Four
Tourist / Sightseeing chopper crash kills in Australia. Four people - three of them believed to be tourists - are dead after a helicopter crashed in the Bungle Bungle ranges in Western Australia’s remote Kimberley region. The 40-year-old pilot and three women - one thought to be aged 19 and the other two 20 - were killed when the helicopter went down during a scenic flight to the Purnululu National Park yesterday afternoon. The helicopter burst into flames when it crashed 10km from the Bellburn air strip in the national park, near the Argyle diamond mine. The crash sparked a bushfire that built into a blaze with a 1km-long front. Bellburn airstrip, where the helicopter went down, is a bush camp in the park about 55km by air from the township of Warnum, which is also known as Turkey Creek.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is investigating this tragic helicopter crash. This crash comes seven months after two people died when a light plane collided with a helicopter over Western Australia’s Gascoyne region. The collision occurred as the two aircraft were conducting a feral goat culling program in the Kennedy Range National Park, 170km east of Carnarvon.
June 8, 2008
Air Ambulance Helicopter Crash in East Texas
Another Tragic EMS Helicopter Crash
Four die in air ambulance crash in the Sam Houston National Forest outside Huntsville, Texas on June 8, 2008. The EMS helicopter was owned and operated by PHI Inc. Listed as dead are the helicopter pilot Wayne Kirby, paramedic Stephanie Waters, flight nurse Jana Bishop and patient that was being transported, David Disman.
BREAKING NEWS ALERT: PHI Helicopter Crash Kills Eight - Jan. 4, 2009 near New Orleans, La.
Air Ambulance Crash Details
On June 8, 2008, at 0248 central daylight time, a Bell 407 helicopter, N416PH, owned by PHI, Inc., and operated as “Med 12″ was destroyed when it impacted a heavily forested area in the Sam Houston National Forest, near Huntsville, Texas. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The air ambulance flight was being operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on a company Visual Flight Rules flight plan. The pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic, and one passenger were fatally injured. The flight departed the Huntsville Memorial Hospital at 0246, after picking up a patient, and was en route to Herman Memorial Helipad, Houston, Texas.
The accident helicopter was equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) flight tracking system referred to as “Outerlink”. According to data from the Outerlink system, the helicopter powered up for flight at 0244:11 and departed the hospital at 0246:56. The last coordinates recorded were at 0247. The helicopter was at an altitude of 1,016 feet mean sea level and traveling at a groundspeed of 106 knots. The calculated direction of flight was 170 degrees. The flight was scheduled to report in at 0300. No transmissions were received.
TIMELINE OF THE CRASH
12:45 a.m.: Life Flight dispatcher receives a request from Huntsville Memorial Hospital to transport a patient to Memorial Hermann Hospital-The Texas Medical Center.
1:18 a.m.: Life Flight pilot tells dispatcher they are aborting the mission because of the weather. About two minutes later, the dispatcher notifies Huntsville hospital officials that the mission is canceled.
2:45 a.m.: PHI Air Medical dispatcher in Montgomery County tells the Life Flight dispatcher that one of their helicopters is taking the patient to Memorial Hermann.
2:47 a.m.: Last radio transmission from PHI helicopter is heard.
The wreckage was located by aerial search and rescue teams at 0830, about 2.5 miles southwest of the last known coordinates, with the aid of the 406 emergency locator transmitter (ELT). Debris was scattered approximately 630 feet from the initial impact point to the farthest point of the main wreckage. The debris path included the aft portion of the tail boom (including the vertical fin, tail rotor, and portions of the driveshaft), the mast and transmission assembly, and three of the four main rotor blades. The fuselage separated into three sections, the aft portion (including the engine), the center portion (cabin area), and the forward section (cockpit). Following the on-scene examination, the wreckage was recovered and relocated to a hangar for further detailed examination.
The closest official weather observation station was Huntsville Municipal Airport (UTS), Huntsville, Texas, located 8 nautical miles (nm) north of the accident site. The elevation of the weather observation station was 363 feet msl. The routine aviation weather report (METAR) for UTS, issued at 0235, reported, winds variable at 6 knots, visibility 10 miles; sky condition scattered 1,200 feet; temperature 26 degrees Celsius (C); dew point 23 degrees C; altimeter 29.97 inches.
According to the United States Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department Sun and Moon Data, the moon rose at 1023 on the preceding day and set at 0015 the day of the accident. The moon was waxing crescent with 30 percent of the moon’s visible disk illuminated. Air Ambulance Crash NTSB Report DEN08FA101
June 3, 2006
Juneau Sightseeing Helicopter Crash
Poor Lighting Suspected in Juneau Helicopter Crash
JUNEAU — Poor visibility may have contributed to the crash of a sightseeing helicopter on the Mendenhall Glacier. Three passengers on board received what officials said were minor injuries in the crash Wednesday of a Coastal Helicopters Bell 206. (June 3, 2006)
September 20, 2003
Helicopter Collides with Grand Canyon Wall
On September 20, 2003, about 1238 mountain standard time, an Aerospatiale AS350BA helicopter, N270SH, operated by Sundance Helicopters, Inc., crashed into a canyon wall while maneuvering through Descent Canyon, about 1.5 nautical miles (nm) east of Grand Canyon West Airport (1G4) in Arizona. The pilot and all six passengers on board were killed, and the helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. The air tour sightseeing flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed for the flight, which was operated under visual flight rules on a company flight plan. The sightseeing / tourist helicopter was transporting passengers from a helipad at 1G4 (helipad elevation 4,775 feet mean sea level [msl]) near the upper rim of the Grand Canyon to a helipad designated “the Beach” (elevation 1,300 msl) located next to the Colorado River at the floor of the Grand Canyon.
About 0745, the accident pilot flew the accident helicopter on an operational check flight at the company’s base at McCarran International Airport (LAS), Las Vegas, Nevada. After the short local flight, Sundance ground personnel (consisting of loaders and a tour coordinator) boarded the helicopter about 0840 and flew with the accident pilot on a 45-minute flight from LAS to 1G4 to commence the day’s Descent Canyon tour operations. The director of operations estimated that each flight from 1G4 to the Beach helipad lasted about 3.5 minutes (see figure 1).
Figure 1. Topographic chart showing the 1G4 departure site, the accident site, and the prescribed route through Descent Canyon to the Beach helipad.
These tourist flights were part of an advertised tour package in which Sundance pilots flew passengers through Descent Canyon, dropped them off at the Beach helipad for a scenic boat ride on the Colorado River, then picked them up at the Beach helipad later in the day for a return flight to 1G4 through another scenic canyon.
The accident flight was the pilot’s 11th flight through Descent Canyon that day. The tourist / sightseeing helicopter lifted off from 1G4 about 1237 and flew to the rim of Descent Canyon. The tour coordinator stated that she did not hear the pilot make either the first customary radio call stating that he was lifting off from the helipad or the second customary radio call advising that he was entering Descent Canyon en route to the Beach helipad. A pilot for Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters, who departed in his helicopter from 1G4 and flew through Descent Canyon about 2 minutes before the accident flight, stated that he did not hear any radio calls from the accident pilot and did not know that a helicopter was behind him in the canyon.
The Sundance tour coordinator and a Papillon loader at 1G4 stated that they observed the accident helicopter hover at the rim of Descent Canyon for about 30 to 45 seconds before beginning a level descent. They stated that the helicopters usually flew directly from the loading pads to the top of Descent Canyon and either nosed down into the canyon or hovered for only a few seconds before descending nose-low into the canyon. The Sundance tour coordinator stated that ground personnel assumed that the accident pilot may have been waiting for the Papillon helicopter to clear the canyon before he initiated his descent.
The Papillon pilot who descended his helicopter ahead of the accident flight stated that, while he was approaching the helipad next to the Colorado River, he noticed a fireball rising on the canyon wall behind him in Descent Canyon. There were no known witnesses or air traffic control radar data to provide information on the accident flight’s progress inside the canyon after it descended out of view of the witnesses at 1G4.
The main wreckage was located on a canyon wall ledge about 400 feet beyond a near?vertical canyon wall that showed evidence of gouging consistent with a main rotor blade strike (see figure 2).
Figure 2. Initial main rotor blade impact location and main wreckage location. Note: This photograph was taken by a National Transportation Safety Board investigator on February 4, 2004, during a canyon topography documentation flight. The wreckage was previously removed from the site.
Figure 3. Overview of initial main rotor blade impact location, main wreckage location, and prescribed route of flight. Note: This photograph was taken by a Safety Board investigator on February 4, 2004, during a canyon topography documentation flight. The wreckage was previously removed from the site.
Figure 4. Main wreckage debris field.
SOURCE: NTSB
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