Eurocopter AS-350 B2 Medical Helicopter Crash
Fault found with pilot in Eurocopter AS-350 B2 Medical Helicopter crash
In the September 2009 Eurocopter AS-350 B2 OmniFlight medical helicopter crash in South Carolina, the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) said the Texas company contributed to the crash because it did not have a formal dispatch system which required its pilots to check in with dispatchers before taking off.
A formalized dispatch system could have helped the pilot realize there were storms between the Charleston hospital where he dropped off the patient and the helicopter’s home base in Conway, South Carolina.
In the 2009 Eurocopter AS-350 South Carolina crash, Pilot Patrick Walters, Flight Nurse Diana Conner, and Paramedic Randolph Claxton Dove, died in the crash. Pilot Patrick Walters likely became confused by low clouds and stormy conditions and lost control of his helicopter, according to the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB).
The pilot could have returned to Charleston Air Force Base/International Airport or landed at an alternate location. Instead, the pilot chose to enter the area of weather, despite the availability of safer options.
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