Pilot Debrief

EUROCOPTER AS 350 B2 near Loris, SC — 2009-07-03

Final reportERA09LA378
Sign in to save
Date
2009-07-03
Location
Loris, SC, USA
Airport
5SC5
Aircraft
EUROCOPTER AS 350 B2
Registration
N53963
Category
Helicopter
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The crew's failure to see and avoid a steel pole during a nighttime approach to the helipad.

NTSB narrative

The pilot was performing a visual nighttime approach to a hospital heliport to pick up a patient for transport. The pilot flew the final approach west, into the wind. As the helicopter approached the helipad the two onboard clinicians were calling out obstructions, such as trees and light poles. About 5 feet above the helipad the tailrotor struck a short steel pole adjacent to the helipad. The helicopter shuttered and vibrated, but the pilot was able to continue the landing. Although all three crewmembers had been to the heliport before, they forgot about the short steel poles aligned adjacent to the helipad. The recorded weather at an airport approximately 15 miles northeast of the accident site, about the time of the accident, included calm wind, clear skies, and visibility of 10 miles. After the accident, the hospital removed the short steel poles adjacent to the helipad and the Federal Aviation Administration initiated research into the crew training, operations specifications, and the history of the poles being erected near the helipad. Additionally, the operator’s regional safety manager stated that all pilots have begun additional training to position aircraft in such a manner to ensure that all components of the aircraft are clear of all hazards on the periphery or boundaries of marked landing zones/heliports, rather than attempting to place the center of the aircraft at the center of the landing zone/heliport. The operator also initiated a reassessment of hazards at landing zones/heliports within each of their regions’ normal operating area, and reported that the information from the reassessments will be added as part of normal preflight briefings and risk assessments.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have landed further into the landing zone to avoid obstacles.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 5 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents5

Related mishaps