19980312045109A

(.19) On March 12, 1998, at 1730 eastern standard time, a Bell 412 helicopter, N82628, operated by the federal bureau of investigation (fbi), was substantially damaged when the tail rotor struck the ground while landing at the federal bureau of investigation (fbi) training academy, Quantico, Virginia. The airline transport rated flight crew and one passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the public use flight that originated at the fbi academy helipad, at 1715. No flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR part 91. The pilot in the right seat was at the flight controls. The purpose of the flight was to complete "...a brief training evolution..." At the tactical emergency vehicle operations course (tevoc). During the event the helicopter was to follow a vehicle around the tevoc, until the vehicle performed a "j-turn" stop. The helicopter would then land and de-plane a passenger. In a written statement, the pilot said: "the helicopter was being utilized to trail a vehicle around the training track at the academy. The vehicle was being driven by a driving instructor and the entire sequence of events had been briefed. As the vehicle reached the point where a `j' turn was to be accomplished, the driver signaled, and executed the turn...due to the fact that the turn was on concrete it was completed in a shorter distance that I expected and I initiated a rapid deceleration to arrest the forward speed and bring the helicopter to a hover...the fact that the initial approach was downwind was discussed and taken into account." According to an interview summary provided by the fbi, the second pilot stated he was in the left seat and believed the mission had been authorized and coordinated. According to the summary: "[the second pilot] was seated on the left side of the aircraft, and that he again understood [the first pilot] to be the aircraft commander. They flew straight to the tevoc course, [the first pilot] was flying the aircraft. [The second pilot] stated that he still had no concept of what exactly they were going to do, he was aware they were going to follow a car around the track. He advised that he has never followed a car around the tevoc track in the past, nor is he aware of any training in the past that involved similar activity. [The second pilot] stated that after arriving at the tevoc course, they flew approximately 10 to 20 feet above the track while following a tevoc type car around the track. After completing a full lap, [the first pilot] completed a rapid or abrupt deceleration, during which [the second pilot] felt the tail stinger and possibly the boom contact the ground...[the second pilot] stated the abrupt deceleration performed by [the first pilot] surprised him given they were downwind, on an uphill grade, and they were downlow. He stated that he did not know what precipitated [the first pilot's] decision to abruptly decelerate." The pursuit of the vehicle by the helicopter was captured on videotape. A review of the videotape revealed the helicopter completed approximately two left-hand circuits around the tevoc in pursuit of the vehicle. The helicopter was flown over the pavement between and below the trees bordering each side of the roadway. The helicopter was observed to bank at angles greater than 30 degrees, with the main rotor tips in close proximity to the ground. During the second lap, the vehicle reversed direction as it performed the j-turn stop. The helicopter performed a deceleration, and the tailrotor separated from the helicopter after the tail skid, tailrotor, and tailboom struck the ground. The helicopter then leveled at a hover and began a spin to the right. The helicopter landed in an upright position while still in a right-hand turn. According to the pilot, he closed the throttle and performed a hovering autorotation when a left pedal input did not stop the spin. Examination of the damage and witness marks on the airframe revealed that at the time of ground contact, the nose-up pitch attitude of the helicopter had been approximately 30-35 degrees, with an approximate nose-left yaw of 23 degrees. Initial ground scars revealed an approximate magnetic direction of 099 degrees. At the Quantico marine corps airfield, 8 miles west of the tevoc, winds were reported from 280 degrees at 20 knots gusting to 27 knots. (-23)tail rotor strike during training maneuvers caused tail rotor separation. A hovering auto rotation was executed with no additional change to aricraft. (.4)the fbi helicopter completed two circuits around a training road course at low altitude in pursuit of an automobile. The supervisor of the road course arranged the scenario with the pilot, and an instructor drove the automobile. A second vehicle that followed the pursuit filmed the flight. During the second lap, the vehicle reversed direction as it performed a sudden stop. The helicopter performed a deceleration and the tail skid, tailrotor, and tailboom struck the ground. A request for copies of procedural, operational, maintenance, and safety related programs and documents revealed that they either did not exist, or they were in draft form and unapproved for use. The flight was neither trained for, nor was it briefed. The pilots received training from the helicopter manufacturer, but no agency mission training or evaluations were noted in the accident helicopter. The fbi convened an aviation accident review board (aarb). According to the board, '... [Unit] pilots worked under the 'fly one helicopter, fly all helicopter' assumption. Aarb members unanimously agreed that no management oversight of [unit] operations currently exists.'