# Accident 19980330008049A: Snias AS350B, Soldotna, AK, March 30, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 30, 1998, 11:30 local time
- Place: Soldotna, AK
- Airport: Soldotna
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Practice Training Manuevers
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: R4AC
- Location: 60.3197° N, 150.7895° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=60.3197&lon=-150.7895&mi=10
- Aircraft: N158EH, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N158EH-2008-10-28) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Eurocopter AS 350 BA (registry code 8680955, https://openairdocs.org/model/eurocopter-as-350-ba) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-1SER (registry code 60030, https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-arriel-1ser) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SNIAS AS350B
- Reported engine: TMECA ARRIEL1B
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 16,000 total, 500 in this make and model, 3 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC98LA032](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC98LA032) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980330008049A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

PRACTICE FOR CHECK RIDE. SLOPE LANDINGS. ROLLED LEFT AND OVER. IMPACTED INVERTED. (FROM .4)  THE CERTIFICATED COMMERCIAL HELICOPTER PILOT WAS PRACTICING SLOPE LANDINGS IN PREPARATION  FOR AN UPCOMING CHECK RIDE.  ON THE SAME DAY OF THE ACCIDENT, ABOUT 4 HOURS AFTER THE ACCIDENT, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS POSITIONING THE HELICOPTER CLOSE TO THE HILL IN ORDER TO START THE MANEUVER.  THE NEXT THING THE PILOT RECALLS, THE HELICOPTER HAD ROLLED TO ITS LEFT, AND WAS UPSIDE DOWN AND ON TOP OF THE HILL THAT HE WAS ATTEMPTING TO LAND BESIDE.  THE DAY FOLLOWING THE ACCIDENT, THE PILOT AGAIN CONTACTED THE NTSB INVESTIGATOR-IN-CHARGE AND STATED THAT HE NOW SUSPECTED THAT THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT BECAME DISENGAGED, AND CAUSED THE ACCIDENT.  THE FORWARD TAIL ROTOR SHAFT ASSEMBLY, AND A PORTION OF THE ADJOINING REAR TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT WERE RETAINED BY THE NTSB, AND SENT TO THE NTSB MATERIALS LABORATORY FOR INSPECTION.  THE INSPECTION DISCOVERED NO EVIDENCE OF AN IN-FLIGHT DISENGAGEMENT OF THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT ASSEMBLY PRIOR TO IMPACT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ANC98LA032](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC98LA032), Mar 30, 1998: Aerospatiale AS-350B (N158EH), Soldotna, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadvertent dynamic rollover while performing a slope landing. Factors associated with the accident are the presence of rough and uneven terrain, and the pilot's improper slope landing…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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