# Accident 19980605012429A: Snias AS350BA, La Gloria, TX, June 5, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: June 5, 1998, 05:49 local time - Place: La Gloria, TX - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Prw On Run Landing (Rotorcraft - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Operator: TXEA - Location: 26.5809° N, 98.5205° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.5809&lon=-98.5205&mi=10 - Aircraft: N911VA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N911VA-1999-02-04) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Aerospatiale AS350B (registry code 8680800, https://openairdocs.org/model/aerospatiale-as350b) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: SNIAS AS350BA - Reported engine: TMECA ARRIEL1B - People aboard: 3 - Fatal injuries: 3 - Pilot flight hours: 2,950 total, 80 in this make and model - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98FA256](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA256) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980605012429A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. AIR AMBULANCE WAS EN ROUTE TO ACCIDENT WHEN IT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRC, ALL 3 POB SUFFERED FATAL INJ. (.4) ON JUNE 5, 1998, AT APPROXIMATELY 0549 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A EUROCOPTER AS350BA MEDICAL AMBULANCE HELICOPTER, N911VA, WAS DESTROYED UPON IMPACT WITH TREES AND TERRAIN NEAR LA GLORIA, TEXAS. THE INSTRUMENT RATED COMMERCIAL PILOT, AND 2 MEDICAL TECHNICIANS ON BOARD THE HELICOPTER, WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE HELICOPTER WAS OWNED BY METRO AIR OF SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA, WAS BEING OPERATED BY TEX-AIR HELICOPTERS OF HOUSTON, TEXAS. DARK NIGHT VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE TITLE 14 CFR PART 135 FLIGHT FOR WHICH A COMPANY VFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED FROM A HELIPORT NEAR HARLINGEN, TEXAS, AT 0514, WITH AN AIRSTRIP NEAR LA GLORIA, TEXAS, AS ITS INTENDED DESTINATION. THE HELICOPTER WAS DISPATCHED TO PICK UP AND TRANSPORT THE DRIVER OF AN 18-WHEELER TANKER TRUCK, WHO HAD BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED WHEN HE LOST CONTROL OF HIS TRUCK WHILE DRIVING IN REDUCED VISIBILITY ON HIGHWAY 755. THE PILOT WAS NOT PROVIDED THE COORDINATES OF THE TRUCK ACCIDENT SITE; HOWEVER, HE WAS FAMILAR WITH THE TOWN OF LA GLORIA, TEXAS, WHICH HE PLANNED TO USE AS THE INITIAL POINT FOR LOCATING HWY 755 PRIOR TO PROCEEDING TOWARDS KELSEY BASS TO PICK UP THE INJURED TRUCK DRIVER. KELSEY BASS IS LOCATED XX MILES WEST (?) OF LA GLORIA. THE HELICOPTER, OPERATING UNDER THE CALL SIGN "AIR CARE ONE", DEPARTED ITS HOME BASE HELIPORT WITH 1 HOUR AND 55 MINUTES OF FUEL ON BOARD. AT 0529, THE PILOT REPORTED HE WAS ENROUTE OVER THE EDINBURG AIRPORT, ESTIMATING ARRIVAL AT THE ACCIDENT SITE IN 16 MINUTES. ACCORDING TO THE OPERATOR, THE A/C HAD BEEN ASSIGNED A MODE C TRANSPONDER CODE OF 5377, AND WAS FLIGHT FOLLOWING WITH THE COMPANY DISPATCHER AT HOME BASE. ACCORDING TO RECORDED RADAR DATA, THE HELICOPTER WAS LAST OBSERVED BY ATC RADAR AT 0547 AT AN ALTITUDE OF 1,800 FEET WHILE APPROX. 2 MILES SOUTHEAST OF THE A/C ACCIDENT SITE. IN THE LAST POSITION REPORT TO HOME BASE AT 0539, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS "5 MINUTES OUT" FROMHIS DESTINATION AND ANNOUNCED THAT HE WAS "SWITCHING TO GROUND". THE HELICOPTER FAILED TO ARRIVE AT ITS DESTINATION AND A SEARCH WAS INITIATED. NO REPORTED DISTRESS CALLS WERE RECEIVED FROM THE HELICOPTER. THERE WERE NO REPORTED EYEWITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT. (-23) AIRCRAFT LEFT BASE ON EMS CALL AND WAS IN RADIO CONTACT. AIRCRAFT CEASED TRANSMISSION. AIRCRAFT FOUND THE NEXT DAY; ALL OCCUPANTS FATAL. SITE AND RECORDS INVESTIGATION DID NOT REVEAL ANY DISCREPANCIES. AIRCRAFT FIRE DESTROYED THE AIRCRAFT. THE FIRE WAS BELIEVED TO HAVE HAPPENED ON IMPACT. AIRCRAFT STARTED OPERATION BY ENTERING BLOWING MEXICAN SMOKE AT NIGHT TIME CONDITIONS AND INTO A SEVERELY DARK OPERATIONAL AREA. ## 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 FTW98FA256](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA256), Jun 5, 1998: Eurocopter AS350BA (N911VA), La Gloria, TX, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's continued flight into adverse weather conditions resulting in a loss of control due to spatial disorientation. Contributing factors were the dark night illumination, the lack of visual… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.