# Accident 20000226009259A: Bell 412, Karns, TN, February 26, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 26, 2000, 02:16 local time
- Place: Karns, TN
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Hovering
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.9695° N, 83.9396° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.9695&lon=-83.9396&mi=10
- Aircraft: N411UT (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BELL 412
- Reported engine: PWA PT6T3B
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 5,891 total, 1,838 in this make and model, 46 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA00LA098](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00LA098) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000226009259A

## Narrative

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

(-23) MEDIVAC HELICOPTER WAS ENROUTE TO AN L/Z FOR PATIENT PICK UP. AFTER LANDING, PIC REALIZED THE GROUND SLOPE WAS EXCESSIVE FOR ENGINE SHUT DOWN. WHILE TRYING TO REPOSITION TO A MORE LEVEL SURFACE THE TAIL ROTOR STRUCK A SMALL TREE AND SEPARATED FROM THE HELICOPTER. PIC LANDED IMMEDIATELY. NO INJURIES, SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO HELICOPTER. (.4) ON FEBRUARY 26, 2000, AT ABOUT 0216 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A BELL 412, N411UT, REGISTERED TO UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM INC., OPERATING AS A 14 CFR PART 91 AIR AMBULANCE POSITIONING FLIGHT, EXPERIENCED AN IN-FLIGHT COLLISION WITH A TREE WITH MANEUVERING AT A ROAD SIDE LANDING ZONE (LZ). VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND A COMPANY FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE HELICOPTER SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT, FLIGHT NURSE AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN REPORTED NO INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED ABOUT 15 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT.  THE PILOT STATED HE LANDED AT AN LZ TO PICK UP INJURED PERSONAL. THE SLOPE WAS OF THE TERRAIN WAS TOO STEEP, SO HE DECIDED TO REPOSITION THE HELICOPTER AND PICKED UP TO A HOVER. HE WAS LOOKING OUT THE LEFT SIDE OF THE HELICOPTER WATCHING WIRES NEXT TO                                  A DRIVEWAY. HE TURNED THE TAIL TO THE RIGHT AND THE TAIL ROTOR COLLIDED WITH ABOUT A 15-FOOT-TALL TREE. THERE WERE LOUD GRINDING NOISES AND THE HELICOPTER YAWED TO THE RIGHT. HE REDUCED COLLECTIVE AND THE HELICOPTER CAME TO REST ON THE SKIDS.

## 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 MIA00LA098](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00LA098), Feb 26, 2000: Bell 412 (N411UT), Karns, TN, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain a visual lookout while repo sitioning the helicopter at a road side landing zone resulting in an in-flight (hover) collision with a tree.

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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