20010330006409I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Snias AS350BA · Las Vegas, NV · March 30, 2001

Date
March 30, 2001 · 00:02 local
Place
Las Vegas, NV
Airport
Mc Carran International
Phase of flight
Normal Cruise
Operating rules
Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
Operator
M7KA
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N73MH
Reported as
Snias AS350BA
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
10,500 total2,500 in this make and model195 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23) PIC performed pre-flight and then completed two air tours to the grand canyon. Upon landing from the second and final flight, the a/c was shutdown and a post flight walk around was performed. The post flight revealed that the tail rotor had received damage which pierced the t/r blades skin completely through the blade. Upon further investigaiton, the PIC and maintenance personnel found that an air guide condensor fin had broken away from the right side of the fuselage air conditioning inlet port. The fin, the "l" bracket, or a combination of both may have struck the tail rotor blade.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) PIC PERFORMED PRE-FLIGHT AND THEN COMPLETED TWO AIR TOURS TO THE GRAND CANYON. UPON LANDING FROM THE SECOND AND FINAL FLIGHT, THE A/C WAS SHUTDOWN AND A POST FLIGHT WALK AROUND WAS PERFORMED. THE POST FLIGHT REVEALED THAT THE TAIL ROTOR HAD RECEIVED DAMAGE WHICH PIERCED THE T/R BLADES SKIN COMPLETELY THROUGH THE BLADE. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGAITON, THE PIC AND MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL FOUND THAT AN AIR GUIDE CONDENSOR FIN HAD BROKEN AWAY FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE FUSELAGE AIR CONDITIONING INLET PORT. THE FIN, THE "L" BRACKET, OR A COMBINATION OF BOTH MAY HAVE STRUCK THE TAIL ROTOR BLADE.