# Incident 20010714018129I: Bell 407, Olney, MT, July 14, 2001

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 14, 2001, 00:02 local time
- Place: Olney, MT
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: CXVA
- Location: 48.5470° N, 114.5726° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Olney, MT, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.5470&lon=-114.5726&mi=10
- Aircraft: N407KH, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N407KH) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 407 (registry code 1182206, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-407) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Allison 250 SER 317HP (registry code 03011, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-ser-317hp) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 407
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 13,050 total, 130 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010714018129I

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON JULY 14, 2001, AT 0002 MDT, AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE HELICOPTER HIT A TREE DURING AN APPROACH INTO AN OFF-AIRPORT LANDING SITE. VMC CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME.  THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THERE WAS NO CLOUD COVER OR RESTRICTIONS TO VISIBILITY.  THERE WAS NO MOON ILLUMINATION AS MOONRISE WOULD NOT OCCUR UNTIL 0130 MDT.  THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT THE KALISPELL REGIONAL HOSPITAL 15 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT.  THE HELICOPTER CREW CONSISTED OF THE PILOT, A PARAMEDIC AND A FLIGHT NURSE.  THEY WERE ATTEMPTIG TO MEET A GROUND AMBULANCE TO TRANSFER A PATIENT FROM EUREKA, MT.  THE PICKUP SITE ALONG THE HIGHWAY HAD BEEN USED ROUTINELY DURING PREVIOUS TRANSFERS.  THE PILOT STATED HE INITIATED AN OVERHEAD PATTERN TO THE LANDING ZONE (LZ).  HE WAS USING THE NIGHT SUN LANDING LIGHT BUT WAS GETTING "WASHOUT" REFLECTION AT APPROXIMATELY 300'AGL AND TURNED THE LIGHT OUT UNTIL ON FINAL APPROACH.  THE GROUND AMBULANCE MISSED THE TURNOFF TO THE LZ AND THE HELICOPTER CREW WAS TALKING TO AND OBSERVING THE GROUND AMBULANCE STOP AND RETURN TO FIND THE LZ TURNOFF.  THE PILOT STATED THAT HE FLEW A WIDER THAN NORMAL APPROACH PATTERN AND ON DOWNWIND THE PARAMEDIC CALLED RISING TERRAIN.  THE PILOT STATED HE STARTED AN IMMEDIATE FLARE AND PART OF A TREE CRASHED THROUGH THE RIGHT (PILOT'S) WINDSHIELD AND CHIN BUBBLE. THE PILOT STATED HE CHECKED ROTOR RPM AT 100% AND VERIFIED A/C CONTROLLABILITY.  HE THEN FLEW TO THE HOSPITAL HELIPAD RATHER THAN ATTEMPT A LANDING AT THE ORIGINAL INTENDED LZ.  ON SITE INSPECTION REVEALED THAT THE A/C SUSTAINED DAMAGE TO BOTH WNDSHIELDS, THE RIGHT CHIN BUBBLE, AND A 3" CRACK IN THE NOSE FIBERGLASS. THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES HAD CONTACTED A TREE WITHOUT ANY DEFORMATION OR DAMAGE. IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE A/C IMPACTED THE TREE IN RAPIDLY RISING TERRAIN APPROXIMATELY 250' HIGHER THAN AND 3500' SSW OF THE INTENDED LZ.  A RADAR ALTIMETER WAS INSTALLED AND OPERATIONAL IN THE A/C AND HAD BEEN SET AT 180'.

## Other reports on N407KH (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 20061103023339A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20061103023339A), Nov 3, 2006: Bell 407 (N407KH), Kalispell, MT, Substantial damage. (-23) Alert helicopters took off from a helipad, located at Kalispell regional medical center, on a flight to bigfork, Montana, to pick up a patient. About 4…

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.