# Accident 20010922030019A: Snias AS350BA, Buttemeadows, CA, September 22, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 22, 2001, 20:05 local time
- Place: Buttemeadows, CA
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: NTQA
- Location: 39.7347° N, 121.8503° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.7347&lon=-121.8503&mi=10
- Aircraft: N911NT, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N911NT-2003-12-11) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aerospatiale AS350BA (registry code 8680817, https://openairdocs.org/model/aerospatiale-as350ba) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-1SER (registry code 60030, https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-arriel-1ser) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SNIAS AS350BA
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX01LA304](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA304) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010922030019A

## Narrative

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

(-23) DURING AN APPROACH TO A CONFINED AREA, THE PILOT LOST CONTACT WITH THE GROUND DUE TO AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF DIRT BEING BLOWN BY THE DOWNWASH OF THE ROTOR BLADE. THE PILOT ABORTED THE LANDING AND DURING HIS GO AROUND, THE HELICOPTER CAME IN CONTACT WITH TREES APPROXIMATELY 75 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THE PILOT SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES, ONE FLIGHT NURSE WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED AND THE OTHER SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED.

## 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 LAX01LA304](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA304), Sep 23, 2001: Aerospatiale AS350BA (N911NT), Chico, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's inadequate in-flight decision and delay in initiating a go-around during an encounter with brown out conditions, which led to his failure to maintain alignment of the helicopter with the…

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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