# Accident 20021110032909A: Snias AS350B, Kingman, AZ, November 10, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: November 10, 2002, 11:55 local time
- Place: Kingman, AZ
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.3278° N, 113.8833° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.3278&lon=-113.8833&mi=10
- Aircraft: N909WA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N909WA-2017-06-15) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aerospatiale AS350B (registry code 8680800, https://openairdocs.org/model/aerospatiale-as350b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-1SER (registry code 60030, https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-arriel-1ser) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SNIAS AS350B
- Fatal injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX03LA027](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA027) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20021110032909A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON NOVEMBER 10, 2002, ABOUT 1155 HOURS MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, AN AEROSPATIALE AS350B, N909WA, COLLIDED WITH A TRANSMISSION LINE AND IMPACTED THE TERRAIN NEAR KINGMAN, ARIZONA. THE PILOT WAS OPERATING THE HELICOPTER UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91. TWO PASSENGERS SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES AND THE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. THE HELICOPTER SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE LOCAL FLIGHT DEPARTED KINGMAN AIRPORT ABOUT 15 MINUTES EARLIER THAT DAY TO SHOOT AN AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SEQUENCE. DAY VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS FILMING A MOTOR HOME FOR THE "RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT" TELEVISION SERIES. THE HELICOPTER WAS CRABBING SIDEWAYS, PARALLELING HIGHWAY 66 AS IT IMPACTED THE TRANSMISSION LINE. BOTH HE AND ANOTHER CREWMEMBER HAD NOTICED THE TRANSMISSION LINE JUST BEFORE THE IMPACT. BY THEN ONE ROTOR BLADE HAD STRUCK, SENDING THE HELICOPTER INTO A DESCENT. THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL OR WEATHER ISSUES. (-23) THIS FLIGHT WAS INVOLVED IN AN AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY MISSION FOR THE TELEVISION SHOW, "RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT." WHILE EN ROUTE TO THE REMOTE SI                                                        TE OF THE MAIN PHOTOGRAPHY EVENT, THE HELICOPTER WAS PHOTOGRAPHING THE SHOW'S MOTOR HOME TRAVELING ALONG ROUTE 66 NORTH OF KINGMAN, AZ. SINCE THERE WERE POWER LINES ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF ROUTE 66, THE PILOT FLEW NORTHBOUND ON THE EAST SIDE ABOUT 60 TO 75 FEET AGL. THE HELICOPTER WAS FLOWN WITH ABOUT A 30 DEGREE LEFT CRAB ANGLE TO FORWARD FLIGHT TO PROVIDE AN UNOBSTRUCTED VIEW FOR THE CAMERA. WHEN THE HELICOPTER MOVED AHEAD OF THE CARAVAN OF VEHICLES, THE PILOT SLOWED THE AIRCRAFT INTO AN OUT OF GROUND EFFECT HOVER TO ALLOW THE VEHICLES TO CATCH UP. AS THE MOTOR HOME MOVED ABEAM THE AIRCRAFT, THE PILOT INITIATED FORWARD FLIGHT. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE PILOT AND LEFT FRONT PASSENGER SAW A CABLE AND THE PILOT INITIATED A RAPID DECELERATION TO AVOID IT. HOWEVER, THE HELICOPTER STRUCK THE CABLE AND WAS FORCED TO THE GROUND. THE POWER CABLE WAS STRUNG FROM THE WEST SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY TO A POSITION EAST OF THE HELICOPTER'S FLIGHT PATH. THE SPAN OF CABLE CROSSING THE HIGHWAY HAD MUCH LONGER THAN USUAL SPACING BETWEEN ITS POLES MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT TO PERCEIVE THE CROSSING.

## 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 LAX03LA027](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA027), Nov 10, 2002: Aerospatiale AS350B (N909WA), Kingman, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's inadequate visual lookout and failure to maintain adequate clearance from transmission wires while performing low altitude operations.

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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