# Accident 20040713013449A: Bell 407, Newberry, SC, July 13, 2004

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 13, 2004, 05:35 local time
- Place: Newberry, SC
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Climb
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: M3XA
- Location: 34.4169° N, 81.7000° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.4169&lon=-81.7000&mi=10
- Aircraft: N503MT, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N503MT-2010-02-09) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 407 (registry code 1182206, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-407) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Allison 250-C47 series (registry code 03029, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c47-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 407
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 4
- Pilot flight hours: 2,210 total, 137 in this make and model, 39 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI04MA182](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI04MA182) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040713013449A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON JULY 13, 2004, AT 0535 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A BELL 407 HELICOPTER, N503MT, OPERATED BY MED-TRANS CORPORATION, WAS ON AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (EMS) MISSION WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TREES SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM INTERSTATE HIGHWAY I-26 NEAR NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA. THE PILOT, FLIGHT NURSE, FLIGHT PARAMEDIC, AND PATIENT RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. THE HELICOPTER WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT AND POST-CRASH FIRE. THE 14 CFR PART 135 EMS FLIGHT WAS ENROUTE TO THE SPARTANBURG REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER WHERE IT HAD DEPARTED AT 0502. NIGHT VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS WITH MIST AND LIGHT FOG PREVAILED IN THE AREA OF THE ACCIDENT SITE. THE FLIGHT WAS ON A COMPANY FLIGHT PLAN AND WAS RECEIVING FLIGHT FOLLOWING FROM REGIONAL ONE COMMUNICATIONS PROVIDED BY SPARTANBURG 911.

## 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 CHI04MA182](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI04MA182), Jul 13, 2004: Bell 407 (N503MT), Newberry, SC, destroyed, 4 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain terrain clearance as a result of fog conditions. A contributing factor was inadequate weather and dispatch information relayed to the pilot.

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.