# Accident 20050714015059A: Bolkms BK117B2, Houston, TX, July 14, 2005

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 14, 2005, 08:10 local time
- Place: Houston, TX
- Airport: Clover Field Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: GVNA
- Location: 29.5211° N, 95.2422° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.5211&lon=-95.2422&mi=10
- Aircraft: N440HH (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BOLKMS BK117B2
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 6,709 total, 2,950 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DFW05CA181](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DFW05CA181) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050714015059A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON JULY 14, 2005, AT APPROXIMATELY 0810 CST, AN MBB-BK117-B2 HELICOPTER SERIAL NUMBER 7238, REGISTERED AS N440HH, WAS BEING OPERATED BY HERMANN LIFE FLIGHT, A 14 CFR 135 AIR AMBULANCE OPERATOR (GVNA) WAS LANDING AT THE PEARLAND REGIONAL AIRPORT (KLVJ) USING RUNWAY 14L. THIS WAS THE TERMINATING POINT FOR THE 14 CFR 91 REPOSITIONING FLIGHT WHEN THE LEFT-SIDE SLIDING DOOR DEPARTED THE AIRCRAFT AND IMPACTED THE MAIN ROTOR SYSTEM. THE PILOT AND CABIN CREW ALL REPORTED THAT AT APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET AGL AND 55 KNOTS THE PILOT TOLD THE CABIN CREW THAT IT WAS OK TO OPEN THE SIDE DOORS IN PREPARATION FOR LANDING. THE LEFT-SIDE FLIGHT NURSE STATED THAT HE HAD JUST UNLATCHED THE SIDE DOOR WHEN THE BOTTOM FLEW UPWARD AND THE DOOR DEPARTED THE AIRCRAFT. THE FLIGHT CREW ALL REPORTED A LOUD BANG AND THE AIRCRAFT SHUTTERED, THE PILOT THEN LANDED THE AIRCRAFT WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT SHOWED THAT ALL FOUR MAIN ROTOR BLADES HAD SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND THAT THE LEFT-SIDE DOOR HAD BEEN DESTROYED. PARTS OF THE DOOR (APPROXIMATELY 90%) WERE RECOVERED FROM AN AREA ABOUT 75 FEET IN DIAMETER IN THE CENTER OF RUNWAY 14L APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET FROM THE APPROACH END. THE TOP LATCHES WERE IN GOOD CONDITION AND THE EMERGENCY EVACUATION PINS WERE ALSO IN GOOD CONDITION. THE TOP RAIL OF THE AIRCRAFT'S SLIDE FOR THE LEFT-SIDE DOOR SLIDE HAD DAMAGE WHERE THE DOOR HAD PULLED AWAY WITH AN UPWARD MOVEMENT AND THE BOTTOM DID NOT SHOW DAMAGE BUT HAD SIGNIFICANT WEAR IN THE AIRCRAFT AND DOOR RAILS AND RUNNERS. THE LOWER AIRCRAFT'S DOOR RAIL WAS INSPECTED FURTHER AND IT WAS NOTED THAT AT THE POINT WHERE THE AFT RUNNER CONTACTS THE RAIL WITH THE DOOR LATCHED WAS WORN TO A THICKNESS OF .035 FROM AN ORIGINAL DIMENSION OF .050 THICK. THE RUNNER WAS ALSO WORN AND WAS .010 THINNER AT THE TOP THAN THE BOTTOM. THE ROTORCRAFT DIRECTORATE IN FT WORTH WAS NOTIFIED ALONG WITH THE NTSB AND THE MANUFACTURER AS IT WAS ALSO FOUND THAT ON MAY 25, 2005, THAT A BK117 IN ST LOUIS, MISSOURI, HAD THE SAME TYPE OF OCCURRENCE AS THE LEFT-SIDE DOOR CAME OFF IN FLIGHT. THE OPERATOR HAS STOPPED THE PRACTICE OF OPENING THE SIDE DOORS IN-FLIGHT UNTIL A FIX OR CHANGE CAN BE FOUND.

## 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 DFW05CA181](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DFW05CA181), Jul 14, 2005: Messerschmitt BK-117 B-2 (N440HH), Houston, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The separation of the left passenger door due to worn attaching hardware.

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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