# Accident 20070522011779A: Snias AS350B3, San Elizario, TX, May 22, 2007

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 22, 2007, 08:45 local time
- Place: San Elizario, TX
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 31.5792° N, 106.2844° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.5792&lon=-106.2844&mi=10
- Aircraft: N851BP, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N851BP-2009-02-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Eurocopter AS 350 B3 (registry code 8680954, https://openairdocs.org/model/eurocopter-as-350-b3) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-2B1 (registry code 60056, https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-arriel-2b1) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SNIAS AS350B3
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 5,000 total, 0 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DFW07GA119](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DFW07GA119) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20070522011779A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON MAY 22, 2007 AT 0838 MDT, A EUROCOPTER AS 350 B3, N851BP, REGISTERED TO US BORDER PATROL AIR OPERATIONS, COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN WHILE PERFORMING MANEUVERS ALONG THE US AND MEXICO BORDER. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED, THE CERTIFICATED ATP PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED AND THE OBSERVER WAS CRITICALLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT EL PASO, TX ON MAY 22, 2007 AT 0645 MDT.

## 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 DFW07GA119](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DFW07GA119), May 22, 2007: Eurocopter AS 350 B3 (N851BP), San Elizario, TX, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's encounter with a vortex ring state and his inability to maintain control of the helicopter.

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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