20090925025539A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Eurocopter AS 350 B2 E · Georgetown, SC · September 25, 2009

Date: September 25, 2009 · 23:37 local
Place: Georgetown, SC
Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Operator: RXMA
Damage: Destroyed
Aircraft: N417AE
NTSB investigation: NTSBERA09FA537
Reported as: Eurocopter AS 350 B2 E
Reported engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-1SER
People aboard: 3
Fatal injuries: 3
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
Pilot’s flight hours: 4,600 total350 in this make and model108 in the last 90 days

N417AERegistration cancelled Jun 22, 2010 · Eurocopter AS 350 B2 ECUREUILS/N 9032 · Built 2000 Airframe modelEurocopter AS 350 B2 ECUREUIL Engine modelTurbomeca ARRIEL-1SERTurbo-shaft

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

The flight crew landed chareston, SC (kchs)for a medical drop off. The pilot refueled and check weather for conway, SC. He check radar and saw a line of thunderstorms moving s-se but the crew made the decison to depart and work their way through the two lines of thunderstorms. The aircraft crashed 1.9 NM from the Georgetown airport, Georgetown, SC.

As the FAA filed it

THE FLIGHT CREW LANDED CHARESTON, SC (KCHS)FOR A MEDICAL DROP OFF. THE PILOT REFUELED AND CHECK WEATHER FOR CONWAY, SC. HE CHECK RADAR AND SAW A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING S-SE BUT THE CREW MADE THE DECISON TO DEPART AND WORK THEIR WAY THROUGH THE TWO LINES OF THUNDERSTORMS. THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED 1.9 NM FROM THE GEORGETOWN AIRPORT, GEORGETOWN, SC.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.

NTSB ERA09FA537Accident · 3 fatalField investigationFinal reportGeorgetown, SCThe pilot’s decision to continue the visual flight rules flight into an area of instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the pilot’s spatial disorientation and a loss of control of the helicopter. Contributing to the accident was the inadequate…Sep 26, 2009 · Destroyed

Other reports on N417AE · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

Accident 20080521834049ATo Vertical (Helicopter Only) · Hiram, GA(-23) During normal run-up, after full advance of the throttle to flight RPM, with the collective in the locked position, the aircraft began a violent lateral vibration, causing the aircraft to laterally "buck". Control of the aircraft was accomplished by…May 21, 2008 · Substantial damage