# Accident 20100325030809A: Eurocopter AS 350 B3, Brownsville, TN, March 25, 2010

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 25, 2010, 06:00 local time
- Place: Brownsville, TN
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: JPBA
- Location: 35.6072° N, 89.1950° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.6072&lon=-89.1950&mi=10
- Aircraft: N855HW, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N855HW-2011-05-24) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Eurocopter AS 350 B3 (registry code 8680954, https://openairdocs.org/model/eurocopter-as-350-b3) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: EUROCOPTER AS 350 B3
- Reported engine: TURBOMECA ARRIEL
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 3
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 4,600 total, 950 in this make and model, 51 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA10MA188](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA10MA188) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100325030809A

## Narrative

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

ON MARCH 25, 2010, AT APPROXIMATELY 0600 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME (CDT), N885HW, A EUROCOPTER AS-350-B3, REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE MEMPHIS MEDICAL AIR AMBULANCE SERVICE (DBA HOSPITAL WINGS) AS A PART 91 REPOSITIONING FLIGHT, CRASHED INTO A FIELD 1.8 MILES FROM THE BROWNSVILLE AMBULANCE SERVICE HELIPAD, BROWNSVILLE, TN.  THE PILOT AND TWO FLIGHT NURSES ON BOARD THE HELICOPTER WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED THE JACKSON-MADISON COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL HELIPORT (TN99) AND WAS ENROUTE TO THE BROWNSVILLE HELIPAD (TN05).  THE WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE REPORTED AS NIGHT INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS WITH REPORTS OF A MAJOR LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.

## 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 ERA10MA188](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA10MA188), Mar 25, 2010: Eurocopter AS-350-B3 (N855HW), Brownsville, TN, substantial damage, 3 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's decision to attempt the flight into approaching adverse weather, resulting in an encounter with a thunderstorm with localized instrument meteorological conditions, heavy rain, and severe…

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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