# Incident 20110901022489I: Eurocopter AS 350 B3, Gerlach, NV, September 1, 2011

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 1, 2011, 00:35 local time
- Place: Gerlach, NV
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: CKLA
- Location: 40.6452° N, 119.3613° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Gerlach, NV, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.6452&lon=-119.3613&mi=10
- Aircraft: N902CF, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N902CF-2022-04-01) (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: EUROCOPTER AS 350 B3
- Reported engine: TURBOMECA ARRIEL 2B1
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 3,000 total, 333 in this make and model, 33 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110901022489I

## Narrative

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

ON SEPTEMBER 01, 2011, AT 0035 PST, A EUROCOPTER, MODEL NUMBER AS 350 B3, N902CF, REGISTERED TO ZIONS CREDIT CORPORATION. THE HELICOPTER WAS OPERATED BY AIR METHODS, LLC., WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND WHILE PERFORMING A RUN ON MANEUVER LANDING DURING A "BROWN OUT CONDITION". THE BROWN OUT CONDITION WAS CREATED BY THE DOWN WASH VORTICES BY THE ROTOR BLADES. THE INCIDENT TOOK PLACE DURING THE BURNING MAN EVENT, LOCATED IN GERLACH, NEVADA, WHILE ON A MEDICAL EMERGENCY RESPONSES CALL. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME. THE HELICOPTER HAD MINOR DAMAGE TO FRONT NOSE CONE WITH NO REPORTED INJURIES.

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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