# Accident 20120518008469A: Aero Vodochody L-39, Boulder City, NV, May 18, 2012

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 18, 2012, 12:15 local time
- Place: Boulder City, NV
- Airport: Boulder City Municipal
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.9542° N, 114.8819° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.9542&lon=-114.8819&mi=10
- Aircraft: N39WT, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N39WT-2013-09-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aero Vodochody L-39 (registry code 05603SJ, https://openairdocs.org/model/aero-vodochody-l-39) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Ivchenko AI-25TL (registry code 34703, https://openairdocs.org/engine/ivchenko-ai-25tl) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AERO VODOCHODY L-39
- Reported engine: IVCHENKO AL-25TL
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR12FA216](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR12FA216) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120518008469A

## Narrative

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

AIRCRAFT HAD DEPARTED RUNWAY 27, BOULDER CITY AIRPORT, BOULDER CITY, NEVADA AT APPROXIMATELY 1215 HOURS 18 MAY 2012, AS THE #2 AIRCRAFT IN A FLIGHT FORMATION OF 2 L-39 AIRCRAFT. AT AN UNKOWN ALTITUDE, THE PILOT OF THE #2 AIRCRAFT DEVIATED FROM THE FLIGHT PATH, AS PREARRANGED WITH THE #1 AIRCRAFT. THE #2 AIRCRAFT TURNED TO THE RIGHT AND BEGAN A DESCENT, THE PILOT OF THE #1 AIRCRAFT RADIOED THE #2 AIRCRAFT REQUESTING INFORMATION FOR THE DEVIATION. THE #1 AIRCRAFT PILOT REPORTED THAT THE #2 AIRCRAFT PILOT TRANSMITTED THE WORD "CANOPY"; WHICH WAS THE LAST TRANSMISSION FROM THE #2 AIRCRAFT. N39WT, AN L-39, FOREIGN-BUILT, CZECHOSLOVAKIAN JET TRAINER, HAD IMPACTED THE GROUND, AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. THERE WERE TWO PERSONNEL STILL ABOARD, DECEASED, THE PILOT AND A PERSON IN THE COPILOT'S POSITION. PILOT OF THE #1 AIRCRAFT IMMEDIATELY TRANSMITTED A "MAYDAY" CALL TO THE BOULDER CITY AIRPORT. A FLIGHT OF SIX (6) MILITARY AH-64 (APACHE) HELICOPTERS WERE ENTERING THE AIR SPACE AT THAT TIME AND THE #2 HELICOPTER BROKE FROM FORMATION TO ASSIST THE DOWNED AIRCRAFT. L39 #1 (N139CK) RADIOED INFORMATION TO THE PILOT OF THE HELICOPTER TO ASSIST IN OPENING THE #2 L39 (N39WT) CANOPY TO ENABLE THE SHUTDOWN OF N39WT ENGINE, AS THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING AT A HIGH RATE. SMOKE WAS EMANATING FROM THE ENGINE AREA OF N39WT, WHICH INDICATED A POST ACCIDENT FIRE. ENGINE COULD NOT BE SHUT OFF AND FINALLY SHUT DOWN ON ITS OWN. THE PILOT OF THE APACHE HELICOPTER STATED THE OCCUPANTS OF THE L39 (N39WT) WERE DECEASED.

## 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 WPR12FA216](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR12FA216), May 18, 2012: Aero Vodochody L-39 (N39WT), Boulder City, NV, substantial damage, 2 fatal. Probable cause: An in-flight emergency followed by a collision with terrain for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination of the airframe, engine, and forward and aft canopies revealed no…

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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