# Accident 20120630012159A: Aerospatiale AS350BA, Camp Verde, AZ, June 30, 2012 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: June 30, 2012, 12:07 local time - Place: Camp Verde, AZ - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 34.4444° N, 111.7894° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.4444&lon=-111.7894&mi=10 - Aircraft: N729DP, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N729DP-2014-11-25) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Aerospatiale AS350B (registry code 8680800, https://openairdocs.org/model/aerospatiale-as350b) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-1SER (registry code 60030, https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-arriel-1ser) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AEROSPATIALE AS350BA - Reported engine: TURBOMECA ARRIEL 1B - People aboard: 4 - Fatal injuries: 4 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Private pilot - NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR12FA282](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR12FA282) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120630012159A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON JUNE 30, 2012, HELICOPTER N729DP, AN AS350BA, WAS REPORTED MISSING BY CONCERNED FAMILY MEMBERS. APPARENTLY, ON 6/30/12, AT 08:25 LOCAL TIME, PILOT AND OWNER OF N729DP, RAY PERRY DEPARTED SDL AIRPORT HEADING TOWARD SEZ WITH THREE OTHER PERSONS ONBOARD THE AIRCRAFT. CIVIL AIR PATROL RADAR ANALYSIS RECORDED A CELL PHONE PING OF ONE OF THE OCCUPANTS PHONE AT 12:07 LOCAL TIME, JUST SOUTH OF CAMP VERDE. THE REGIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER REPORTED THAT YAVAPAI COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE (YCSO), FOUND AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE ON 7/1/12, WITHIN 0.25 MILES OF THE LAST KNOWN PING. FOUR FATALITIES WERE LATER CONFIRMED.THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED IN A DEEP CANYON OF THE VERDE RIVER, 8.6 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF CAMP VERDE, ARIZONA. THE HELICOPTER WAS LAYING ON ITS RIGHT SIDE IN APPROXIMATELY 4-5 FEET OF WATER IN THE CENTER OF THE VERDE RIVER. VERTICAL CLIFFS EXTEND UP FROM THE RIVER BED APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET ON BOTH THE EAST AND WEST SIDE OF THE RIVER. APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET NORTH OF THE WRECKAGE, WAS A CABLE AND CART PULLEY SYSTEM THAT SPANNED THE RIVER, AND IS ESTIMATED TO HAVE BEEN ELEVATED 40-50 FEET ABOVE THE RIVER. THE STEEL CABLE WAS FOUND SEVERED AND THE CARRIAGE, LOCATED ON THE ACCESS PLATFORM, DEFORMED. THE CABLE ENDS WERE BROOMSTRAWED CONSISTENT WITH OVERLOAD FAILURE. THE CABLE END LOCATED ON THE EAST BANK, HAD GREY PAINT AND COMPOSITE BLADE FIBERS IMBEDDED IN THE CABLE STRANDS AT THE CABLE END.THE AIRCRAFT STRUCTURE WAS HEAVILY FRAGMENTED AND SCATTERED ALONG THE DEBRIS PATH (APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET IN LENGTH). ALL THE IMPACT SIGNATURES WERE RELATIVELY CONSISTENT WITH A NORMAL CRUISE TYPE AIR SPEED AND WIRE/CABLE STRIKE, FOLLOWED BY A SURFACE OF WATER IMPACT. IN ADDITION, TWO OF THREE MAIN ROTOR BLADES HAD THEIR OUTBOARD SECTIONS (APPROXIMATELY 3 FT) SEPARATED FROM THE REST OF THE BLADE CONSISTENT WITH A CABLE STRIKE IMPACT TO THE LEADING EDGE. SIGNATURE MARKS ON TWO OF THE BLADES' LEADING EDGES, AT THEIR SEPARATION POINTS, WERE CONSISTENT WITH A PATTERN OF CABLE BRAIDING FROM THE CABLE PULLEY SYSTEM THAT CROSSED THE SPAN (265 FT) OF THE RIVER NEAR THE ACCIDENT SITE.THE MAIN TRANSMISSION, AND THE ROTOR MAST ASSEMBLY WITH ALL BLADES ATTACHED, WAS FOUND SEPARATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT STRUCTURE. ALL FOUR OF THE TRANSMISSION SUSPENSION BARS WERE BROKEN WITH OVERLOAD FRACTURES. THE TRANSMISSION CROSS MEMBER (DOG BONE) EXHIBITED AN OVERLOAD SIGNATURE AND A TORSIONAL FRACTURE MID-SPAN. THE ROTOR HUB'S BLADE ATTACHMENT STAR ARMS WERE BROKEN MID-SPAN. ONE PITCH CHANGE ROD EXHIBITED BENDING DAMAGE TO THE ROD MID-SPAN WITH A SIGNATURE OF THE CABLE STRIATION ACROSS THE ROD. THE OTHER ROD WAS SEPARATED AT ITS LOWER CONNECTION. THE REDUCTION GEARBOX INPUT PINION AND SPLINE NUT WERE MISALIGNMENT APPROXIMATELY 1MM, CONSISTENT WITH ENGINE DRIVE DURING AN IMPACT OF THE MAIN ROTOR. ## 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 WPR12FA282](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR12FA282), Jun 30, 2012: Aerospatiale AS350B (N729DP), Camp Verde, AZ, substantial damage, 4 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's improper decision to fly at a low altitude through a river canyon, contrary to voluntary guidance within the Special Conservation Area, which led to collision with a cable. Contributing… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.