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20130324004199I

Incident · Minor damage
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FAA incident report · Eurocopter Deutschland EC 130 B4 · Atmore, AL · March 24, 2013

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal

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Date
March 24, 2013 · 17:00 local
Place
Atmore, AL
Phase of flight
Other, Specify
Operating rules
Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
Operator
QMLA
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N577LF
Reported as
Eurocopter Deutschland EC 130 B4
Reported engine
Turbomeca ARRIEL-2B1
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Commercial pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
7,184 total49 in this make and model23 in the last 90 days
N577LFRegistered now · Eurocopter EC 130 B4S/N 7362 · Built 2012Airframe modelEurocopter EC 130 B4Engine modelTurbomeca ARRIEL-2B1Turbo-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.

On 03-24-2013 life flight 1, N577LF, responded to a scene call in Atmore, Alabama. The ceiling and visibility were unlimited. The wind was out of the west. The aircraft landed at the scene at 17:25. The helicopter was parked facing south toward the ambulance. The engine was brought back to idle. The cyclic was centered with the friction applied. The aircraft was shut down and the patient access door was opened for the medical crew to unload the stretcher. A gust of wind caught the open door causing the strut assembly (compensating cylinder) to fail at the attach point on the airframe, which allowed the right, front cabin door to swing upward and make contact with the main rotor. The door was damaged from the corner of the door to the window seal. All three blades had scratches on them from contact with the door. The rotor was at less than 100 RPM with the rotor brake applied when contact was made with the door. The checklist was completed for shutdown. The aircraft was taken out of service and the patient was transported by ambulance.

As the FAA filed it

ON 03-24-2013 LIFE FLIGHT 1, N577LF, RESPONDED TO A SCENE CALL IN ATMORE, ALABAMA. THE CEILING AND VISIBILITY WERE UNLIMITED. THE WIND WAS OUT OF THE WEST. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED AT THE SCENE AT 17:25. THE HELICOPTER WAS PARKED FACING SOUTH TOWARD THE AMBULANCE. THE ENGINE WAS BROUGHT BACK TO IDLE. THE CYCLIC WAS CENTERED WITH THE FRICTION APPLIED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SHUT DOWN AND THE PATIENT ACCESS DOOR WAS OPENED FOR THE MEDICAL CREW TO UNLOAD THE STRETCHER. A GUST OF WIND CAUGHT THE OPEN DOOR CAUSING THE STRUT ASSEMBLY (COMPENSATING CYLINDER) TO FAIL AT THE ATTACH POINT ON THE AIRFRAME, WHICH ALLOWED THE RIGHT, FRONT CABIN DOOR TO SWING UPWARD AND MAKE CONTACT WITH THE MAIN ROTOR. THE DOOR WAS DAMAGED FROM THE CORNER OF THE DOOR TO THE WINDOW SEAL. ALL THREE BLADES HAD SCRATCHES ON THEM FROM CONTACT WITH THE DOOR. THE ROTOR WAS AT LESS THAN 100 RPM WITH THE ROTOR BRAKE APPLIED WHEN CONTACT WAS MADE WITH THE DOOR. THE CHECKLIST WAS COMPLETED FOR SHUTDOWN. THE AIRCRAFT WAS TAKEN OUT OF SERVICE AND THE PATIENT WAS TRANSPORTED BY AMBULANCE.