# Accident 20131022019759A: Eurocopter AS 350 B3, Somerville, TN, October 22, 2013 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: October 22, 2013, 06:05 local time - Place: Somerville, TN - Airport: Fayette County Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Operator: JPBA - Location: 35.2300° N, 89.3803° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.2300&lon=-89.3803&mi=10 - Aircraft: N353HW, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N353HW-2017-10-19) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Eurocopter AS 350 B3 (registry code 8680954, https://openairdocs.org/model/eurocopter-as-350-b3) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-1B (registry code 60042, https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-arriel-1b) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: EUROCOPTER AS 350 B3 - Reported engine: TURBOMECA ARRIEL 2B - People aboard: 3 - Fatal injuries: 3 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot - Pilot flight hours: 3,200 total, 511 in this make and model, 28 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA14FA010](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA14FA010) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20131022019759A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON OCTOBER 22, 2013, ABOUT 0605 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME (CDT), A EUROCOPTER AS350 B3, N353HW, IMPACTED TREES AND TERRAIN NEAR SOMERVILLE, TENNESSEE. THE CERTIFICATED COMMERCIAL PILOT, A REGISTERED NURSE, AND A RESPIRATORY THERAPIST WERE FATALLY INJURED; THE HELICOPTER WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT FORCES AND A POSTCRASH FIRE. THE HELICOPTER WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY MEMPHIS MEDICAL CENTER AIR AMBULANCE SERVICE, DOING BUSINESS AS HOSPITAL WING, UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 AS A POSITIONING FLIGHT. NIGHT, VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE FLIGHT, WHICH OPERATED ON A VISUAL FLIGHT RULES FLIGHT PLAN. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM HOSPITAL WING HELIPORT (2TN0), MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE AND WAS EN ROUTE TO WHITEHURST FIELD HELIPORT (60TN), BOLIVAR, TENNESSEE. THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT WAS TO POSITION THE HELICOPTER AT BOLIVAR TO BOARD A PATIENT FOR TRANSPORT TO MEMPHIS. ACCORDING TO SATELLITE TRACKING DATA PROVIDED BY THE COMPANY, THE HELICOPTER DEPARTED 2TN0 AT 0547 AND PROCEEDED IN AN EAST TO NORTHEASTERLY DIRECTION, FOLLOWING U.S. HIGHWAY 64. ABOUT 20 MINUTES LATER, THE HELICOPTER WAS OBSERVED IN A CLIMB. THE LAST DATA POINT INDICATED THAT THE HELICOPTER WAS ON A COURSE OF 146 DEGREES AND AT 98 KNOTS GROUND SPEED AND AT AN ALTITUDE OF 1,560 FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL. THE COMPANY DISPATCHED TWO AIRCRAFT TO THE LAST KNOWN POSITION OF N353HW AFTER THE PILOT DID NOT MAKE THE NORMAL 10-MINUTE POSITION REPORT. ONE OF THE HELICOPTERS OBSERVED A FIRE IN A WOODED AREA ABOUT 19 MILES WEST OF 60TN. FIRST RESPONDERS CONFIRMED THAT THE HELICOPTER HAD CRASHED AT THAT LOCATION. SEVERAL WITNESSES HEARD OR SAW A HELICOPTER IN FLIGHT NEAR OR AFTER 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 ERA14FA010](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA14FA010), Oct 22, 2013: Eurocopter AS 350 B3 (N353HW), Somerville, TN, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s inadvertent encounter with night, instrument meteorological conditions while responding to an obstacle alert, resulting in an in-flight loss of helicopter control. 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.