# Accident 20150313004069A: Eurocopter AS 350 B2, Anchorage, AK, March 13, 2015

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 13, 2015, 06:30 local time
- Place: Anchorage, AK
- Airport: Merrill Field
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: 9EKA
- Location: 61.2286° N, 150.8708° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.2286&lon=-150.8708&mi=10
- Aircraft: N814EH (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: EUROCOPTER AS 350 B2
- Reported engine: TURBOMECA ARRIEL 1SER
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC15LA015](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC15LA015) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150313004069A

## Narrative

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

ON 3/13/2015 AT APPROXIMATELY 0630, THE PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS DEPARTED MERRILL FIELD (MRI) FOR BELUGA, AK.  AFTER APPROXIMATELY 20-30 MINUTES OF FLIGHT, PILOT FELT A SUDDEN JARRING IN THE TAIL ROTOR PEDALS FOLLOWED BY A SLOW-RATE YAW TO THE LEFT.  AFTER PERFORMING CONTROLLABILITY CHECKS AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, ALTITUDE CHANGES, HEADINGS AND POWER SETTINGS, THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO CONFIRM THAT RIGHT-PEDAL INPUT HAD NO EFFECT TO AIRCRAFT YAW ATTITUDE.  PILOT INITIATED A RETURN TO MRI AND ADVISED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL OF THE SITUATION AND INTENTIONS TO PERFORM AN EMERGENCY RUN-ON LANDING.  LANDING WAS CLEARED FOR RUNWAY 34 AND TWO RUN-ON LANDINGS WERE ATTEMPTED BEFORE A THIRD ATTEMPT WAS SUCCESSFUL WHICH WAS UNEVENTFUL.  SUBSEQUENT INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT FOUND THAT THE TAIL ROTOR PITCH CONTROL SPIDER PART NUMBER 350A33-2030-00 HAD FAILED.  THE NTSB DETERMINED THAT THIS IS AN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT BECAUSE THIS COMPONENT FAILURE MEETS THE CLASSIFICATION AS SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE PER 8900.1, VOL 7, CH 1, SEC 1, PARAS 7-4.A.1) AND 7-4.A.4).

## 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 ANC15LA015](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC15LA015), Mar 13, 2015: Airbus AS350 B2 (N814EH), Anchorage, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The failure of the ball bearing within the pitch change spider assembly due to its operation with no grease within the bearing, which resulted in the subsequent fracture of the spider assembly and a…

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.