# Accident 20150703023559A: American Eurocopter Corp AS350B3, Frisco, CO, July 3, 2015

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 3, 2015, 13:38 local time
- Place: Frisco, CO
- Airport: Summit Medical Center Frisco C
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Other, Specify
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: QMLA
- Location: 39.5686° N, 106.0794° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.5686&lon=-106.0794&mi=10
- Aircraft: N390LG, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N390LG-2016-06-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: American Eurocopter AS350B3 (registry code 1145004, https://openairdocs.org/model/american-eurocopter-as350b3) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-2D (registry code 60080, https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-arriel-2d) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMERICAN EUROCOPTER CORP AS350B3
- Reported engine: TURBOMECA ARRIEL 2D
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 2
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 13,231 total, 3,255 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN15MA290](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15MA290) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150703023559A

## Narrative

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

ON JULY 3, 2015, AT 1339 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, AN AIRBUS HELICOPTER INC. (FORMERLY AMERICAN EUROCOPTER) AS350B3E HELICOPTER, N390LG, IMPACTED THE UPPER WEST PARKING LOT 360 FEET SOUTHWEST OF THE SUMMIT MEDICAL CENTER HELIPAD (91CO), FRISCO, COLORADO. A POST-IMPACT FIRE ENSUED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE HELICOPTER WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY AIR METHODS CORP AND THE FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 135 ON A COMPANY FLIGHT PLAN. THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED AND TWO FLIGHT NURSES WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED. THE PUBLIC RELATIONS FLIGHT WAS EN ROUTE TO GYPSUM, COLORADO.

ACCORDING TO AIR METHODS THE HELICOPTER WAS FLYING TO THE AMERICAN SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE BOY SCOUT CAMP NEAR GYPSUM, COLORADO, FOR A PUBLIC RELATIONS MISSION. MULTIPLE WITNESSES OBSERVED THE HELICOPTER LIFT OFF FROM THE GROUND-BASED HELIPAD, ROTATE COUNTERCLOCKWISE, AND CLIMB SIMULTANEOUSLY. ONE WITNESS ESTIMATED THAT THE HELICOPTER REACHED AN ALTITUDE OF 100 FEET BEFORE IT STARTED TO DESCEND. THE HELICOPTER CONTINUED TO SPIN COUNTERCLOCKWISE SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE IT IMPACTED A PARKING LOT AND AN RV TO THE SOUTHWEST OF THE FLIGHT FOR LIFE HANGAR AND HELIPAD. THE HELICOPTER CAME TO REST ON ITS RIGHT SIDE, WAS DAMAGED BY IMPACT FORCES, AND WAS CHARRED, MELTED, AND PARTIALLY CONSUMED BY FIRE.

## 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 CEN15MA290](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15MA290), Jul 3, 2015: Airbus Helicopters AS350B3E (N390LG), Frisco, CO, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: Airbus Helicopters' dual-hydraulic AS350 B3e helicopter's (1) preflight hydraulic check, which depleted hydraulic pressure in the tail rotor hydraulic circuit, and (2) lack of salient alerting to the…

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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