# Accident 20151215024069A: Eurocopter AS 350 B3, Superior, AZ, December 15, 2015

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 15, 2015, 17:23 local time
- Place: Superior, AZ
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: QMLA
- Location: 33.4253° N, 111.1547° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.4253&lon=-111.1547&mi=10
- Aircraft: N74317, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N74317-2019-09-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Eurocopter AS 350 B3 (registry code 8680954, https://openairdocs.org/model/eurocopter-as-350-b3) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-2B1 (registry code 60056, https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-arriel-2b1) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: EUROCOPTER AS 350 B3
- Reported engine: TURBOMECA ARRIEL 2B1
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 5,619 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR16FA040](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR16FA040) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20151215024069A

## Narrative

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

ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015, ABOUT 1723 LOCAL TIME, A EUROCOPTER AS350-B3 HELICOPTER, REGISTRATION NUMBER

N74317, OPERATING AS A PART 135 AIR AMBULANCE FLIGHT BY THE AIR METHODS CORPORATION, AND DOING BUSINESS AS (DBA) NATIVE AIR, CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE SUPERSTITION MOUNTAINS SUPERIOR, ARIZONA (55 MILES EAST OF PHOENIX). THE PILOT AND FLIGHT NURSE WERE KILLED, AND

THE PARAMEDIC WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. THE HELICOPTER WAS DESTROYED. THERE WAS NO POST-IMPACT FIRE. THE AIR AMBULANCE WAS HEADING BACK TO ITS BASE IN GLOBE, ARIZONA AFTER DROPPING

OFF A PATIENT.

## 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 WPR16FA040](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR16FA040), Dec 16, 2015: Airbus Helicopters AS350 (N74317), Superior, AZ, substantial damage, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's loss of helicopter control in mountainous terrain as the result of operating the helicopter outside the performance envelope of its hydraulic system and encountering the servo…

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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