# Accident 20190303000829A: Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407, Union Center, SD, March 3, 2019

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 3, 2019, 00:13 local time
- Place: Union Center, SD
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Ground/Ramp/Ma
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: QMLA
- Location: 44.5647° N, 102.6614° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.5647&lon=-102.6614&mi=10
- Aircraft: N450AM, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N450AM) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407 (registry code 1182154, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-helicopter-textron-canada-407) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rolls-Royce 250-C47B (registry code 54585, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rolls-royce-250-c47b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA 407
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN19LA092](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN19LA092) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20190303000829A

## Narrative

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

ON MARCH 03, 2019, AT 00:13HRS. LOCAL TIME,  A BELL 407 HELICOPTER, REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY AIR METHODS CORP. WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT AFTER LANDING AND DURING THE COOL DOWN/SHUT DOWN OPERATIONS TO PICK-UP A PATIENT.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE HELICOPTER WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED.  NONE OF THE 3 CREWMEMBERS WERE INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM SPEARFISH, SD ON MARCH 2 AT 2337 HRS. LOCAL TIME.

## 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 CEN19LA092](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN19LA092), Mar 3, 2019: Bell 407 (N450AM), Union Center, SD, substantial damage. Probable cause: The ambulance driver’s failure to see the helicopter’s rotating main rotor blades in dark night conditions, which resulted in the ambulance’s inadvertent collision with the helicopter. Contributing…

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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