# Incident 20190411011309I: Eurocopter AS 350 B2, El Paso, TX, April 11, 2019

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 11, 2019, 22:05 local time
- Place: El Paso, TX
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 31.7587° N, 106.4869° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of El Paso, TX, within about 9 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.7587&lon=-106.4869&mi=10
- Aircraft: N204TX, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N204TX-2025-12-29) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Eurocopter AS 350 B2 (registry code 8680950, https://openairdocs.org/model/eurocopter-as-350-b2) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-1D1 (registry code 60053, https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-arriel-1d1) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: EUROCOPTER AS 350 B2
- Reported engine: TURBOMECA ARRIEL 1D1
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 2,320 total, 1,100 in this make and model, 120 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20190411011309I

## Narrative

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

ON APRIL 11, 2019, AT 2205 MST, A EUROCOPTER AS 350 B2, N204TX, REGISTERED TO THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, WAS ILLUMINATED WITH A HIGH INTENSITY GREEN LASER WHILE ON A CRIMINAL PATROL FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME, AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED. THE LASER POINTER WAS SHINED THREE (3) TIMES INTO THE COCKPIT OF THE AIR UNIT (DPS149) CAUSING THE PILOT TO BE VISUALLY IMPAIRED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT EL PASO, TEXAS, ON APRIL 11, 2019, AT 2055 MST.

## Other reports on N204TX (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 20240111001379A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240111001379A), Jan 11, 2024: Eurocopter AS 350 B2 (N204TX), Brackettville, TX, Destroyed. On January 11, 2024, at approximately 1959 CST, an [privacy data omitted]helicopter utilized the emergency procedure “autorotation” and landed hard with…

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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