# Accident 20191226014219A: Eurocopter AS 350 B2, Kokee, HI, December 26, 2019

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 26, 2019, 16:57 local time
- Place: Kokee, HI
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: XSFA
- Location: 22.1617° N, 159.6264° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=22.1617&lon=-159.6264&mi=10
- Aircraft: N985SA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N985SA-2022-03-05) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Eurocopter AS 350 B2 (registry code 8680950, https://openairdocs.org/model/eurocopter-as-350-b2) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-1SER (registry code 60030, https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-arriel-1ser) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: EUROCOPTER AS 350 B2
- Reported engine: TURBOMECA ARRIEL 1SER
- People aboard: 7
- Fatal injuries: 7
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 15,724 total, 5,820 in this make and model, 137 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC20MA010](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC20MA010) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20191226014219A

## Narrative

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

ON DECEMBER 26, ABOUT 1657 HAWAII STANDARD TIME, AN AIRBUS AS350 B2 HELICOPTER, N985SA, WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT FORCES AND A POST-CRASH FIRE WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN ABOUT 24 MILES NORTHWEST OF LIHUE, HAWAII.

THE COMMERCIAL PILOT AND SIX PASSENGERS WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE HELICOPTER WAS REGISTERED TO SAF LTD AND OPERATED BY SAFARI AVIATION, INC., DOING BUSINESS AS SAFARI HELICOPTERS, UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (CFR) PART 135 AS AN ON-DEMAND VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) AIR TOUR FLIGHT.

COMPANY FLIGHT FOLLOWING PROCEDURES WERE IN EFFECT. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED LIHUE AIRPORT (PHLI), LIHUE, HAWAII 1631.

## 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 ANC20MA010](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC20MA010), Dec 27, 2019: Airbus AS350B2 (N985SA), Kekaha, HI, destroyed, 7 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s decision to continue flight under visual flight rules (VFR) into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), which resulted in the collision into terrain. Contributing to the accident was…

## Other reports on N985SA (1)

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

- [Accident 20010201004599A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010201004599A), Feb 1, 2001: Snias AS350B2 (N985SA), Lihue, HI, Destroyed. (-23) During a preflight run-up, the Eurocopter fm check list for the AS-350B2 calls for a hydraulic accumulator check. This is done at flight idle. The pilot…

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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