# Accident 20200711011209A: Aerospatiale AS 355F1, Rifle, CO, July 11, 2020

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 11, 2020, 07:36 local time
- Place: Rifle, CO
- Airport: Rifle Garfield County Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Hover/Holding
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: VMIA
- Location: 39.5242° N, 107.7272° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.5242&lon=-107.7272&mi=10
- Aircraft: N708AC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N708AC-2021-04-22) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aerospatiale AS 355F1 (registry code 8680810, https://openairdocs.org/model/aerospatiale-as-355f1) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Allison 250-C20 series (registry code 03020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c20-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AEROSPATIALE AS 355F1
- Reported engine: ALLISON 250-C20 SER
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 2
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 8,209 total, 150 in this make and model, 37 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN20LA273](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20LA273) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200711011209A

## Narrative

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

ACCORDING TO THE CREWMEMBER, THE AIRCRAFT WAS IN A HOVER FOR A FEW SECONDS WHILE TRYING TO DECIDE WHICH POWER LINE TO OBSERVE.  THE AIRCRAFT STARTED TO SWAY LEFT AND RIGHT AND THEN BEGAN ROTATING NOSE LEFT.  ACCORDING TO AN EYEWITNESS, THE AIRCRAFT ENTERED INTO A COUNTER CLOCKWISE SPIN AND ROTATED THREE TIMES, AT WHICH POINT THE NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT PITCHED DOWN AND THE AIRCRAFT ABRUPTLY FELL TO THE GROUND.  THERE WAS A POST-CRASH FIRE THAT DESTROYED THE AIRCRAFT.

## 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 CEN20LA273](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20LA273), Jul 11, 2020: Aerospatiale AS355 (N708AC), Rifle, CO, destroyed. Probable cause: A loss of tail rotor effectiveness, the pilot’s subsequent loss of helicopter control, and collision with terrain.

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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