20230901015239I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407 · Paris, TN · September 1, 2023

Date: September 1, 2023 · 08:05 local
Place: Paris, TN
Airport: Henry County
Phase of flight: Ground/Ramp/Ma
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Operator: EVCA
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N190AE
Reported as: Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407
Reported engine: Rolls-Royce 250-C47B
People aboard: 3
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Airline transport

N190AERegistered now · Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407S/N 54511 · Built 2014 Airframe modelBell Helicopter Textron Canada 407 Engine modelRolls-Royce 250-C47BTurbo-shaft

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

The helicopter was refueling with the engine operating at idle speed. The PIC was at the controls. The flight medic was pulling the refueling hose and grounding cable out to the aircraft to refuel. The grounding cable was attached to a retraction reel. The medic attempted to connect the grounging cable to the aircraft when he lost control of the grounding cable being under tention. The cable started to retract back to the reel when it came in contact with the right skid and was flung up into the main rotor blade. The cable made contact with one of the four blades causing minor reparible damage.

As the FAA filed it

THE HELICOPTER WAS REFUELING WITH THE ENGINE OPERATING AT IDLE SPEED. THE PIC WAS AT THE CONTROLS. THE FLIGHT MEDIC WAS PULLING THE REFUELING HOSE AND GROUNDING CABLE OUT TO THE AIRCRAFT TO REFUEL. THE GROUNDING CABLE WAS ATTACHED TO A RETRACTION REEL. THE MEDIC ATTEMPTED TO CONNECT THE GROUNGING CABLE TO THE AIRCRAFT WHEN HE LOST CONTROL OF THE GROUNDING CABLE BEING UNDER TENTION. THE CABLE STARTED TO RETRACT BACK TO THE REEL WHEN IT CAME IN CONTACT WITH THE RIGHT SKID AND WAS FLUNG UP INTO THE MAIN ROTOR BLADE. THE CABLE MADE CONTACT WITH ONE OF THE FOUR BLADES CAUSING MINOR REPARIBLE DAMAGE.