# Accident 20230908014819A: Eurocopter France AS350B2, Silverton, WA, September 8, 2023

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 8, 2023, 20:30 local time
- Place: Silverton, WA
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 48.0304° N, 121.5362° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.0304&lon=-121.5362&mi=10
- Aircraft: N350WW (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: EUROCOPTER FRANCE AS350B2
- Reported engine: TURBOMECA ARRIEL 1D1
- People aboard: 5
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 3,000 total, 1,100 in this make and model, 19 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR23LA339](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR23LA339) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230908014819A

## Narrative

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

AIRCRAFT LEFT ARRINGTON AIRPORT WITH FOUR PAX ON BOARD TO DROP AT COPPER RIVER, SECOND FLIGHT WITH PAX TO THIS LAKE THAT DAY, TIME AS COMING IN FOR LANDING AT THE EDGE OF COPPER LAKE WAS 8:30PM, NOW GETTING DARK, PILOT IDENTIFIES LANDING AREA, TURNS ON LANDING LIGHT, AS HE IS DESCENDING TO LZ, SOMEONE AT LZ TURNS ON A LIGHT THAT IS TURNED TOWARDS PILOT, PILOT SAYS ALL TURNS BLACK AROUND HIM, PILOT INDICATES THAT HE TURNED A LITTLE LEFT, THEN TURNED A LITTLE RIGHT, AT THAT MOMENT, STARTS TO SEE WATER COMING INTO FLOOR OF HELICOPTER. NEXT MOMENT, AIRCRAFT IS IN WATER, TURNS ON SIDE, PILOT GETS OUT, HELPS GET ALL 4 PAXS OUT OF AIRCRAFT, PERSON ON SHORE GETS BLOWUP MATTRESS AND SWIMS OUT TO PAXS AND PILOT, ALL GET TO SHORE, NO INJURIES. AIRCRAFT SINKS INTO LAKE, REPORTED TO BE 80 FEET DOWN.

## 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 WPR23LA339](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR23LA339), Sep 9, 2023: Eurocopter France AS350B2 (N350WW), Silverton, WA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain visual reference and altitude while maneuvering over a lake during dusk conditions, which resulted in the helicopter impacting water.

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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