# Incident 20240824013929I: Eurocopter EC 155 B1, Oakley, MI, August 24, 2024

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 24, 2024, 02:00 local time
- Place: Oakley, MI
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: HDNA
- Location: 43.1434° N, 84.1686° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Oakley, MI, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.1434&lon=-84.1686&mi=10
- Aircraft: N157UM, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N157UM) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Eurocopter EC 155 B1 (registry code 8680991, https://openairdocs.org/model/eurocopter-ec-155-b1) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-2C2 (registry code 60039, https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-arriel-2c2) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: EUROCOPTER EC 155 B1
- Reported engine: TURBOMECA ARRIEL 2C2
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 9,300 total, 4,590 in this make and model, 48 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240824013929I

## Narrative

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

ON AUGUST 08, 2024, AT 2130 LOCAL TIME, A EUROCOPTER EC 155 BI HELICOPTER, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, REGISTERED TO A 14 CFR PART 135 OPERATOR AND FLOWN BY A COMMERCIAL RATED PILOT, SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE FOLLOWING A BLADE STRIKE ON LANDING. THE AIRCRAFT WAS CONDUCTING A LIFEFLIGHT SCENE LANDING AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT.

ACCORDING TO THE PILOT HE WAS LANDING TO THE WEST AT APPROXIMATELY SUNSET AND DID NOT SEE THE 10-TO-12-FOOT PINE TREE IN THE LANDING AREA. AS THE AIRCRAFT SETTLED, THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES MADE CONTACT WITH THE TREE. THE HELICOPTER LANDED SAFELY AND WAS IMMEDIATELY SHUTDOWN.

PHOTOGRAPHS SHOW THE TREE NEAR THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE TAIL WITH THE TOP MISSING AND SHOWING IMPACT DAMAGE. ALL 4 MAIN ROTOR BLADE TIP CAPS SHOWING IMPACT DAMAGE. NO OTHER DAMAGE WAS REPORTED.

THE FOLLOWING DAY, THE BLADES WERE REMOVED, AND THE HELICOPTER TRUCKED TO A MAINTENANCE FACILITY FOR REPAIRS.

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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