- Date
- March 30, 2013, 23:20 local (Mar 31, 2013, 07:20 UTC)
- Place
- Talkeetna, AK
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N911AAEurocopter AS350
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report January 28, 2015
- Report
- Board-adopted at Board Meeting
- Investigation class
- Class 1
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration, Alaska Department of Public Safety, Turbomeca, American Eurocopter
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 20130330006199A
- Case key
- 86550
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's decision to continue flight under visual flight rules into deteriorating weather conditions, which resulted in the pilot's spatial disorientation and loss of control. Also causal was the Alaska Department of Public Safety's punitive culture and inadequate safety management, which prevented the organization from identifying and correcting latent deficiencies in risk management and pilot training. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's exceptionally high motivation to complete search and rescue missions, which increased his risk tolerance and adversely affected his decision-making.
Findings · 12
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/aviation.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-14/03. On March 30, 2013, at 2320 Alaska daylight time, a Eurocopter AS350 B3 helicopter, N911AA, impacted terrain while maneuvering during a search and rescue (SAR) flight near Talkeetna, Alaska. The airline transport pilot, an Alaska state trooper serving as a flight observer for the pilot, and a stranded snowmobiler who had requested rescue were killed, and the helicopter was destroyed by impact and postcrash fire. The helicopter was registered to and operated by the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS) as a public aircraft operations flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed in the area at the time of the accident. The flight originated at 2313 from a frozen pond near the snowmobiler's rescue location and was destined for an off-airport location about 16 mi south.
Factual narrative
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/aviation.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-14/03. On March 30, 2013, at 2320 Alaska daylight time, a Eurocopter AS350 B3 helicopter, N911AA, impacted terrain while maneuvering during a search and rescue (SAR) flight near Talkeetna, Alaska. The airline transport pilot, an Alaska state trooper serving as a flight observer for the pilot, and a stranded snowmobiler who had requested rescue were killed, and the helicopter was destroyed by impact and postcrash fire. The helicopter was registered to and operated by the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS) as a public aircraft operations flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed in the area at the time of the accident. The flight originated at 2313 from a frozen pond near the snowmobiler's rescue location and was destined for an off-airport location about 16 mi south.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N911AA
- Reported as
- Eurocopter AS350
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 3611
- Airframe hours
- 2,518
- Engine
- Arriel 2B, 843 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Public aircraft - state · Public use
- Operator
- State of Alaska
- Registered owner
- State of Alaska
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · March 17, 2013
- Departed
- Talkeetna, AK
- Destination
- Talkeetna, AK
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 55
- Injuries
- Fatal
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 18, 2013
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 10,693 total · 3,350 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,400 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 34 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Observed at
- PATK
Docket · 117
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 3, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N911AA · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.