- Date
- June 15, 1989, 09:40 local (17:40 UTC)
- Place
- Puntilla Lake, AK
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N160EHAerospatiale AS350B
- Weather
- Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 9, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19890615015679A
- Case key
- 5113
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 continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and failed to maintain sufficient altitude to clear the mountainous terrain. The weather and terrain conditions were contributing factors.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The air taxi plt was returning the helicopter to its base camp after transporting passengers & parts to a remote drilling site in rural Alaska. While en route, the helicopter collided with the rock face of a 3900 ft ridge at the 3500 ft level. The wx in the area was rprtd to be overcast btn 3000 & 3500 ft MSL with light to occasionally heavy rain. The plt had an instrument rating for airplanes, but not for helicopters. He was rprtdly in the habit of flying over the ridges, when wx permitted, to minimize flt time, instead of following lower terrain in nearby valleys.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N160EH
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale AS350B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2071
- Airframe hours
- 680
- Engine
- Turbomeca ARRIEL 1B, 650 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Era Aviaiton
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 13, 1989 · 82 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Puntilla Lake, AK
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 12,400 total · 2,500 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Day
- Temperature
- 39 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.