- Date
- September 9, 1989, 22:18 local (Sep 10, 1989, 02:18 UTC)
- Place
- White Plains, MD
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 3 minor, 2 uninjured; on the ground: 3 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N3195BBell 206B-III
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 11473
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 failure to follow procedures in that he delayed his climb during a night takeoff from a confined area. Contributing factor(s) was: the dark night and surrounding obstructions.
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
During a night approach to a field established by the local fire dep't for a med-evac, the pilot was told of wires on the west side & that one of the police cars was parked beneath them. He circled the area 3-4 times for hazards using the searchlight while communicating with ground units. After loading the patient the helicopter departed to the west across the aprx 500-FT field. Witnesses stated the helicopter never got higher than the wires until it was about 20 ft from them, then nose up to about a 45-DEG angle, climb over the wires, and descend into the ground. The acting commander of the state police aviation division stated that the use of maximum performance takeoffs is considered mandatory when departing landing sites at night where obstacles such as wires are in the area and the crew has never landed there before.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3195B
- Reported as
- Bell 206B-III
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 3858
- Airframe hours
- 3,853
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public aircraft · Public use
- Operator
- Maryland State Police
- Registered owner
- Maryland State Police
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 7, 1989 · 90 hours before
- Departed
- Cheverly, MD
- Destination
- Centerville, MD
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
- 38
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,432 total · 1,030 in this make and model · 1,341 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 170° at 2 knots
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ADW, 14 nm away