# NTSB CEN13CA114: Bell 407, N489AE, McAllen, TX, December 25, 2012 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: December 24, 2012, 19:49 local (Dec 25, 2012, 01:49 UTC) - Place: McAllen, TX - Coordinates: 26.186388, -98.2275 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.1864&lon=-98.2275&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff: Collision during takeoff/land](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report April 3, 2013 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA-SAT-FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 85892 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN13CA114 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/85892/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=85892 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13CA114 ## Probable cause The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance with a parked helicopter during takeoff. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063000): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063000/cases.md?model=1182154), [All aircraft, 111 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063000/cases.md) - [Object/animal/substance: aircraft](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022040): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Effect on equipment; cases with it: [Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022040/cases.md?model=1182154), [All aircraft, 116 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022040/cases.md) - [Attention/monitoring: monitoring environment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021545): Personnel issues › Psychological · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021545/cases.md?model=1182154), [All aircraft, 809 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021545/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff: Collision during takeoff/land](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490) (defining event); cases with it: [Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490/sequence.md?model=1182154), [All aircraft, 1,309 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490/sequence.md) ## Analysis The accident occurred as the air medical flight was departing a hospital heliport en route to pick up a patient. Another helicopter was parked off to the side of the helipad but within the fenced helipad area. Before boarding the departing helicopter, the pilot turned the main rotor blades on the parked helicopter to give him more room to maneuver on takeoff. During takeoff, the pilot was turning the helicopter into the wind and talking to an air traffic controller when he backed the helicopter into the main rotor blades of the parked helicopter. The pilot rolled the throttle to idle and conducted a hover autorotation back onto the helipad. The pilot later reported that he knew the parked helicopter was there but had forgotten about it. The accident helicopter sustained substantial damage to both tail rotor blades and one of the main rotor blades. The pilot was unable to hear the medical crew's warnings over the intercom because the microphone was keyed for the conversation with the air traffic controller. The operator’s general operations manual provides minimum clearance guidelines that state, in part, that minimum clearances for all helicopters will be at least 1/3 of the rotor diameter between the outboard tip of the rotor disc and any obstruction and at a distance great enough not to create a hazard to persons or property on the ground in non-secured areas. These guidelines were most likely met before the accident. ## Factual narrative The accident occurred as the air medical flight was departing a hospital heliport en route to pick up a patient. In addition to the accident helicopter on the helipad, there was another helicopter parked off to the side of the helipad, but within the fenced helipad area. Prior to boarding the helicopter, the pilot turned the main rotor blades on the parked helicopter to give him more room to maneuver on takeoff. During the takeoff the pilot lifted the helicopter into a hover, and was turning it into the wind and talking to air traffic control (ATC), when he backed the helicopter into the main rotor blades of the parked helicopter. The pilot rolled the throttle to idle and conducted a hover autorotation back onto the helipad. The pilot reported that he knew the parked helicopter was there, but had forgotten about it. The medical crew in the back of the helicopter attempted to verbally alert the pilot through the intercom that he was too close to the parked helicopter; however, the pilot was unable to hear the warning because his microphone was keyed for the conversation with ATC. The accident helicopter received substantial damage to both tail rotor blades and one of the main rotor blades. The operator reported there was no failure/malfunction of the helicopter. The operator’s General Operations Manual states, "Minimum clearances for all helicopters will be at least 1/3 of the rotor diameter between the rotor blade tips on rotor discs of operating aircraft, between the outboard tip of the rotor disc and any obstruction, and at a distance great enough not to create a hazard to persons or property on the ground in non-secured areas. Additional vigilance must be observed when landing in close proximity to another aircraft especially at a hospital helipad or during scene operations." ## Aircraft - Registration: [N489AE](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N489AE), registered now, S/N 54059, built 2011 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BELL 407 (NO SERIES) - Registry model: [Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-helicopter-textron-canada-407) (registry code 1182154) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Rolls-Royce 250-C47B](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rolls-royce-250-c47b) (registry code 54585, turbo-shaft) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 54059 - Airframe hours: 780 - Engines: Rolls Royce 250-C47B 674 horsepower turbo shaft - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Operator: Air Evac EMS - Registered owner: Capital Source Bank - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: AAIP, December 3, 2012 - Departed: KMFE, McAllen, TX - Destination: Laredo, TX - Flight plan: Company VFR - Airport: KMFE, McAllen Medical Center Heli ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 27; injuries: none; commercial; instrument ratings: helicopter; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review November 13, 2012; seat: right; flight hours: 2,750 total, 200 in this make and model, 2,700 as pilot in command, 51 in the last 90 days, 20 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night/bright - Wind: 150° at 15 knots, gusting 21 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 75 °F, dew point 66 °F - Altimeter: 29.89 inHg - Observed at: MFE, 1 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20121224028779A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20121224028779A), Dec 24, 2012: Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407, Mcallen, TX, Substantial damage. Aircraft, a Bell BH-407 helicopter N489AE, was positioned onto the helipad facing south toward the hangar for a patient transfer mission. A sister aircraft,… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 12, 2013, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=85892. 1.1 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 731 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40384205&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Pilot and Medical Crew Statements (item 2, .PDF, 204 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40384208&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%20and%20Medical%20Crew%20Statements-Redacted.PDF - Air Evac General Operations Manual Excerpt (item 3, .PDF, 193 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40385850&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Air%20Evac%20General%20Operations%20Manual%20Excerpt-Redacted.PDF 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.