- Date
- July 3, 2015, 13:39 local (19:39 UTC)
- Place
- Frisco, CO
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 2 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N390LGAirbus Helicopters AS350B3E
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 9, 2017
- Report
- Board-adopted at Board Meeting
- Investigation class
- Class 1
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Turbomeca, Air Methods Corporation, BEA, OPEIU - Local 109, Airbus, FAA Denver FSDO, FAA AVP-100
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 20150703023559A
- Case key
- 91489
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
Airbus Helicopters' dual-hydraulic AS350 B3e helicopter's (1) preflight hydraulic check, which depleted hydraulic pressure in the tail rotor hydraulic circuit, and (2) lack of salient alerting to the pilot that hydraulic pressure was not restored before takeoff. Such alerting might have cued the pilot to his failure to reset the yaw servo hydraulic switch to its correct position during the preflight hydraulic check, which resulted in a lack of hydraulic boost to the pedal controls, high pedal forces, and a subsequent loss of control after takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to perform a hover check after liftoff, which would have alerted him to the pedal control anomaly at an altitude that could have allowed him to safely land the helicopter. Contributing to the severity of the injuries was the helicopter's fuel system, which was not crash resistant and facilitated a fuel-fed postcrash fire.
Findings · 11
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 NTSB's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AccidentReports.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-17/01. On July 3, 2015, about 1339 mountain daylight time, an Airbus Helicopters AS350 B3e helicopter, N390LG, registered to and operated by Air Methods Corporation, lifted off from the Summit Medical Center Heliport, Frisco, Colorado, and then crashed into a parking lot; the impact point was located 360 feet southwest of the ground-based helipad. The pilot was fatally injured, and the two flight nurses were seriously injured. The helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on a company flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
The NTSB's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AccidentReports.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-17/01. On July 3, 2015, about 1339 mountain daylight time, an Airbus Helicopters AS350 B3e helicopter, N390LG, registered to and operated by Air Methods Corporation, lifted off from the Summit Medical Center Heliport, Frisco, Colorado, and then crashed into a parking lot; the impact point was located 360 feet southwest of the ground-based helipad. The pilot was fatally injured, and the two flight nurses were seriously injured. The helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on a company flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N390LG
- Reported as
- Airbus Helicopters AS350B3E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 7595
- Built
- 2013
- Airframe hours
- 487.4
- Engine
- Turbomeca Arriel 2D, 802 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Air Methods Corp
- Registered owner
- Air Methods Corp
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · July 2, 2015
- Departed
- 91CO · Frisco, CO
- Destination
- Gypsum, CO
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- 91CO · Summit Medical Center, runway H1, 100 × 100 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Data recorder, Onboard weather, Video recording device, Satellite tracking device
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
- 64
- Injuries
- Fatal
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 22, 2015
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 13,231 total · 5,231 in this make and model · 13,131 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 19 knots, gusting 24
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.62 inHg
- Observed at
- KCCU, 7 nm away
Docket · 53
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 17, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 95.8 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.