- Date
- March 5, 2024, 15:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Morgan, CO
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N853MBAmerican Eurocopter AS350B3
- Defining event
- Approach: Birdstrike
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA-FSDO
- FAA report
- 20240305000739A
- Case key
- 193909
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
An inflight collision with birds while on approach.
Findings · 2
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 pilot reported that during approach to a hospital helipad, two red-tailed hawks flew into the path of the helicopter and his evasive actions were unsuccessful in avoiding the birds. The birds struck the windscreen and fragments of the windscreen impacted the rotor blades. The pilot made an uneventful landing in a nearby open field. The rotor blades were substantially damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N853MB
- Reported as
- American Eurocopter AS350B3
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 7294
- Built
- 2012
- Airframe hours
- 3,731.5
- Engine
- Sarfran Arriel 2D, 802 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Med-Trans Corp
- Registered owner
- Med-Trans Corp
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · December 23, 2023
- Departed
- 98CO · Greeley, CO
- Destination
- 0CD1 · Fort Morgan, CO
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, 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
- 35
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 28, 2023
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 3,165 total · 463 in this make and model · 3,052 as pilot in command · 31 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 14 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- KFMM, 5 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KFMM 052135Z AUTO 15014G20KT 10SM FEW090 10/M05 A2995 RMK AO2=
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 11, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.1 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.