- Date
- March 29, 2024, 12:20 local (17:20 UTC)
- Place
- Moran, KS
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N910GXBell Helicopter Textron Canada 407
- Defining event
- Enroute: 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
- FAA report
- 20240329002669A
- Case key
- 194011
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 in-flight collision with birds while in cruise flight.
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 air ambulance pilot reported that he was enroute to his destination when two large birds impacted the helicopter, which resulted in substantial damage to the pitch change link assembly and drive link assembly. The helicopter began to “hop vertically” and controllability was in question, so the pilot made a precautionary landing without incident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N910GX
- Reported as
- Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 54131
- Built
- 2013
- Airframe hours
- 5,066.1
- Engine
- Rolls Royce 250-C47B, 650 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 135
- Operator
- Med Trans Corp
- Registered owner
- Med Trans Corp
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · March 23, 2024
- Departed
- CNU · Chanute, KS
- Destination
- Pleasanton, KS
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- CNU
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B
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
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 25, 2023
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 4,524 total · 686 in this make and model · 3,746 as pilot in command · 39 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 19 knots, gusting 35
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.76 inHg
- Observed at
- KCNU, 17 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KCNU 291852Z AUTO 20019G35KT 10SM CLR 22/09 A2976 RMK AO2 PK WND 22035/1845 SLP073 T02220094=
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 18, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.0 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.