# NTSB CHI03LA084: Bell 430, N431UM, Highland, MI, March 17, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: March 16, 2003, 20:15 local (Mar 17, 2003, 01:15 UTC) - Place: Highland, MI - Coordinates: 42.633335, -83.625 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.6333&lon=-83.6250&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 30, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA -- Detroit FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 56702 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI03LA084 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/56702/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI03LA084 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain clearance to the roadway sign. Contributing factors were the failure of the tail rotor gearbox, the roadway sign and the low lighting conditions (night). ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, taxi - aerial - hovering turn - attempted, pilot in command (contributing factor) - clearance - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - object - sign (contributing factor) - light condition - night (contributing factor) - Hard landing, emergency landing ## Analysis The helicopter was substantially damaged when the tail rotor impacted a roadway sign while repositioning at night for departure. The medical evacuation flight had landed on a roadway to pick-up a patient. The medical crew had departed the helicopter prior to the reposition. The pilot was the only occupant on-board at the time. The pilot reported he began to taxi. He stated he "cleared the tail to move left into the turn around along M-59. I started to move the aircraft which now was facing south into M-59 ... when the tail rotor hit a steel reflector post. The aircraft became airborne to around five or six feet when I lowered the collective and rolled the throttles to idle to stop the aircraft rotation." The aircraft impacted on the left rear skid first and came to rest one-hundred eightly degrees from its initial heading. A post-accident examination revealed the tail rotor and gearbox had departed the helicopter. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter prior to the accident. ## Factual narrative On March 16, 2003, at 2015 eastern standard time, a Bell 430 helicopter, N431UM, piloted by an airline transport pilot, was substantially damaged when the tail rotor impacted a roadway sign during an aerial taxi. The accident occurred on Highway M-59, east of US Highway 23, near Highland, Michigan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The medical evacuation flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 135 and was not on a flight plan. The pilot was the sole occupant at the time of the accident. He reported no injuries. The flight departed the University of Michigan Medical Center Heliport (MI32), Ann Arbor, Michigan, at 1959 est, with the intention of returning to MI32 after picking up a patient. According to the pilot's statement, he overflew the area from west to east to review the landing site. He stated that he reversed course and approached the landing site from the east. Prior to touchdown the pilot reported he rotated the aircraft and landed on an easterly heading, at which point the medical crew departed the helicopter. The pilot decided to reposition the aircraft to face west for departure. After notifying local authorities and clearing the helcopter, he reported he began to taxi to the east. He stated he "cleared the tail to move left into the turn around along M-59. I started to move the aircraft which now was facing south into M-59 ... when the tail rotor hit a steel reflector post. The aircraft became airborne to around five or six feet when I lowered the collective and rolled the throttles to idle to stop the aircraft rotation." The aircraft impacted on the left rear skid first and came to rest one-hundred eightly degrees from its initial heading. A post-accident examination revealed the tail rotor and gearbox had departed the helicopter. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter prior to the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N431UM](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N431UM-2013-12-19), registration cancelled 2013-12-19, S/N 49040 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Bell 430 - Registry model: [Bell 430](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-430) (registry code 1182150) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 49040 - Airframe hours: 1929.6 - Engines: Rolls-Royce 250-C40 1300 horsepower turbo shaft; Rolls-Royce 250-C40 1300 horsepower turbo shaft - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Operator: CJ System Aviation Group, doing business as Univ. of Michigan Survival Flight - Registered owner: Wells Fargo Bank - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: AAIP, February 15, 2003, 39.5 hours before - Departed: MI32, Ann Arbor, MI ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 53; injuries: none; airline transport, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane, helicopter; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review June 23, 2002; seat: right; flight hours: 20,014 total, 2,114 in this make and model, 208 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night - Wind: 170° at 4 knots - Visibility: 6 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 22,000 ft overcast - Temperature: 55 °F, dew point 52 °F - Altimeter: 29.81 inHg - Observed at: PTK, 15 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 20030316004139A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030316004139A), Mar 16, 2003: Bell 430, Hartland Twnshp, MI, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot was repositioning helicopter during hours of darkness. He saw two highway delineators, but failed to see the third one, because the reflector was… 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.