- Date
- December 27, 2003, 15:45 local (22:45 UTC)
- Place
- Santa Fe, NM
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N291LLAerospatiale AS 365 N-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20031227033539A
- Case key
- 58544
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
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
the pilot's failure to maintain lateral clearance from the hangar. A contributing factor was the gusty crosswind.
Analysis
The wind was from "270 degrees at 16 knots with gusts unknown" when the pilot landed on the runway. He then ground taxied towards a maintenance hangar. He described his ground taxi speed as "a fast walk pace." As the helicopter passed between two sets of hangars, "high velocity winds from the left (270 degrees)...lifted the left wheel off the ground." He applied left cyclic control and left tail rotor control that brought the helicopter off centerline to the left. He maneuvered the helicopter and focused on the same corner of the hangar "as I always did" when parking. "As soon as I was starting to use right pedal, the [main rotor] blades impacted the hangar door," and the "torque of the blades pulled the aircraft nose around into the hangar door, causing [the helicopter] to land on its left side."
Factual narrative
On December 27, 2003, approximately 1545 mountain standard time, N291LL, an Aerospatiale AS 365 N-2, operated by Aerowest Helicopters, Inc., and doing business as New Mexico Life Rescue, was destroyed when it struck a hangar while taxiing at Santa Fe Municipal Airport, Santa Fe, New Mexico. The commercial pilot, the only occupant aboard, was not injured, Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the positioning flight being operated under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from St. Vincent's Hospital in Santa Fe approximately 1530.
According to the pilot's accident report, the wind was from "270 degrees at 16 knots with gusts unknown" when he landed on runway 28. He then ground taxied on taxiways Charlie and Alpha towards the Santa Fe Jet maintenance hangar. He described his ground taxi speed as "a fast walk pace." As the helicopter passed between two sets of hangars, "high velocity winds from the left (270 degrees)...lifted the left wheel off the ground." He applied left cyclic control and left tail rotor control that brought the helicopter off centerline to the left. He maneuvered the helicopter and focused on the same corner of the hangar "as I always did" when parking. "As soon as I was starting to use right pedal, the [main rotor] blades impacted the hangar door," and the "torque of the blades pulled the aircraft nose around into the hangar door, causing [the helicopter] to land on its left side."
According to FAA inspectors and the operator, the helicopter was destroyed.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N291LL
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale AS 365 N-2
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 6402
- Airframe hours
- 6,635
- Engine
- Turbomeca Arriel 1C2, 737 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Aerowest Helicopters, Inc., doing business as New Mexico Life Rescue
- Registered owner
- Business Aircraft Leasing, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 27, 2003 · 48 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Santa Fe, NM
- Destination
- SAF · Santa Fe, MA
- Airport
- SAF · Santa Fe Municipal
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
- 39
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- May 19, 2003
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 4,400 total · 150 in this make and model · 4,000 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 28 °F, dew point 12 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- SAF
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.