- Date
- March 11, 2018, 19:08 local (23:08 UTC)
- Place
- New York, NY
- Injuries
- 5 fatal, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Prior to flight
- Aircraft
- N350LHAmerican Eurocopter AS350B2
- Defining event
- Prior to flight: Miscellaneous/other
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report January 21, 2020
- Report
- Board-adopted at Board Meeting
- Investigation class
- Class 1
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- EuroTec Canada Ltd., Liberty Helicopters Inc., Airbus Helicopters, TSBC, Transport Canada, EASA, FAA / AVP-100, SAFRAN Helicopter Engines, NYONair, Dart Aerospace, BEA
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 20180311003509A
- Case key
- 96850
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
Liberty Helicopters Inc.'s use of a NYONair-provided passenger harness/tether system, which caught on and activated the floor-mounted engine fuel shutoff lever and resulted in the in-flight loss of engine power and the subsequent ditching. Contributing to this accident were (1) Liberty's and NYONair's deficient safety management, which did not adequately mitigate foreseeable risks associated with the harness/tether system interfering with the floor-mounted controls and hindering passenger egress; (2) Liberty allowing NYONair to influence the operational control of Liberty's FlyNYON flights; and (3) the Federal Aviation Administration's inadequate oversight of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 revenue passenger-carrying operations. Contributing to the severity of the accident were (1) the rapid capsizing of the helicopter due to partial inflation of the emergency flotation system and (2) Liberty and NYONair's use of the harness/tether system that hindered passenger egress.
Findings · 13
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 Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/aviation.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-19/04. On March 11, 2018, about 1908 eastern daylight time, an Airbus Helicopters AS350 B2, N350LH, lost engine power during cruise flight, and the pilot performed an autorotative descent and ditching on the East River in New York, New York. The pilot sustained minor injuries, the five passengers drowned, and the helicopter was substantially damaged. The FlyNYON-branded flight was operated by Liberty Helicopters Inc. (Liberty), per a contractual agreement with NYONair; both companies considered the flight to be an aerial photography flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. (During this accident investigation, the Federal Aviation Administration determined that Liberty operated the flight as a nonstop commercial air tour under 14 CFR Part 91.) Visual flight rules weather conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the intended 30-minute local flight, which departed from Helo Kearny Heliport, Kearny, New Jersey, about 1850.
Factual narrative
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/aviation.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-19/04. On March 11, 2018, about 1908 eastern daylight time, an Airbus Helicopters AS350 B2, N350LH, lost engine power during cruise flight, and the pilot performed an autorotative descent and ditching on the East River in New York, New York. The pilot sustained minor injuries, the five passengers drowned, and the helicopter was substantially damaged. The FlyNYON-branded flight was operated by Liberty Helicopters Inc. (Liberty), per a contractual agreement with NYONair; both companies considered the flight to be an aerial photography flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. (During this accident investigation, the Federal Aviation Administration determined that Liberty operated the flight as a nonstop commercial air tour under 14 CFR Part 91.) Visual flight rules weather conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the intended 30-minute local flight, which departed from Helo Kearny Heliport, Kearny, New Jersey, about 1850.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N350LH
- Reported as
- American Eurocopter AS350B2
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 7654
- Built
- 2013
- Airframe hours
- 5,510.2
- Engine
- Turbomeca Arriel 1D1, 712 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Liberty Helicopters Inc
- Registered owner
- Meridian Consulting Corp Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 6, 2018 · 14 hours before
- Departed
- 65NJ · Kearny, NJ
- Destination
- 65NJ · Kearny, NJ
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Equipment
- Satellite tracking device, Video recording device, 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
- 33
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 21, 2018
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,100 total · 1,430 in this make and model · 3,020 as pilot in command · 57 in the last 90 days · 33 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 330° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- LGA, 3 nm away
Docket · 79
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 25, 2019, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.