ERA19TA110

The flight crew was on a visual flight rules (VFR) ferry flight to reposition the helicopter for maintenance and inspection. Prior to departure, they had expected VFR conditions along the entire route of flight. During an intermediate stop for fuel about 42 miles from the destination, they noted the weather conditions appeared to be clear, but they did not obtain an updated weather briefing. After departure, about 10 miles away from their destination, they encountered heavy rain, moderate turbulence, and deteriorating visibility (a nearby airport reported a visibility of 2.5 statute miles in mist and an overcast cloud ceiling at 300 feet). They descended to about 100 feet above ground level to maintain visual contact with the ground. When VFR flight conditions “were no longer possible,” they performed a turn and attempted a precautionary landing in a field. During the landing, the helicopter struck trees and impacted terrain.

On February 28, 2019, about 1500 central standard time, a Sikorsky HH-60L, N260MW, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Tullahoma, Tennessee. The two pilots received serious injuries. The helicopter was operated as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 repositioning flight. The purpose of the flight was to reposition the helicopter for maintenance and inspection. The special airworthiness certificate and ferry flight permit were issued for the flight from Enterprise Municipal Airport (EDN), Enterprise, Alabama, to THA, which included a restriction for visual flight rules (VFR) operation. According to the pilot-in-command, the crew departed EDN earlier that morning, destined for THA. It was a route they had “flown many times and were familiar with” and “VFR conditions were expected along the entire route of flight from point departure to destination.” They had stopped at Scottsboro Municipal Airport, Alabama (4A6), which was about 42 miles from the destination, for fuel and lunch. He recalled that the weather at that time appeared to be clear. He did not report receiving an updated weather briefing while at 4A6. They departed from 4A6 at 1400 with no issues. While enroute to THA, the pilot recalled that they had “encountered severe heavy rain, moderate turbulence, along with rapidly deteriorating visibility. We descended to approximately 100 ft AGL to maintain visual contact with the ground. When VFR flight conditions were no longer possible, we executed a turn and attempted to land the helicopter in an open field.” He said there were no problems or issues with the helicopter and did not recall any further details about the accident sequence. A witness located about 1/2 nautical mile from the accident site was outside her home when she heard the sound of a helicopter nearby. She could not see the helicopter due to the clouds, and she noted that it was raining lightly at the time. She said the helicopter sounded “really loud and low, as if it were trying to land behind her house.” She heard the helicopter for about 30 seconds before hearing a loud “whump whump” sound followed by a loud boom. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that all major components of the helicopter were present at the accident site. The fuselage came to rest on its left side and nearly inverted, at the edge of a wooded area. The majority of the tailboom was in an adjacent tree about 30 ft above the ground. The main rotor blades were all separated from the hub, fragmented, and strewn across an area about 100 yards in diameter. The 1455 weather conditions reported at the THA, located about 2.5 nautical miles northeast of the accident site at an elevation of 1,084 ft mean sea level (msl), included an overcast cloud ceiling at 300 ft above ground level (agl), visibility 2.5 statute miles in mist, temperature 13° C, dew point 12° C. The visibility had reduced to 1 mile at the next recordedobservation at 1515. A review of the graphical aviation forecast issued by the National Weather Service at 1302 revealed that overcast skies were expected in the area around the time of the accident with cloud bases at 1,100 ft msl and tops at 9,000 ft msl. Two airmen’s meteorological information advisories were issued at 1200 and 1500, warning of instrument meteorological conditions expected in the area of the accident.