- Date
- March 9, 2023, 18:57 local (23:57 UTC)
- Place
- Franklin, NC
- Injuries
- 3 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N558MTEurocopter Deutschland EC 135 P2+
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- Transportation Safety Board of Canada, FAA/FSDO, German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation, Airbus Helicopters
- FAA report
- 20230309008109A
- Case key
- 106859
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 pilot’s improper decision to review an aircraft logbook while enroute, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.
Findings · 5
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
According to the pilot, prior to the flight, he determined the highest obstacle enroute was 6,100 ft with several 5,000 to 5,500 ft peaks along the route. In addition, he noted that during the flight, the end of evening nautical twilight would occur. After departure, he dialed 5,500 ft into the autopilot and leveled off. He went to don the night vision goggles and noted that they were on the copilot seat on top of an aircraft logbook. He went to move the logbook to the pilot door compartment, where it was typically stowed for flight, and decided to check the flight times against the times that maintenance was due. At that point, he noticed the cloud ceiling was lowering and dialed in 5,000 ft into the autopilot, then “went back heads down” to continue his review of the logbook. Then, the flight nurse asked for an updated estimated time enroute, and when the pilot looked up, he saw the helicopter was approaching a tree covered peak. He applied aft cyclic in order to climb; however the tail boom struck several trees, resulting in the vertical stabilizer separating from the tail boom. The pilot subsequently performed a forced landing to a road, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and tail boom. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N558MT
- Reported as
- Eurocopter Deutschland EC 135 P2+
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1073
- Built
- 2012
- Airframe hours
- 6,067.7
- Engines
- Pratt & Whitney PW206B2, 431 horsepower, turbo shaftPratt & Whitney PW206B2, 431 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Med-Trans Corporation, doing business as LifeForce
- Registered owner
- Med-Trans Corporation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · February 23, 2023
- Departed
- 5NC4 · Murphey, NC
- Destination
- NC95 · Asheville, NC
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Satellite tracking device, Onboard weather, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 1, 2023
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 4,723 total · 1,867 in this make and model · 3,992 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.16 inHg
- Observed at
- K1A5, 4 nm away
- METAR
- METAR K1A5 100015Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM OVC050 12/00 A3016 RMK AO2 T01171001=
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 7, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.8 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.