- Date
- December 12, 2022, 17:35 local (Dec 13, 2022, 01:35 UTC)
- Place
- Yuba City, CA · Tierra Buena
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N415RXAirbus Helicopters EC 130 T2
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Birdstrike
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20221212021099A
- Case key
- 106456
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
An in-flight collision with a bird while in cruise flight.
Findings · 2
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 pilot in the helicopter reported that, during cruise flight at dusk with night vision goggles on, he encountered a flock of birds at 1,500 ft above ground level. As the pilot initiated a climbing left turn to avoid the birds, he heard a loud bang accompanied by a pain in his left leg. The helicopter then began to vibrate, and the pilot initiated a precautionary landing in a nearby field without further incident. Bird remains were located throughout the pilot side of the cockpit. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the windshield. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N415RX
- Reported as
- Airbus Helicopters EC 130 T2
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 9130
- Built
- 2021
- Airframe hours
- 223.2
- Engine
- Safran ARRIEL 2D, 802 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 135
- Operator
- Reach Air Medical Services LLC
- Registered owner
- Reach Air Medical Services LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · December 8, 2022
- Departed
- KMCC · Sacramento, CA
- Destination
- KRDD · Redding, CA
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Video recording device, Satellite tracking device
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
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 30, 2022
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 2,671 total · 1,627 in this make and model · 2,671 as pilot in command · 58 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 130° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.77 inHg
- Observed at
- KBAB, 13 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KBAB 120055Z AUTO 13007KT 10SM OVC060 09/05 A2977
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 31, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.5 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.