Latest AEL EMS crash in a Jetranger
NTSB Identification: DFW05FA073
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Monday, February 21, 2005 in Gentry, AR
Aircraft: Bell 206-L1, registration: N5734M
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 3 Serious.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On February 21, 2005, at 1339 central standard time, a Bell 206-L1 single-engine helicopter, N5734M, operated by Air Evac Lifeteam was substantially damaged shortly after takeoff when it made a hard landing in a field near Gentry, Arkansas. The commercial pilot, the flight nurse, and the paramedic were seriously injured and the patient was fatally injured. The helicopter was registered to Air Evac Leasing Corporation, West Plains, Missouri. A company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed for the flight that departed about 1337, and was destined for Springdale, Arkansas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the medevac flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135.
According to Arkansas State Police reports, the patient was involved in a single vehicle, rollover traffic accident. The patient was bleeding from the ear and was combative. An Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter was dispatched to the scene to pick-up the patient and transport him to a hospital in Springdale, Arkansas. The patient was transported via ambulance approximately one-half mile south of where the vehicle accident occurred to a designated landing zone, where he was loaded on to the helicopter. The landing zone was the front lawn of a private residence.
An Arkansas State Trooper escorted the ambulance and reported that he observed the helicopter circle over the accident site, then make an approach to the north and land. The patient was then transferred over to the flight crew and loaded on to the helicopter. The Trooper observed the helicopter as it departed. He said he heard the helicopter's engine achieve full power and then it began a vertical climb to approximately 100 feet, when it began to spin. The helicopter continued to spin, before it got "silent' and dropped to the ground in a field adjacent to the landing zone.
Several emergency medical service (EMS) personnel also observed the helicopter as it departed. Each reported similar accounts of how the helicopter started to spin shortly after it departed, and subsequently land in the field.
A witness, who owned the property where the helicopter had landed, was in her backyard when she observed the helicopter depart. She said the helicopter was initially parked in her front yard facing the north. As it departed, the helicopter ascended and then began to slowly spin to the right as it maneuvered over her house and toward an open field adjacent to her home. She said the helicopter began to spin faster, and after it made several rotations it "dropped" and landed upright in the field. The witness could not recall how high the helicopter was above the ground when it started to spin, but she felt that it was too low. She also stated that she did not hear any unusual noises from the helicopter during its short flight.
The pilot was interviewed in the hospital the day after the accident. He stated that during his recon of the landing zone, he could not find any indicators that would assist him with determining wind direction; however, when he had reviewed the weather that morning the winds were reported out of the north between 330 and 030 degrees and were "brisk", about 10-15 knots. The pilot was also able to identify and verify all obstacles reported by his crew in the vicinity of the designated landing zone.
After the patient was boarded, the pilot said that he brought the helicopter to a hover and noted that his engine torque was near 100 percent. While still in a hover, the pilot maneuvered the helicopter to the right and stopped when he was within 20-25 feet of the property owner's home. He did this so he could avoid the approximately 60-foot-high power lines that ran diagonally in front of the helicopter from southwest to northeast. There was also a set of power lines that ran north/south behind the property owner's home. Both sets of power lines converged at the same wooden utility pole, which was located north of the home.
The pilot stated that when he departed, he began a vertical ascent but was trying not to increase the collective above the available torque. He said that he was concerned about clearing the power lines and losing effectiveness of the tail rotor. When the helicopter reached an altitude that was slightly below the power lines, it began an uninitiated turn to the right. The pilot had full left torque pedal applied at the time, and said that he attempted to gain forward airspeed, and also used the cyclic to follow the nose of the aircraft in an attempt to fly out of the turn. The pilot was unable to gain airspeed, and the helicopter began to spin to the right and descend. The pilot stated that his only option was to initiate an autoration, so he lowered the collective and placed the throttle in the idle position, which slowed the spinning. When the helicopter was approximately 10-20 feet above the ground, the pilot placed the collective to the full-up position to cushion the landing; however, there was not sufficient main rotor rpm to stop the high rate of descent. After the impact, the pilot said the engine was still running so he secured the helicopter, which included turning off the fuel valve and battery switch.
The helicopter came to rest upright in a grass field approximately 100 yards southeast from where it had departed on a heading of 172 degrees at an elevation of approximately 1,000 feet mean sea level (msl). Both skids were spread their maximum distance, and the belly of the helicopter was laying flat on the ground. The aft skid cross-tube had pushed up into the belly of the aircraft and ruptured the fuel tanks. According to the Arkansas State Trooper, approximately two inches of jet fuel surrounded the helicopter shortly after the accident.
The pilot held a commercial certificate for rotorcraft-helicopter, instrument helicopter, and airplane single-engine land. He was also a certified airframe power plant mechanic. The pilot reported a total of 3,500 hours of total flight time, of which approximately 3,438 hours were in helicopters and 15 hours were in make and model.
His last second class FAA medical was issued on December 13, 2004.
Weather reported at Smith Airport (SLG), Siloam Springs, Arkansas, approximately 10 miles southeast of the accident site, at 1335, included wind from 050 degrees at 7 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, clear skies, temperature 61 degrees Fahrenheit, dewpoint 46 degrees Fahrenheit, and a barometric pressure setting of 30.01 inches of Mercury.