Heli crash in Death Valley

[mickjoebill]

Does anyone have more details? One fatality.
http://www.death-valley.us/article1154.html

Pictures here
http://www.death-valley.us/postt2013.html
It seemed the public "stepped out of their comfort zone" to help the lone plolice officer on duty.

mickjoebill

[SASless]

I wonder if the Chippie (slang for the CHP) is the famous "Sugar Bear" of desert highway fame?

[Lu Zuckerman]

NTSB Identification: LAX05FA056
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, December 30, 2004 in Panamint Spring, CA
Aircraft: Eurocopter France AS350BA, registration: N410JC
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 2 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 December 30, 2004, about 1143 Pacific standard time, a Eurocopter AS350BA, N410JC, collided with a mountainside while maneuvering during a low altitude aerial photography contract flight. The accident occurred about 1.8 nautical miles (nm) west of Panamint Springs, California, in the Death Valley National Park. The helicopter was owned and operated by Jetcopters, Inc., Van Nuys, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The helicopter was destroyed and the airline transport certificated pilot was seriously injured. There were two passengers on board, a director and a cameraman. The director was seriously injured, and the cameraman was fatally injured. The flight was performed under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, and it originated from Panamint Springs about 1100.

The initial point of impact (IPI) was identified by the presence of dislodged mountainside rocks and main rotor blade fragments strewn along the mountainside and adjacent to the mountainside on the eastbound lane of California State Highway 190, a 2-lane road. The highway's estimated elevation was 2,700 feet mean sea level (msl). Main rotor blade fragments were noted on the mountainside, about 30 feet (vertical elevation) above the ground. Gouges in the highway's westbound lane were observed about 120 feet east-northeast of the mountainside rocks/helicopter debris field. The helicopter's main wreckage was found partially inverted about 126 feet farther east-northeast from the gouge marks on the westbound highway lane. The wreckage was resting against a restraining guardrail. The tail boom was located down an embankment, about 40 feet north of the main wreckage.

The film crew's director reported to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator that during the flight she had requested the pilot maneuver his helicopter into a position which would allow the cameraman to film a specific automobile proceeding on the eastbound lane of the highway. Earlier during the flight the automobile had been filmed traveling on the westbound lane, which was farther away from the mountainside. The director stated that, at the time of the accident, the weather conditions were excellent, the ride was not bumpy, and the visibility was unrestricted.

The film crew's producer reported to the Safety Board investigator that the car's driver did not observe the accident. However, he surmised that while the helicopter was attempting to film the car it impacted the mountainside in an area where the road curved.

A letter dated December 29, 2004, from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was found in the wreckage. The letter was addressed to the accident pilot. In pertinent part, the letter stated that the "...motion picture plan of activities for the proposed operation scheduled for December 30, 2004, has been received, reviewed, and accepted...." Appended to the letter was a map with a circle around the Panamint Springs area where the automobile commercial was to be filmed.

A camera containing videotape was also recovered from the wreckage. The camera's power switch was found in the "on" position, and the tape drive mechanism was in the record mode. The camera and tape have been sent to the Safety Board's Vehicle Recorder Division, Washington, D.C., for examination of the audio/video media.

Index for Dec2004 | Index of months

[SASless]

Cor,

A letter from the FAA approving the thing....in the aircraft wreckage.....some bureaucrat is gonna be sweating this out!

Oh, dear...what ever are we to do? Hope he likes Cleveland!:ok:

[B Sousa]

Sasless
I think you will find that the FAA approve a lot of things and those involved in this mishap were in fact quite experienced. One cannot disapprove things just because something may happen..
As with all accidents it will probably fall on the pilot to "See and Avoid" such things as mountains, obstacles etc. OR it could be mechanical......OR it could be.......Bottom line is that we wont know for some time.
Just another Helicopter tragedy, they happen every day. Helicopter accident exposure rate is very high in certain fields, making movies is one of them. Check the insurance rates, that will certainly give you a clue. Insurance companies are not located in dilapidated buildings, they make profits.

[SASless]

Bert,

The helicopter industry seems to be a very big contributor to the lavish life style of the rich and famous insurance companies here of late too!

[Stan Switek]

"I wonder if the Chippie (slang for the CHP) is the famous "Sugar Bear" of desert highway fame?"

Officer Singer is the Chippie of Rodney King fame. She is the one that started the chase that lead to,,,, I think everyone know the rest of the story...

[SASless]

Stan....is that why she now patrols Death Valley?

[HeliMark]

I was wondering where she went, after being run out of Mojave.

[Stan Switek]

I don't know she was run out of anywhere. Last I heard, she was working out of one of the west end San Fernando Valley CHP offices with her husband who is also a CHP officer.

She is now working out of the Mojave CHP office and was assigned to work with the film crew on the date of the accident. CHP has one or 2 resident officers assigned to Death Valley. I suspect that she was assigned to this out of the Mojave office rather than the Death Valley resident officers because the area is so large & they could not be spared for the day. The resident officers are on call 24/7 as it is.

Some people including myself would refer to Mojave as a hell hole. I once flew a job in a SA341 Gazelle in that area. It was so hot the day I was there, with full fuel & 2 people on board I could barely hover without over temping. When I lifted, I noticed that the asphalt on the ramp was soft & I could see where the skids had sunk in slightly. It was that hot.

I suspect the Singers may have moved there for less notariety. Plus housing is very inexpensive. CHP makes pretty good money. In that area they could live like kings.

[SASless]

Must be a very satisfying job for a Chippie....writing killer truckers speeding tickets as they fly along the interstate out there....busting the 55mph limit like evil beings they are! It must take a life time to get across that part of California....middle of the night....not a car in sight....next interchange 25-30 miles away....cruise control set on the double nickel....no wonder so many of them run out of the road.....thump...thump...thump of the expansion joints.....zzzzzzzzzzzz....CRASHBOOMBANG!

Ah..but I do digress again....been there..done that...less the crash....heck the highway bypasses Mojave now....no more stop at the Giant Truckstop! But the 4 Corners Gag and Choke still awaits those who that that shortcut.

[Stan Switek]

Yes, doesnt sound very exciting. If you drive 55 out there one of those trucks is likely to run you over from behind. I drove through Mojave Sunday. Had it on cruise control at 77, speed limit 65. CHP in a great hiding spot, had me dead to rights on radar. He never moved. All I could figure is he was stopping people for 80+ and there were plenty! It was my lucky day.

[NickLappos]

SASless,
This is a shame. Maybe the pilot was spotting the car and maneuvering around while looking out the side windows in a turn? The tape will tell.

But SASless, how can you think the FAA would punish someone for this mishap when you said the EMS thread that the FAA never does anything?

[SASless]

Nick.....

I never said the FAA was gonna ding someone....just the opposite! I said some good guvmint bureaucrat's signature and fingerprints are on the letter found in the wreckage. We all know how guvmint workers hate to be pinned down and held accountable for their decisions. Remember the golden rule of survival in a bureaucracy.....a decision delayed is a decision not made....what you do not do...you cannot do wrong. If nothing else...some parts of the FAA are very good at that one thing if nothing else.

If the operator had an approved Movie Manual....then all the blocks will be checked off and all the paperwork will be in the right format and all will be cool.

I can assure you the FAA paperwork will not be named the cause of the accident....nor a contributing factor. They sure do not step up to the plate in the Gulf of Mexico or seem to get too excited over EMS crashes that seem to take place on a monthly basis so I see no need to point a finger that way in this one.

The investigation will tell us what happened.....operating close to the ground with a lot of distractions and demands upon you makes for a dangerous place to be. I am sure the guys involved were professionals and were very capable. Hopefully, the cause will be made known and we can all learn from what happened and thus be better prepared if we get called to do the same kind of work.

[Shawn Coyle]

Mojave a hell-hole?
Come now gentlemen (and ladies, too). Either it's a beautiful but hot day, and if you can't hover you just didn't bring a big enough engine, or it's 40+ mph of wind, and you don't need to worry about hovering. Just don't try a downwind departure and worry very much about hidden rotor turbulence from the hills.
Otherwise, a loverly place. Even nicer now that the bypass has gone in.
Having just changed jobs to being an EMS pilot I can no longer hide in my office when it gets windy. At least it's a 412 with stabilization....

[SASless]

Shawn,

You up on the nuances of takeoff and landings on a 412? It is not a 205/212 when she gets heavy. But then, coming from a Test Pilot background...you would expect that to be true.

[Bomber ARIS]

Shawn

What happened to the gig at the International Test Pilot School?

Or are you on some secret test pilot mission to investigate y'alls less than impressive EMS safety record??