Air Evac fatal Arkansas
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Air Evac fatal Arkansas
Three killed in air ambulance crash|Arkansas News
All 3 crew lost
All 3 crew lost
LINTON — A medical helicopter en route to pick up a patient crashed early today near Scotland in Van Buren County, killing all three crew members aboard, authorities said.
The crash occurred about 4 a.m. as the Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter, based in Vilonia, was on its way to Crabtree to meet an ambulance to pick up a patient, Air Evac spokeswoman Julie Heavrin said.
She identified the victims as pilot Kenneth Robertson of Searcy, flight nurse Kenneth Meyer Jr. of Center Ridge and flight paramedic Gayla Gregory of Clarksville.
The crash was the fourth for Air Evac since 2005, bringing the death toll to nine crew members and a patient.
The Bell 206 helicopter went down about 30 feet off Arkansas 95 in the Walnut Grove community, near a church. Debris was scattered along the highway.
The cause of the crash was not immediately determined. Federal Aviation Administration officials arrived at the scene at mid-morning to begin its investigation. The area was cordoned off and people were asked to stay away from the site.
Witnesses reported hearing pieces of debris falling through trees, followed by an explosion. Van Buren County Emergency Management Coordinator Jeana Williams said 911 Dispatch heard a call about 3:53 a.m. from Air Evac, saying, “Air Evac 30,” but got no response when the dispatch radioed back.
Within three minutes, 911 was inundated with calls of a fire, an explosion and a crash, and the Walnut Grove Volunteer Fire Department was called out, Williams said. State police and Van Buren County sheriff’s deputies also rushed to the scene.
The helicopter had been flying through fog, according to witnesses. It was not immediately known if weather played a role in the crash.
Van Buren County Sheriff Scott Bradley said the accident could have been worse as people gathered in the area for the annual National Chuckwagon Races. The craft also cleared several houses in the area of the crash site.
Williams said the patient the Air Evac crew was to have pick up, a 50-year-old man, was transported by ambulance to a hospital.
According to its website, Air Evac Lifeteam is the largest independently owned and operated membership-supported air medical service in the United States, conducting its operations with 90 air medical bases across 14 states. Air Evac was formed in 1985.
The crash occurred about 4 a.m. as the Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter, based in Vilonia, was on its way to Crabtree to meet an ambulance to pick up a patient, Air Evac spokeswoman Julie Heavrin said.
She identified the victims as pilot Kenneth Robertson of Searcy, flight nurse Kenneth Meyer Jr. of Center Ridge and flight paramedic Gayla Gregory of Clarksville.
The crash was the fourth for Air Evac since 2005, bringing the death toll to nine crew members and a patient.
The Bell 206 helicopter went down about 30 feet off Arkansas 95 in the Walnut Grove community, near a church. Debris was scattered along the highway.
The cause of the crash was not immediately determined. Federal Aviation Administration officials arrived at the scene at mid-morning to begin its investigation. The area was cordoned off and people were asked to stay away from the site.
Witnesses reported hearing pieces of debris falling through trees, followed by an explosion. Van Buren County Emergency Management Coordinator Jeana Williams said 911 Dispatch heard a call about 3:53 a.m. from Air Evac, saying, “Air Evac 30,” but got no response when the dispatch radioed back.
Within three minutes, 911 was inundated with calls of a fire, an explosion and a crash, and the Walnut Grove Volunteer Fire Department was called out, Williams said. State police and Van Buren County sheriff’s deputies also rushed to the scene.
The helicopter had been flying through fog, according to witnesses. It was not immediately known if weather played a role in the crash.
Van Buren County Sheriff Scott Bradley said the accident could have been worse as people gathered in the area for the annual National Chuckwagon Races. The craft also cleared several houses in the area of the crash site.
Williams said the patient the Air Evac crew was to have pick up, a 50-year-old man, was transported by ambulance to a hospital.
According to its website, Air Evac Lifeteam is the largest independently owned and operated membership-supported air medical service in the United States, conducting its operations with 90 air medical bases across 14 states. Air Evac was formed in 1985.
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VFR, single engine helicopter flying through fog at night and Air Evac alone have lost 4 aircraft since 2005?? This is becoming criminal.
RIP the crew but I am surprised they can actually get people to fly in these things and I know that if I were a patient I'd take my chances in an ambulance.
RIP the crew but I am surprised they can actually get people to fly in these things and I know that if I were a patient I'd take my chances in an ambulance.
The helicopter had been flying through fog, according to witnesses. It was not immediately known if weather played a role in the crash.
0400 call out...Foggy night....smack dab over an Interstate Highway?
For you young whippersnappers out there.....FOG KILLS!
At night.....FOG REALLY KILLS!
Read up on, get to understand, get very intimate with FOG recognition especially the warning signs and conditions that cause FOG! See it, sense it, feel it.....and keep yer boots under the bed where they belong when anything points to there being FOG in your immediate future.
If you want to live be an Old Fart....treat FOG as if it were the most virulent contagious terminal disease in the world! Avoid it like it was the Black Plague itself!
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perhaps the densest fog is right here Sasless.
Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20591
what is the usual vis in that neck of the woods?
Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20591
what is the usual vis in that neck of the woods?
Not quite as far as an arm's reach. 
The helicopter had been flying through fog, according to witnesses.
Careful about the bandwagons you jump on, boys. SASless is right.
The following is from a recent FAA report. The helicopter may have just come apart due to a mechanical failure or it may have hit something causing it to come apart.
SCOTLAND, Ark. - A helicopter ambulance left a trail of parts for about a mile before it hit the ground near a mobile home in central Arkansas, indicating it came apart in the air before crashing and killing its three crew members, a federal investigator said Wednesday.
The main rotor separated from the aircraft and was found north of the main crash site, and the tail was found to the southwest, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Jennifer Rodi said. The cause of Tuesday's crash hasn't been determined.
Investigators will try to reconstruct what's left of the aircraft on Thursday and Friday at the Clinton Airport, Rodi said. The NTSB also has obtained radar data that will be examined and may reveal more about the aircraft's final moments.
The Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter, a Bell 206 built in 1978, went down near around 4 a.m. Tuesday in the hills of Van Buren County, according to the company and the Federal Aviation Administration. The crash killed pilot Kenneth Robertson, flight nurse Kenneth Meyer Jr. and flight paramedic Gayla Gregory, the company said. There was no patient aboard the aircraft.
Nearby residents reported hearing an explosion and a fluttering or flapping sound, the engine revving and then metal crunching when the helicopter hit the ground, Rodi said.
Seth Myers, president and CEO of Air Evac Lifeteam, said company representatives met with families of the victims on Wednesday, and he plans to visit with them on Thursday. He said the accident has strongly affected people throughout the company who knew the victims.
The accident marked the fourth fatal accident by medical helicopters and planes this summer in the U.S., and boosted to 21 the number of people who have been killed in such crashes this year.
Rodi said it was too early to draw any conclusions about what caused Tuesday's wreck, but the investigative team was working to find out why the aircraft broke apart. She said investigators flew around the crash site, trying to determine if the helicopter clipped any treetops. She said but she hadn't had a chance to hear what they found.
The Air Evac fleet was fully equipped this summer with night-vision gear, and the company uses a risk-assessment procedure for each mission, Myers said. The company uses flight simulators for training that are scenario-based, and pilots come to the company's headquarters at West Plains, Mo., for training and to talk about safety with company executives.
Myers said about 65 percent of the company's flights are from hospital to hospital. For arrivals at the scene of medical emergencies, the company has developed pre-designated sites where a helicopter can land safely, he said.
"You see fire departments in rural areas with a wind sock. They have a landing pad," Myers said.
Myers said the company will learn all it can from Tuesday's tragedy in an effort to make future flights safer.
The main rotor separated from the aircraft and was found north of the main crash site, and the tail was found to the southwest, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Jennifer Rodi said. The cause of Tuesday's crash hasn't been determined.
Investigators will try to reconstruct what's left of the aircraft on Thursday and Friday at the Clinton Airport, Rodi said. The NTSB also has obtained radar data that will be examined and may reveal more about the aircraft's final moments.
The Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter, a Bell 206 built in 1978, went down near around 4 a.m. Tuesday in the hills of Van Buren County, according to the company and the Federal Aviation Administration. The crash killed pilot Kenneth Robertson, flight nurse Kenneth Meyer Jr. and flight paramedic Gayla Gregory, the company said. There was no patient aboard the aircraft.
Nearby residents reported hearing an explosion and a fluttering or flapping sound, the engine revving and then metal crunching when the helicopter hit the ground, Rodi said.
Seth Myers, president and CEO of Air Evac Lifeteam, said company representatives met with families of the victims on Wednesday, and he plans to visit with them on Thursday. He said the accident has strongly affected people throughout the company who knew the victims.
The accident marked the fourth fatal accident by medical helicopters and planes this summer in the U.S., and boosted to 21 the number of people who have been killed in such crashes this year.
Rodi said it was too early to draw any conclusions about what caused Tuesday's wreck, but the investigative team was working to find out why the aircraft broke apart. She said investigators flew around the crash site, trying to determine if the helicopter clipped any treetops. She said but she hadn't had a chance to hear what they found.
The Air Evac fleet was fully equipped this summer with night-vision gear, and the company uses a risk-assessment procedure for each mission, Myers said. The company uses flight simulators for training that are scenario-based, and pilots come to the company's headquarters at West Plains, Mo., for training and to talk about safety with company executives.
Myers said about 65 percent of the company's flights are from hospital to hospital. For arrivals at the scene of medical emergencies, the company has developed pre-designated sites where a helicopter can land safely, he said.
"You see fire departments in rural areas with a wind sock. They have a landing pad," Myers said.
Myers said the company will learn all it can from Tuesday's tragedy in an effort to make future flights safer.
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Not immediately known if the fog had anything to do with it!
We had heavy rain late monday night. When we got up tuesday morning the fog was thick. We could not see the mountain next to us. The top of the mountain was not visible! And that was at nearly 7:30A.M. We are not that far from where the crew went down. Sometimes the fog is so thick here you could not see your hand in front of your face. Especially at night. Ever heard the term "it was like pea soup out there"? That's exactly how it gets in these mountains.
It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the "FOG" played a very big roll in the crash. More than likely the helicopter did clip some tree tops. Because of the FOG! Does that night vision help see through fog that's like pea soup?
I don't believe it mattered that this helicopter had only a single engine. 2 engines or 100 engines would not have made a difference in the FOG!
I had met Kenney Meyers several years ago when I worked for his Dad. He was a good kid! My prayers go out to all of the families of the flight crew.
It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the "FOG" played a very big roll in the crash. More than likely the helicopter did clip some tree tops. Because of the FOG! Does that night vision help see through fog that's like pea soup?
I don't believe it mattered that this helicopter had only a single engine. 2 engines or 100 engines would not have made a difference in the FOG!
I had met Kenney Meyers several years ago when I worked for his Dad. He was a good kid! My prayers go out to all of the families of the flight crew.
So, single pilot NVG ops pushing it through poor weather to get the job done - abort to IFR would have been the safe route, or not to have gone at all if the weather was that bad.
By the time you are hovertaxying next to a road to keep visual at night, you really should have made a much better decision earlier on.
By the time you are hovertaxying next to a road to keep visual at night, you really should have made a much better decision earlier on.
The helicopter may have just come apart due to a mechanical failure
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I am sure I am not alone in this frustrating scenario.
More unnecessary deaths for what?
Absolutely for what???
Can someone please confirm that: “night-vision gear” actually means “Night Vision Goggles” (NVG's) flown in Night Visual Conditions by qualified (NVG) Flightcrew?
Do we expect the FAA must surely act soon?
Nope.
More unnecessary deaths for what?
Absolutely for what???
Can someone please confirm that: “night-vision gear” actually means “Night Vision Goggles” (NVG's) flown in Night Visual Conditions by qualified (NVG) Flightcrew?
Do we expect the FAA must surely act soon?
Nope.
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NTSB Says Air Evac Helicopter May Have Broken Up In Flight
Fri, 03 Sep '10
Investigators Find A Trail Of Debris Nearly A Mile Long
NTSB investigators say the Air Evac Bell 206 helicopter which went down early Tuesday morning may have broken up in flight. The three-person crew of the aircraft was fatally injured in the accident.
File Photo
NTSB investigator Jennifer Rodi said the main rotor was found north of the main wreckage, and the tail section was found to the southwest. The Associated Press reports that residents near the accident scene heard something that sounded like an explosion, then an engine revving and "metal crunching" when the helicopter impacted the ground.
The helicopter was manufacture in 1978, according to FAA records. Air Evac CEO Seth Myers said it was fully equipped with night vision equipment, and that the company's flight crews perform a risk assessment prior to every flight.
Rudi said the investigative team had not reported details of their findings in the field. The AP indicated it is the fourth fatal accident involving a medical helicopter or other aircraft this summer. So far in 2010, 21 people have been fatally injured in accidents involving medical aircraft.
FMI: National Transportation Safety Board
*
Fri, 03 Sep '10
Investigators Find A Trail Of Debris Nearly A Mile Long
NTSB investigators say the Air Evac Bell 206 helicopter which went down early Tuesday morning may have broken up in flight. The three-person crew of the aircraft was fatally injured in the accident.
File Photo
NTSB investigator Jennifer Rodi said the main rotor was found north of the main wreckage, and the tail section was found to the southwest. The Associated Press reports that residents near the accident scene heard something that sounded like an explosion, then an engine revving and "metal crunching" when the helicopter impacted the ground.
The helicopter was manufacture in 1978, according to FAA records. Air Evac CEO Seth Myers said it was fully equipped with night vision equipment, and that the company's flight crews perform a risk assessment prior to every flight.
Rudi said the investigative team had not reported details of their findings in the field. The AP indicated it is the fourth fatal accident involving a medical helicopter or other aircraft this summer. So far in 2010, 21 people have been fatally injured in accidents involving medical aircraft.
FMI: National Transportation Safety Board
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FH1100,
Yes the number of engines makes a difference. Singles are single pilot VFR, twins are 2 pilot IFR. Singles are crashing with monotonous regularity in USA at night and bad WX because they are flying beneath cloud and becoming CFIT statistics or getting disoriented and crashing.
Twin engine machines firstly have two pilots - one of whom can be detailed to get a last minute weather check whilst the other preps the machine. Then they can discuss the weather and their options before departure. if they choose to go then they have the option of flying above fog or in cloud to get to the destination and if they can't land then they divert because they have the equipment and fuel reserves to do that.
John R81,
If this VFR machine came apart in the air whilst flying in fog (cloud) then my guess is that it came apart due to unintentional aerobatics caused by loss of situational awareness - not mechanical failure.
What concerns me most is not why these pilots keep doing it - it is why the medical crews blindly follow them to the scene of the accident. The medical crews that i fly with (in a 2 pilot, twin engine machine) want a detailed weather brief before they will go anywhere. They have no intention of following me to an early grave.
Yes the number of engines makes a difference. Singles are single pilot VFR, twins are 2 pilot IFR. Singles are crashing with monotonous regularity in USA at night and bad WX because they are flying beneath cloud and becoming CFIT statistics or getting disoriented and crashing.
Twin engine machines firstly have two pilots - one of whom can be detailed to get a last minute weather check whilst the other preps the machine. Then they can discuss the weather and their options before departure. if they choose to go then they have the option of flying above fog or in cloud to get to the destination and if they can't land then they divert because they have the equipment and fuel reserves to do that.
John R81,
If this VFR machine came apart in the air whilst flying in fog (cloud) then my guess is that it came apart due to unintentional aerobatics caused by loss of situational awareness - not mechanical failure.
What concerns me most is not why these pilots keep doing it - it is why the medical crews blindly follow them to the scene of the accident. The medical crews that i fly with (in a 2 pilot, twin engine machine) want a detailed weather brief before they will go anywhere. They have no intention of following me to an early grave.
Epiphany, that may be the case in Australia but not in the US. There are plenty Single Engine IFR machines out there (quite possibly also including some dual pilot ops, others here may know better), as well as Single Pilot IFR twins.
Singles are single pilot VFR, twins are 2 pilot IFR
I have no wish to comment on the causes of this accident, only on this comment.
I am not sure that there are that many Single Engine IFR machines - i.e. certificated to Appendix B of Part 27 - out there. If there were, the additional requirement for stability would have a substantial effect on the safety of operations of singles at night or in a degraded visual cue environment.
It is extremely difficult to meet the (single pilot) stability requirements without augmentation.
Jim
There are plenty Single Engine IFR machines out there
It is extremely difficult to meet the (single pilot) stability requirements without augmentation.
Jim
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NTSB Preliminary Report
CEN10FA509
NTSB Identification: CEN10FA509
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, August 31, 2010 in Walnut Grove, AR
Aircraft: BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON 206L-1, registration: N62AE
Injuries: 3 Fatal.
NTSB Identification: CEN10FA509
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, August 31, 2010 in Walnut Grove, AR
Aircraft: BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON 206L-1, registration: N62AE
Injuries: 3 Fatal.
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 August 31, 2010, approximately 0400 central daylight time, a Bell 206L-1, N62AE, owned and operated by Air Evac EMS Inc, was destroyed when it impacted terrain following an in-flight break-up near Walnut Grove, Arkansas. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The positioning flight was being operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 on a company flight plan. The Emergency Medical Services flight departed Vilonia, Arkansas, approximately 0340 and was en route to Crabtree, Arkansas, to pick up a patient.
On August 31, 2010, approximately 0400 central daylight time, a Bell 206L-1, N62AE, owned and operated by Air Evac EMS Inc, was destroyed when it impacted terrain following an in-flight break-up near Walnut Grove, Arkansas. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The positioning flight was being operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 on a company flight plan. The Emergency Medical Services flight departed Vilonia, Arkansas, approximately 0340 and was en route to Crabtree, Arkansas, to pick up a patient.
Several witnesses in the area reported that the sounds of the rotor blades were normal and then heard the sound of the rotor blades slow in speed. One witness reported seeing the helicopter circle above his home. Another witness reported hearing an “explosion” and shortly thereafter the sound of crushing or crashing metal and “tin.” Another witness reported hearing an increase in the engine sound before hearing the helicopter impact the ground.
A preliminary review of Federal Aviation Administration radar data depicts the helicopter flying from the southeast to the northwest. The helicopter initiated a turn to the left and then a turn to the right, and then the radar target disappeared.
The helicopter was found separated into three main pieces: the main rotor assembly, the fuselage, and the tail boom. The main rotor assembly was located approximately 700 feet to the northwest of the main wreckage. The tail rotor came to rest 100 feet to the south of the main wreckage. The furthest component located was a Plexiglas chin-bubble located 0.5 miles to the north.
The main wreckage consisted of the fuselage, cabin area, and instrument panel and exhibited extensive fire and impact damage. The tail boom included the horizontal and vertical stabilizers and tail rotor and exhibited impact damage. The main rotor consisted of both blades and the main rotor yoke and there was damage exhibited to both blades.
The closet weather observation was recorded in Clinton, Arkansas, at 0355. The automated weather observation station recorded calm wind, 10 miles visibility, few clouds at 1,600 feet, ceiling broken at 4,900 feet, overcast at 6,000 feet, temperature 25 degrees Celsius, dew point 23 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.10 inches.
"Just a pilot"
Y'all talk funny Down Under, up in Canadia and over in the Old Country. It evidently don't interfere with telling yourself warm and fuzzy fairy tales.
If you want to believe that twenty-three engines, high def flat glass-panels, fully coupulated auto-pilots, X-ray vision and flight into known icing capability make you smarter and less likely to fatal error, I have bad news: It ain't so. That delusion is dangerous. Pilot error kills pilots much, much more frequently than engine failures, etc., and in spite of what you're flying...
The end.
P.S. I'm not attributing any cause whatsoever to this accident. Mechanical and maintenance failures occur also.
If you want to believe that twenty-three engines, high def flat glass-panels, fully coupulated auto-pilots, X-ray vision and flight into known icing capability make you smarter and less likely to fatal error, I have bad news: It ain't so. That delusion is dangerous. Pilot error kills pilots much, much more frequently than engine failures, etc., and in spite of what you're flying...
The end.
P.S. I'm not attributing any cause whatsoever to this accident. Mechanical and maintenance failures occur also.
The closet weather observation was recorded in Clinton, Arkansas, at 0355. The automated weather observation station recorded calm wind, 10 miles visibility, few clouds at 1,600 feet, ceiling broken at 4,900 feet, overcast at 6,000 feet, temperature 25 degrees Celsius, dew point 23 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.10 inches.
What was the elevation of the crash site?
Looking at the map....it looks to be about a 40nm flight...and the crash occurred just north of a river as the aircraft was approaching some higher ground. The reported weather was at the destination end of the route and off to the north of track.
Last edited by SASless; 15th Sep 2010 at 00:34.
