ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 29975
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| Date: | Thursday 16 November 2000 |
| Time: | 21:55 |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350B2 Ecureuil |
| Owner/operator: | Helicopter Services, Inc. |
| Registration: | N126TV |
| MSN: | 2944 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3973 hours |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca Arriel 1D1 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Elm Street/Bammel Lane, River Oaks, Houston, Texas -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Houston, TX (HOU) |
| Spring, TX (DWH) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The turbine powered helicopter was on a 29 nautical mile night flight over a city. Two law enforcement officers, located about two blocks northeast of the accident site, reported observing the helicopter "flying at a very low altitude" northbound. The officers walked around the building to a parking lot where they met another officer. All three officers heard the helicopter fly over the parking lot in a southwest direction. The officers looked for the helicopter, but they could not see it due to the poor visibility. When the helicopter came into view, it was "banked to the right" traveling in a westerly direction. The helicopter continued in a downward direction, and then a "huge fireball" was observed. The helicopter struck wires, a power pole and an above ground gas meter. An electrical transformer exploded, and the helicopter was consumed by the ensuing fire. The destination airport had IFR weather conditions at the time of departure. Witnesses estimated that at the time of the accident, there was an overcast ceiling of about 300-400 feet. No record was found of any preflight weather briefing obtained by the pilot. No pre-impact anomalies were observed during an examination of the airframe and engine.
Probable Cause: the pilot's failure to maintain obstacle clearance while maneuvering, which resulted in an in-flight collision with objects. Contributing factors were the dark night and low ceilings.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001212X22284&key=1
FAA register: 2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=126TV
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 26-Jun-2014 01:59 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 12-Dec-2017 19:52 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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