ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 348959
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| Date: | Tuesday 19 December 2023 |
| Time: | 20:04 |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS350B2 Écureuil |
| Owner/operator: | US Helicopters Inc |
| Registration: | N606HD |
| MSN: | 7601 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2013 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Hammonton, NJ -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Survey |
| Departure airport: | Philadelphia-North Philadelphia Airport, PA (PNE/KPNE) |
| Philadelphia-North Philadelphia Airport, PA (PNE/KPNE) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
On December 19, 2023, about 2004 eastern standard time, an American Eurocopter Corp. AS350B2 helicopter, N606HD, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Hammonton, New Jersey. The pilot and a videographer were fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 electronic news gathering (ENG) flight.
The helicopter Callsign "Chopper 6" was owned and operated by US Helicopters, Inc. and was assigned to WPVI – TV (branded on air as 6ABC), which served the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area as an ENG asset.
About 1923 hours, the helicopter departed Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after being dispatched by the news station assignment desk to a scene 44 nautical miles to the south/southeast (about 7 nautical miles east of Atlantic City, New Jersey) in the Smithville, New Jersey area. This was the third flight of the day for the helicopter and crew and the helicopter had been refueled prior to the accident flight.
The helicopter arrived on scene approximately 20 minutes later and began orbiting the scene while collecting video footage for the news station. After about 10 minutes on scene, the news assignment desk cleared the crew to return to base (PNE) via radio.
About 2200 hours, US Helicopters was notified by the news station assignment desk that they had tried to reach the crew for another assignment but were unable to contact them by telephone. After confirming the helicopter had not returned to PNE, actions were taken to obtain last location information and the time frame of the last contact.
State and local authorities were then contacted with the last contact information, flight route information, and possible location information obtained from internet-based automatic dependent surveillance - broadcast (ADS-B) tracking platforms. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) New York Air Route Traffic Control Center was also contacted to initiate an overdue/missing aircraft report.
The ADS-B tracking platforms showed the helicopter's last location about 4 nautical miles east/northeast of Hammonton Municipal Airport (N81), Hammonton, New Jersey.
On December 20, 2024, at approximately 0005, the wreckage of the helicopter was located in a densely wooded area of the Wharton State Forest near Hammonton, New Jersey.
According to preliminary air traffic control data provided by the FAA, about 1945, the helicopter completed orbiting the assigned scene, and climbed to about 1,000 ft mean sea level (msl) while heading direct to PNE, approximately paralleling the outbound course from PNE that it had flown to the scene.
About 2001, the helicopter drifted right of the established flight track and passed through its outbound course from PNE. At 2001:54, the helicopter began to descend and passed through an altitude of 775 ft msl.
At 2002:16, the helicopter continued to descend through 700 ft msl, and its groundspeed was increasing through 93 knots. At 2003:08, the helicopter had descended through 400 ft msl and was accelerating through 103 knots.
At 2003:25, the helicopter had descended through 250 ft at 107 knots. The helicopter’s final position was recorded at 2003:37, while it was traveling at a groundspeed of 115 knots. According to a witness, around this time, he observed a solid light traveling quickly at a steep angle, while another witness observed what he described as a "giant orange ball" descending into the forest.
Examination of the accident site revealed that a wreckage path was present that extended from the first identified tree strike on an approximate 320° magnetic heading for about 600 ft to where the main wreckage came to rest.
Examination of the wreckage revealed that most of the helicopter was heavily impactedfragmented and had been consumed by a postimpact fire except for portions of the tail boom, doors, and small pieces that had separated from the helicopter in the area of the initial impact. The instrument panel had separated from the airframe and was heavily damaged. The rest of the cockpit/cabin area was destroyed.
All three main rotor blades were found at the main wreckage site and had remained attached at the root ends at their respective main rotor blade sleeves, which were damaged from fire but remained attached to the Starflex bearingless main rotor hub. All three Starflex arms were fractured with diagonal fracture signatures across the star arms.
All three main rotor blades exhibited thermal damage and damage consistent with high rotational energy of the rotor system. Two blades appeared more heavily impact damaged at the outboard ends and displayed broom straw-type signatures. Main rotor blade debris (rotor blade skin and core foam) was observed near the beginning of the wreckage path and throughout the woods leading to the main wreckage. Several trees were observed with smooth cuts consistent with main rotor blade strikes in a long shallow descending path through the woods to the main ground impact area.
The main rotor transmission had separated from the helicopter generally intact with the rotor system attached. The chip detector was examined and was found to be clean and free of metallic debris. All three main rotor hydraulic servos were still attached. They displayed blunt impact damage and the hydraulic lines had separated. The hydraulic pump was impact damaged and still attached by its bracket.
Functional continuity of the flight control system and main rotor drive system could not be confirmed due to the post-impact fire damage. However, the flight control path was traced from their cockpit input devices to their aerodynamic component connections through the thermally or blunt impact damage areas. No pre-impact anomalies were noted.
Dual flight controls were installed. The collective control arms were found approximately midposition. The fuel flow control lever setting was near the forward position. The pilot’s cyclic grip was separated and found approximately 20 ft forward of the main wreckage. The pilot’s anti-torque pedals were present (installed) with the right pedal bent in a downward direction. The pilot’s left side inboard pedal was separated and found on the ground approximately 20 ft forward of the main wreckage.
Several electronic components, related to ENG, were found separated, laying along the wreckage path. All four cockpit/cabin doors were separated from the airframe and found on the ground near the broken tree limbs at the beginning of the wreckage path. The right front door exhibited a tree impact with a forward\side impact signature. The fuel tank was consumed in the postimpact fire. Pieces of the windshield and window material were observed throughout the wreckage path.
The tail rotor gear box was separated from the tail boom; both blades were separated from the root, and both weights were separated from the blades. Impact signatures and markings on the tail rotor and driveshaft were consistent with tail rotor drive shaft rotation at impact. The tail rotor gearbox chip detector plug was broken from the gearbox and not recovered. The ventral fin on the tail section was separated from the tailboom and exhibited impact and postcrash fire thermal damage. The forward section of the tailboom was separated and thermally consumed aft of the rear cargo hold. The section of tailboom with the horizontal control surfaces was also separated, both horizontal surfaces exhibited leading edge damage and aft bending of the surfaces.
The helicopter was equipped with a high skid landing gear system. The forward section of each skid, and the remainder of the right skid was found near the beginning of the wreckage path. The rest of the gear system came to rest with the main wreckage. A cargo hook assembly was found attached underneath the wreckage.
Examination of the engine revealed that it had separated from the airframe during the accident sequence. It was still attached to the main transmission via the liaison tube and was facing the opposite direction of how the main cabin came to rest. The engine showed various states of thermal damage from the postimpact fire.
All fuel, oil, and air connections remained connected at the engine but had separated from their respective airframe connections. The main transmission shaft remained connected on the engine but were disconnected from the transmission. The flector group on the transmission side was destroyed in the accident sequence.
The gas generator could be turned by hand. The axial compressor exhibited foreign object damage on several blades and the nose cone suffered rotational and thermal damage. The free turbine could be turned by hand and proper freewheel operation was established. There was no blade shedding.
The main and rear bearing electric chip detectors were clean. The module 1, and module 5, magnetic plugs were clean. The oil and fuel filters were not removed.
The engine electrical harness was still connected to their respective bases but had been separated from the engine deck.
The castellated nut on the front of the freewheel shaft exhibited impact damage with the inside of the transmission shaft.
The throttle and anticipator arms were still connected to the fuel control unit; however, the cables had separated.
The module 5 reduction gear box was removed to examine the input pinion scribe marks. The mark was misaligned in the tightening direction by approximately 3mm, consistent with power delivery at the point of a main rotor impact.
No anomalies of the engine were discovered that would have precluded normal operation.
According to FAA records, the pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, rotorcraft-helicopter, and instrument helicopter. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on July 18, 2023. He reported on that date, that he had accrued approximately 8,597 total flight hours
According to FAA and airplane maintenance records, the helicopter was manufactured in 2013. The helicopter’s most recent continuous airworthiness inspection was completed on December 19, 2023. At the time of the inspection, the helicopter had accrued approximately 7,300 total hours of operation.
The wreckage was retained for further examination.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://6abc.com/action-news-helicopter-6abc-chopper-6-crash-new-jersey-philadelphia-crew-wpvi-tv/14205051/
https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/6abc-news-helicopter-crashes-in-south-jersey/
https://twitter.com/cems2055/status/1737369081102086573
https://twitter.com/FOX29philly/status/1737396654666404033
NTSB
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=606HD
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a7de3c&lat=39.686&lon=-74.712&zoom=12.5&showTrace=2023-12-20
https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/N606HD
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/11120196#modal-large-photo (photo)
Location
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Dec-2023 06:56 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 20-Dec-2023 09:07 | harro | Updated [Other fatalities, Source, Category] |
| 20-Dec-2023 09:11 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 20-Dec-2023 09:12 | harro | Updated [Other fatalities] |
| 20-Dec-2023 10:27 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2023 08:05 | Anon. | Updated [Damage] |
| 21-Dec-2023 14:31 | johnwg | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category] |
| 22-Dec-2023 03:40 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Narrative] |
| 22-Dec-2023 07:18 | Anon. | Updated [Nature] |
| 27-Jan-2024 12:11 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
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