ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 238837
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Wednesday 29 July 2020 |
| Time: | 10:00 |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350B3e Ecureuil |
| Owner/operator: | St Louis Helicopter |
| Registration: | N755AE |
| MSN: | 7763 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2013 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3109 hours |
| Engine model: | Safran Arriel 2D |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Pioche, NV -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Cedar City Airport, UT (CDC/KCDC) |
| Pioche, NV | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On July 29, 2020, about 1000 Pacific daylight time, an American Eurocopter Corp. AS350B3 helicopter, N755AE, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Pioche, Nevada. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 positioning flight.
The pilot landed the helicopter on a mountain ridge to survey a job site. The purpose of the accident flight was to reposition the helicopter from the ridgetop downhill to a fuel truck to refuel before beginning external load operations. A witness reported that he dropped the pilot and passenger at the helicopter before the accident flight and saw a cable that was laid out on the ground in front of the helicopter. The pilot stated to him that the cable was 70 feet long. The witness left the pilot and passenger at the helicopter and drove away; shortly thereafter, he received a phone call about smoke in the vicinity and learned that the helicopter had crashed.
Examination of the helicopter revealed that the long line was entangled with the tail rotor, which had separated from the helicopter. The tail cone/vertical fin assembly was found about 365 ft from the main wreckage and exhibited evidence of cable abrasion. Examination of the flight controls and engine, as well as review of recorded engine data, revealed no evidence of mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot failed to achieve adequate clearance between the long line and terrain before descending downhill toward the fuel truck, which resulted in the helicopter’s long line, becoming entangled with the tail rotor, and a subsequent loss of helicopter control.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain altitude from terrain and subsequent loss of helicopter control due to entanglement of the external load cable with the tail rotor.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
http://wirelessestimator.com/articles/2020/helicopter-cell-site-project-crash-kills-pilot-and-passenger/
https://aerossurance.com/uncategorized/heslo-as350-fatal-accident-positioning-with-an-unloaded-long-line/
NTSB
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=755AE
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N755AE
https://www.radarbox.com/data/registration/N755AE/1382378458
https://www.helis.com/database/cn/52548/
Location
Images:
Photos: NTSB
Media:
In this #helso #accident in Nevada the longline wrapped around the tail rotor during a 3 minute flight to refuel. https://t.co/rwZUXyzSjv #helicopter #flightsafety #aviationsafety pic.twitter.com/BdgUjkaqPF
— Aerossurance (@Aerossurance) March 18, 2023
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Jul-2020 14:33 | HeliHub | Added |
| 30-Jul-2020 14:54 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 30-Jul-2020 19:31 | Aerossurance | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Narrative] |
| 30-Jul-2020 19:59 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Phase, Narrative] |
| 30-Jul-2020 22:30 | Geno | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source] |
| 16-Aug-2020 22:10 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Nature, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 22-Nov-2020 08:26 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 02-Mar-2021 18:53 | rudy | Updated [[Source]] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation