ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 275676
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| Date: | Saturday 19 February 2022 |
| Time: | 20:34 LT |
| Type: |  MD Helicopters 500N (MD520N) |
| Owner/operator: | Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD) |
| Registration: | N521HB |
| MSN: | LN084 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1998 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 15028 hours |
| Engine model: | Rolls Royce 250-C20R/2 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Newport Beach, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Aerial patrol |
| Departure airport: | Huntington Beach, CA |
| Huntington Beach, CA | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
An MD520N helicopter, N521HB, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Newport Beach, California. The pilot sustained minor injuries and the tactical flight officer (TFO) was fatally injured. The
helicopter was operated by the Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD).
The pilot and tactical flight officer (TFO) onboard the law-enforcement helicopter were performing right turns around a ground altercation over an ocean peninsula at night when the helicopter began to spin rapidly to the right. The pilot applied corrective control inputs but was unable to arrest the rotation, and the helicopter descended into the water.
Probable Cause: The helicopter's encounter with unanticipated right yaw during a low-altitude, low-airspeed, tight-radius orbit. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's distraction during the orbit, which resulted in the loss of control, his fatigue due to his early wake time and time since awakening, and the lack of external cues that hindered his ability to perform a recovery.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB WPR22FA101
https://aerossurance.com/helicopters/police-helicopter-unanticipated-yaw-fatal-water-impact/
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=521HB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N521HB/history/20220220/0229Z/CL65/L%2033.61039%20-117.92484
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 16 October 2009 | N521HB | City Of Huntington Beach | 0 | Los Alamitos, California | |
sub |
| Heavy landing | ||||||
Location
Media:
LOC-I. TFO died after being trapped after a water impact. NTSB Probable Cause: The helicopter's encounter with unanticipated right yaw during a low-altitude, low-airspeed, tight-radius orbit. https://t.co/GuObiY4lvd #police #helicopter #accident #flightsafety #aviationsafety pic.twitter.com/r08SoQlqka
— Aerossurance (@Aerossurance) January 1, 2024
All that’s visible of the Huntington Beach helicopter that crashed in Newport Beach around 6:30 pm Saturday night. pic.twitter.com/tS2XrOQin5
— Caitlin Antonios | كيتلين أنطونيوس (@caitlinantonios) February 20, 2022
Aerial photos Huntington Beach PD helicopter crash Newport Beach pic.twitter.com/JoK7K7idp4
— SoCalNewsMan (@SoCalNews854) February 20, 2022
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Feb-2022 06:58 | gerard57 | Added |
| 20-Feb-2022 07:41 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 20-Feb-2022 09:48 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 20-Feb-2022 09:50 | Aerossurance | Updated [Phase, Nature, Embed code, Narrative, Category] |
| 20-Feb-2022 14:27 | johnwg | Updated [Time, Location, Source] |
| 21-Feb-2022 20:17 | Anon. | Updated [Source] |
| 28-Feb-2022 19:18 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Source] |
| 03-Apr-2022 16:46 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 31-May-2023 08:04 | Ron Averes | Updated [[Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]] |
| 22-Dec-2023 11:21 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative, Accident report] |
| 22-Dec-2023 11:25 | harro | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 01-Jan-2024 14:43 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 01-Jan-2024 15:06 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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