ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 277677
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| Date: | Tuesday 26 April 2022 |
| Time: | 13:00 |
| Type: |  Bell 429 GlobalRanger |
| Owner/operator: | Mercy Flight Inc |
| Registration: | N507TJ |
| MSN: | 57332 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2017 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Elba, NY -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Batavia-Genesee County Airport, NY (KGVQ) |
| Batavia-Genesee County Airport, NY (KGVQ) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On April 26, 2022, at 1300 eastern daylight time, a Bell Helicopter Textron Canada, 429, N507TJ, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Elba, New York. The flight instructor and pilot receiving instruction were fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.
The flight instructor was providing recurrent training to the operator’s pilots. During the first training flight of the day, a pilot who received instruction from the flight instructor described that the instructor told him to perform a vortex ring state (VRS) recovery maneuver, which the pilot accomplished, but shortly afterwards, the instructor requested that the pilot perform the maneuver again. During the second entry into VRS, the helicopter developed a very high descent rate, and the pilot was surprised when the flight instructor pilot did not intervene as the helicopter got deeper into the state. The pilot, feeling uncomfortable at that point, exited the very high descent rate on his own rather than waiting for further guidance from the instructor. The remainder of the first flight was uneventful.
The second training flight of the day was the accident flight. A review of the recovered parametric data for this flight showed that the helicopter had been performing training maneuvers, and that shortly before the accident the helicopter was operating within the VRS envelope with a vertical descent rate between -800 to -1,300 feet per minute (fpm). This was consistent with the instructor directing the accident pilot to enter VRS for training purposes. Shortly thereafter, multiple abrupt control inputs were recorded, which including a forward cyclic input, followed by a nearly full-aft cyclic input within 1 second, as well as a concurrent full-down collective input with an increasing left pedal input. Based on contact signatures found on the helicopter’s main rotor blades and tailboom after the accident, it is likely that these abrupt control inputs resulted in the main rotor blades contacting the tail boom and the subsequent in-flight breakup of the helicopter. The parametric data and physical evidence observed during a postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any mechanical malfunctions or failures of the helicopter that would have precluded recovery from VRS. Based on this information, the reasons why the pilot(s) might have applied these abrupt control inputs could not be determined. Given the contextual commentary from the pilot of the previous training flight, it is likely the flight instructor did not provide adequate information to the accident pilot on how he would receive training for VRS, to include how they would identify, enter, and exit VRS.
Probable Cause: The pilots’ inappropriate flight control inputs while in vortex ring state, which resulted in main rotor blade contact with the tail boom and a subsequent in-flight breakup. Also causal was the flight instructor’s inadequate monitoring of the flight.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/western-new-york/genesee-county/ntsb-provides-update-on-elba-mercy-flight-helicopter-crash/
https://www.fox3now.com/2-killed-in-mercy-flight-helicopter-crash-training-mission-in-elba-new-york/
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/ntsb-witnesses-heard-boom-before-mercy-flight-helicopter-crash/article_c8d98174-c667-11ec-85a5-335d674a756a.html
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/public-safety/2023/12/13/ntsb-releases-final-report-on-deadly-genesee-county-mercy-flight-crash
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105004
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a655a3&lat=43.047&lon=-78.153&zoom=14.3&showTrace=2022-04-26&leg=4
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=507TJ
https://photos-e1.flightcdn.com/photos/retriever/4df40ee16aaa06f2cf8b88edc462fadb9d1a4f70 (photo)
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Media:
https://t.co/edsbZTaqje
— Fox3 Now (@fox3news) April 26, 2022
Mercy Flight helicopter crash: Two people killed during training mission in Elba, New York, as investigation launched
I’m on scene of a Mercy Flight Helicopter crash on Norton Road in Elba. In the field you can see debris of the helicopter. Several crews are on scene. Im told more information will be coming within the next hour. pic.twitter.com/pegzoGWFZs
— Chase Houle (@chase_houletv) April 26, 2022
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Apr-2022 18:27 | harro | Added |
| 26-Apr-2022 18:28 | harro | Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative, Category] |
| 26-Apr-2022 18:31 | harro | Updated [Total occupants, Phase, Nature] |
| 26-Apr-2022 18:36 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Departure airport, Source] |
| 26-Apr-2022 18:37 | harro | Updated [Category] |
| 26-Apr-2022 18:39 | harro | Updated [Category] |
| 26-Apr-2022 19:03 | harro | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative] |
| 26-Apr-2022 20:08 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 26-Apr-2022 20:11 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 27-Apr-2022 00:38 | johnwg | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Phase, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 27-Apr-2022 10:07 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
| 27-Apr-2022 22:33 | Captain Adam | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 18-May-2022 07:44 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 10-Dec-2023 20:15 | Captain Adam | Updated [Phase, Source, Narrative, Accident report, Photo] |
| 13-Dec-2023 23:03 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
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