ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 280455
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| Date: | Saturday 16 July 2022 |
| Time: | 19:20 |
| Type: |  Bell UH-1H |
| Owner/operator: | Bernalillo Co Sheriff's Department |
| Registration: | N911SZ |
| MSN: | 12736 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1970 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 7590 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Chapelle, NM -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Fire fighting |
| Departure airport: | Las Vegas Airport, NM (LVS/KLVS) |
| Albuquerque-Double Eagle II Airport, NM (KAEG) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
On July 16, 2022, about 1920 mountain daylight time, a Bell UH-1H, N911SZ, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Chapelle, New Mexico. The pilot, two tactical flight observers, and the rescue specialist sustained fatal injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 41 United States Code public aircraft flight.
After several firefighting missions were flown in support of the U.S. Forest Service, the helicopter was fueled at Las Vegas Municipal Airport (LVS), Las Vegas, New Mexico. The helicopter departed LVS about 1838 and flew to the dip site/staging area followed by the firefighting location, then flew back to the staging area, where the remainder of the crew was loaded to return home to Double Eagle II Airport (AEG), Albuquerque, New Mexico.
About 1915, the helicopter departed the staging area on a westbound course. About 1920, the last automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data indicated the helicopter was about 0.5 mile east of the accident site. The helicopter was level on a westbound course about 550 above ground level of the accident site, with a steady groundspeed of 133 knots.
Two witnesses on a ridge about 0.5 mile east of the accident site were observing the sunset and reported the helicopter flew past their location westbound, then rapidly descended without making any turns. A large plume of dust occurred when the helicopter impacted the ground.
The helicopter impacted rural terrain with a westerly debris path. The initial impact area included a tail rotor tip cap that was partially buried. The left and right skids were about 38 ft and 77 ft beyond the initial impact area, respectively, and the main wreckage was found inverted about 160 ft beyond the initial impact area. The tail boom fractured at the aft end of the fuselage and was located about 20 ft beyond the main wreckage.
The main rotor was about 40 ft to the left of the main wreckage, with the main rotor mass fractured immediately below the hub. One main rotor blade was minimally damaged and the other blade was fractured at the spar, with the trailing edge separated and located nearby. The main rotor blade grips had minimal damage.
The helicopter was retained for further examination.
Sources:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/sheriffs-helicopter-crashes-mexico-onboard/story?id=86957811
https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/four-killed-in-bernalillo-county-sheriffs-helicopter-crash
https://fireaviation.com/2022/07/17/helicopter-crash-kills-four-while-working-a-wildfire-in-new-mexico/
https://www.helis.com/database/cn/37514/
Location
Media:
NTSB investigating the 7/16/2022 crash of a Bell UH-1H helicopter near Chapelle, New Mexico.
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) July 17, 2022
3 BCSO employees and a BCFD employee diedFour killed in Bernalillo County Sheriff's helicopter crash https://t.co/1eUY0WWFw5
— KRQE News 13 (@krqe) July 17, 2022
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Jul-2022 07:53 | gerard57 | Added |
| 17-Jul-2022 07:58 | Aerossurance | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 17-Jul-2022 07:59 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
| 17-Jul-2022 08:01 | Aerossurance | Updated [Nature, Destination airport, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 17-Jul-2022 08:03 | Aerossurance | Updated [Registration, Cn, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Jul-2022 20:39 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 05-Aug-2022 21:22 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Category] |
| 05-Aug-2022 21:23 | Captain Adam | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport] |
| 30-May-2023 00:32 | Ron Averes | Updated [[Departure airport, Destination airport]] |
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