ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 286868
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| Date: | Tuesday 23 June 2009 |
| Time: | 23:30 LT |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350B2 |
| Owner/operator: | Air Methods Corporation Inc. |
| Registration: | N106HN |
| MSN: | 2818 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1994 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 8113 hours |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca ARRIEL 1SER |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Morgantown, WV -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Morgantown Airport, WV (MGW/KMGW) |
| Morgantown Airport, WV (MGW/KMGW) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
About 1.5 hours after beginning an introductory instructional flight in the use of night vision goggles (NVGs), the pilot and the flight instructor returned to the airport to practice autorotations from a hover. After establishing the helicopter in a 3-foot hover, the flight instructor moved the fuel flow control lever toward the idle cutoff position. The pilot responded by increasing collective pitch, and the helicopter began to ascend, and as a result, the rotor rpm decayed. The flight instructor attempted to apply corrective action, but the pilot physically resisted his efforts. The helicopter descended rapidly to the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the tailboom. The pilot noted that during the maneuver, he had misjudged the helicopter's height above the ground, due to the decreased peripheral vision afforded by the NVGs. This was the pilot's first flight operating with NVGs.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter during the practice hovering autorotation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in night vision goggle helicopter operations.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB ERA09CA367
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Oct-2022 17:20 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
| 12-Sep-2023 07:21 | Ron Averes | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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