ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 294142
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| Date: | Saturday 29 January 2005 |
| Time: | 20:56 LT |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350 B3 |
| Owner/operator: | Petroleum Helicopters Inc |
| Registration: | N351LG |
| MSN: | 3722 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2003 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 899 hours |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca Arriel-2B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Pilar, New Mexico -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Espanola, NM |
| Taos, NM | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter pilot was conducting a positioning flight in night visual meteorological conditions, wearing night vision goggles. He was following the road separating the place of departure and his destination. He could see the vehicle traffic and the surrounding terrain clearly. Approximately 15 minutes into the flight, he felt that something was wrong. The attitude indicator showed that the helicopter was in a 60-70 degree left descending turn. The altimeters and airspeed indicators showed the same trend. The pilot attempted to correct the flight attitude, but became disoriented. The helicopter impacted terrain and rolled onto its right side. A postimpact fire destroyed the helicopter.
Probable Cause: the pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter, and his improper use of night vision goggles (NVG). Contributing factors were the pilot's spatial disorientation, his self-induced pressure to return the helicopter to its home base, his lack of experience in the use of NVG's, his use of exterior lights on a dark night light, under overcast skies, and against snow-covered terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB DEN05LA053
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Oct-2022 17:46 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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