ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 309060
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| Date: | Thursday 9 March 2023 |
| Time: | 19:57 LT |
| Type: |  Eurocopter EC 135P2 |
| Owner/operator: | Med-Trans Corp (MTC) |
| Registration: | N558MT |
| MSN: | 1073 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2012 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 6067 hours |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney PW206B2 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Burningtown, NC -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ambulance |
| Departure airport: | Murphey, NC (5NC4) |
| Asheville, NC (NC95) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
According to the pilot, prior to the flight, he determined the highest obstacle enroute was 6,100 ft with several 5,000 to 5,500 ft peaks along the route. In addition, he noted that during the flight, the end of evening nautical twilight would occur. After departure, he dialed 5,500 ft into the autopilot and leveled off. He went to don the night vision goggles and noted that they were on the copilot seat on top of an aircraft logbook. He went to move the logbook to the pilot door compartment, where it was typically stowed for flight, and decided to check the flight times against the times that maintenance was due. At that point, he noticed the cloud ceiling was lowering and dialed in 5,000 ft into the autopilot, then “went back heads down' to continue his review of the logbook. Then, the flight nurse asked for an updated estimated time enroute, and when the pilot looked up, he saw the helicopter was approaching a tree covered peak. He applied aft cyclic in order to climb; however the tail boom struck several trees, resulting in the vertical stabilizer separating from the tail boom. The pilot subsequently performed a forced landing to a road, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and tail boom. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause: The pilot's improper decision to review an aircraft logbook while enroute, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB ERA23LA147
https://aerossurance.com/air-accidents-incidents/ec135-air-ambulance-cfit-when-pilot-distracted-correcting-tech-log-errors/
FAA register: https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=558MT
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N558MT/history/20230309/2347Z/5NC4/L%2035.21491%20-83.52367
https://flightaware.com/photos/view/7901818-c4e79331d14ef928477fd87a3b80f0943efde200/aircraft/N558MT/sort/votes/page/1 (photo)
Location
Media:
The single pilot was head down as the sun set correcting tech log entries. The helicopter struck trees on a mountain top then force landed in woodland. https://t.co/TSY3LnrVgB #helicopter #airambulance #humanfactors #distraction #flightsafety #aviationsafety pic.twitter.com/JVCeTUZYP7
— Aerossurance (@Aerossurance) June 10, 2023
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Jun-2023 07:52 | ASN Update Bot | Updated |
| 11-Jun-2023 07:56 | harro | Updated |
| 12-Jun-2023 10:14 | Aerossurance | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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