ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 38117
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| Date: | Friday 22 April 1994 |
| Time: | 14:45 |
| Type: |  Bell 412SP |
| Owner/operator: | Air Methods Corporation |
| Registration: | N70AM |
| MSN: | 33206 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1990 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2086 hours |
| Engine model: | P&W PT6T-3B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Bluefield, VA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Winston Salem, NC |
| Mercer County Airport, WV (KBLF) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On April 22, 1994, at 1445 eastern daylight time, a Bell 412 helicopter, N70AM, owned and operated by Air Methods Corporation of Denver, Colorado, collided with mountainous terrain during an instrument approach to Mercer County/Bluefield Airport Bluefield, West Virginia. All four occupants aboard the aircraft, the pilot, the co-pilot, and two flight nurses, received fatal injuries. The helicopter was destroyed. The flight originated in Winston Salem, North Carolina, at 1347 hours and was arriving at its destination to pick up a patient. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight plan was filed. The flight was operated under 14 CFR Part 91.
THE FLT HAD DEPARTED THE NORTH CAROLINA BAPTIST HOSPITAL IN WINSTON SALEM. IT ARRIVED FROM THE NE AND WAS VECTORED FOR THE ILS RWY 23 APCH. THE LAST VECTOR WAS 240 DEG, WHICH WAS INADEQUATE TO INTERCEPT THE LCLZ. THE PLT WAS CLEARED FOR AND INSTRUCTED TO MAINTAIN 7000 FT UNTIL ESTABLISHED ON THE APCH. RECORDED RADAR DATA SHOWS THE FLIGHT DID NOT INTERCEPT THE LCLZ BUT PARALLELED ON A SW COURSE, A MILE LEFT OF THE LCLZ, WHILE MAINTAINING 7000 FT. THE FLT CONTINUED THIS COURSE UNTIL ABEAM OF THE RWY DEPARTURE END, BEGAN TO DESCEND, TURNED NW, CROSSED THE EXTENDED RWY CENTLERLINE, AND THEN PROCEEDED OUTBOUND FROM THE RWY ON APRX 230 DEG COURSE UNTIL THE LAST RECORDED POSITION ABOUT 5 MI SW OF THE airport AT 4100 FT ALTITUDE. THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS ON A MOUNTAIN ABOUT 7.5 MI SW OF THE airport AT 3400 FT MSL. A WITNESS REPORTED THAT BEFORE HE HEARD THE CRASH HE COULD NOT SEE THE ACFT BECAUSE THE MOUNTAIN WAS OBSCURED BY FOG. BOTH NAV RADIOS WERE SET TO THE LCLZ FREQ. THE PUBLISHED IAP SHOWS A GLIDESLOPE INTERCEPT ALT OF 5000 FT, AND THE DH WAS 3157 FT. ACFT WAS OPERATED BY AIR METHODS CORPORATION.
Probable Cause: THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO INTERCEPT THE FINAL APPROACH COURSE, AND HIS IMPROPER EXECUTION OF THE INSTRUMENT APPROACH PROCEDURE. FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND THE FAILURE OF THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER TO ADEQUATELY VECTOR THE FLIGHTCREW TO INTERCEPT THE FINAL APPROACH COURSE AT THE APPROACH GATE, AS SPECIFIED IN THE ATC HANDBOOK.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001206X01039
https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/GenPDF.asp?id=BFO94FA071&rpt=fi
https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/GenPDF.asp?id=BFO94FA071&rpt=fa
https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001206X01039&key=1
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 14-Aug-2010 11:06 | Alpine Flight | Updated [Aircraft type, Other fatalities, Source] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 12-Oct-2022 03:09 | Captain Adam | Updated [Destination airport, Narrative, Category, Accident report, Photo] |
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