ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 44605
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Thursday 30 December 2004 |
| Time: | 11:43 |
| Type: |  Aérospatiale AS 350BA AStar |
| Owner/operator: | Jet Copters, Inc. |
| Registration: | N410JC |
| MSN: | 2130 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1988 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2547 hours |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca Arriel 1B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 1.8 nm W of Panamint Springs, Inyo County, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Panamint Spring, CA |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter's main rotor blades impacted a mountainside while the pilot's right rear seated cameraman was filming an automobile for a television commercial. During the impact sequence, the tips of the main rotor blades were severed, and then the helicopter crashed onto the underlying state highway. Blade tip fragments were found on the mountainside, about 246 feet from where the main wreckage came to rest against the highway's guardrail. The pilot indicated that while following the film director's requested route he maneuvered at a low altitude over the two-lane highway that was bordered on one side by a drop-off and a rising cliff like face on the other side. While proceeding in an easterly direction, the road curved to the south with the upsloping mountain side located adjacent to the south side of the road. The cameraman's video camera was recovered from the wreckage, and the Safety Board's Vehicle Recorder Division in Washington, D.C. extracted the videotape. The audio and video images clearly showed the helicopter's maneuvering during the seconds leading up to and including the accident, in addition to the pilot's broadcast instructions to the car's driver to proceed "faster if you can." The pilot was flying from the right seat and the helicopter was about 20 feet above the highway.
Probable Cause: The pilot's misjudged lateral distance from a mountainside and failure to maintain an adequate clearance from terrain and obstacles while performing a low altitude filming maneuver.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20050111X00037&key=1
FAA register: 2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=N410JC
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 6 June 1998 | N31621 | Jetcopters | 0 | Burbank, CA | |
sub |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Oct-2008 00:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 13-Jul-2014 22:48 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 25-Sep-2016 16:49 | Aerossurance | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 07-Dec-2017 18:35 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation