N417AE

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On September 25, 2009, about 2331 eastern daylight time, a Eurocopter AS350 B2, N417AE, lost control and impacted terrain near Georgetown County Airport (GGE), Georgetown, South Carolina. The certificated commercial pilot, flight nurse, and flight paramedic were fatally injured; the helicopter was substantially damaged. The helicopter was registered to GE Business Financial Services Incorporated and operated by Omniflight Helicopters Incorporated, doing business as Carolina Life Care, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as a helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) positioning flight. Night instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed for the flight, which operated on a company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan. The flight originated from Charleston Air Force Base/International Airport (CHS), Charleston, South Carolina, about 2302 and was destined for Conway-Horry County Airport (HYW), Conway, South Carolina.

According to Omniflight, the helicopter departed from its base at HYW about 2023 and was destined for Georgetown Memorial Hospital to conduct an interfacility patient transfer to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Charleston, South Carolina, which is located about 90 nautical miles (nm) southwest of HYW.

According to a Cessna pilot flying in the area before the time of the accident, a small but intense weather cell had been stationary near GGE since about 1640 and forced him to abort his landing approach and divert to CHS. He returned to GGE sometime after 2000 for another landing attempt, during which he heard the accident pilot on the UNICOM frequency state his current position over the GGE airport. The accident pilot then provided the Cessna pilot with a pilot report on the weather conditions in the area. He advised that the ceilings were at 1,500 feet above mean sea level (msl). The Cessna pilot then noticed the helicopter's spotlight near a paper plant and the helicopter passing below him as he descended through 2,800 feet msl. Moments later, while on approach to GGE, the Cessna pilot descended through approximately 900 feet msl and experienced a windshear event during which his descent rate exceeded 1,200 feet per minute for a few seconds.

After passing GGE, the helicopter landed at Georgetown Memorial Hospital about 2041, picked up the patient, and departed for MUSC about 2107. About 2135, the helicopter landed at MUSC and dropped off the patient. The helicopter departed MUSC about 2225 for CHS and landed there about 2232. After refueling, about 2302, the pilot advised MUSC flight control that he was about to depart CHS for HYW and that he had 2 hours and 45 minutes of fuel on board. He indicated that he would be flying at 1,500 feet msl and estimated his arrival at HYW about 2347.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), about 2305, the helicopter departed CHS and flew eastbound for the VFR flight. The pilot requested and received flight-following services to Mount Pleasant Regional Airport-Faison Field (LRO), Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. About 2309, the pilot reported LRO in sight, and air traffic control (ATC) flight following services were terminated. The accident helicopter then turned to the northeast and flew past LRO towards HYW.

About 2316, the pilot advised MUSC’s flight control communications specialist that the flight was at 1,000 feet msl, indicated 110 knots, and estimated that the flight should arrive at HYW in 29 minutes. No further communications from the pilot were received.

About 15 minutes later, when the accident helicopter did not provide a periodic in flight update, the MUSC communications specialist initiated efforts to contact the helicopter. With no radio response, the MUSC specialist activated the emergency action plan (EAP). The specialist contacted the Omniflight Operational Control Center (OCC) and requested the crew’s cellular telephone numbers. The Omniflight OCC coordinator on duty began a parallel telephone search about 2343 using the company satellite telephone with no response.

About 0012 the next day, the last known position of the helicopter was plotted, and about 0015, the MUSC communications specialist called the Charleston County Sheriff's Office. The United States Coast Guard was notified about 0016, and ATC and the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center were notified about 0017.

When MUSC contacted the FAA Southern Region Operations Center, Atlanta, Georgia, to request the issuance of an alert notice, CHS tower reviewed the radar data and observed that the helicopter had continued past LRO. The radar data also showed that a line of weather existed 20 to 30 miles north of LRO, which ran east to west across the accident helicopter's flightpath. About 0122, after determining the last recorded radar position, CHS tower forwarded the radar data to the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office and the Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center.

The helicopter was subsequently located about 0206 by Georgetown County sheriff's deputies about 2 miles southwest of GGE.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot, age 45, held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine and multiengine land, rotorcraft helicopter, instrument airplane, and instrument helicopter. The pilot was Omniflight’s HYW base manager. According to company records, before working for Omniflight in 2005, the pilot had accrued a total of 3,736 flight hours as a naval aviator in the United States Marine Corps.

The pilot had experience flying helicopters in IMC and had been instrument current at one time. Omniflight's operations with the AS350 B2, however, were conducted under VFR; therefore, he was not required to be current in instrument ratings. He was only required to be current and qualified to act as pilot-in-command (PIC) under VFR day and night flight operations in accordance with 14 CFR 135.293(a) and (b) and 135.299. On December 12, 2008, during the pilot’s last Part 135 airman competency/proficiency check, he satisfactorily demonstrated inadvertent IMC recovery. His latest FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on July 21, 2009, with no restrictions or limitations. He reported a total of 4,600 flight hours on that date.

From September 22 through September 24, the pilot worked the day shift from 0800 to 2000. On the day of the accident (September 25), he switched to the night shift (scheduled from 2000 to 0800 the next morning). The pilot’s wife indicated that, in the days before going on duty, the pilot was eating and sleeping without any problems.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The accident helicopter was a Eurocopter AS350 B2 model that was manufactured in 2000. It was equipped with a three-blade main rotor system and a two-blade tail rotor system and was powered by a 732 shaft horsepower Turbomeca Arriel 1D1 turboshaft engine. The accident helicopter, which was configured for HEMS operations and equipped with a Sky Connect flight tracking system, was equipped to carry up to four occupants (one pilot, one patient, and two attendants), in addition to medical equipment.

The helicopter was not approved by the FAA for operations in IMC but was equipped with sufficient instrumentation (airspeed indicator, attitude indicator, altimeter, turn and back, directional gyro, and vertical speed indicator) to operate in IMC if the helicopter inadvertently entered such conditions. It was not equipped with on-board weather radar, a night vision imaging system, an autopilot, or a helicopter terrain awareness and warning system.

A review of maintenance records revealed that the most recent 500-hour inspection was completed on September 17, 2009, at which time the helicopter had accrued 2,967.3 total hours of operation.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

According to Omniflight's 135 Operations Manual, the PIC was responsible for obtaining weather information before beginning a series of flights. During interviews with National Transportation Safety Board investigators, Omniflight pilots indicated that, at the beginning of each shift, they would obtain weather information from a base computer and would advise the OCC of weather conditions in the operating area throughout the period of their flight. Pilots would also call the OCC before initiating a series of flights, and if the OCC knew of adverse weather, it would contact the pilot to evaluate the weather.

Weather data that the accident pilot obtained before the accident flight was not recovered. Based on launch approval given by the OCC and actual weather conditions encountered and reported by the pilot, the weather at takeoff and along the flight route was visual meteorological conditions (VMC). About 2242, an MUSC communications center specialist spoke with an Omniflight OCC operations coordinator and indicated that the helicopter would be returning to HYW as soon as the patient transfer was complete. The operations coordinator then advised the MUSC specialist that if the pilot called before takeoff, they would review the weather with him for his return flight. However, the pilot never called the OCC, and the OCC did not contact the pilot.

According to Omniflight’s Savannah, Georgia, base manager, who was also a pilot operating in South Carolina on the night of the accident, the weather that night was deteriorating but was forecast to remain well above minimums for his flight from Savannah to Greenville, South Carolina, and then to MUSC. After he dropped off the medical crew at the hospital in Greenville, he flew to the Greenville airport to refuel. The base manager indicated that, while he was refueling, the pilot of the accident helicopter contacted him by radio and advised him to double check the weather before returning to MUSC. The accident pilot stated that "bad thunderstorms" were in the GGE area and that he did not know if he would be able to return to his base at HYW that night. The Savannah base manager stated th...