N935EM

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On June 11, 2013, at 1830 central daylight time, N935EM, a Eurocopter AS350B2 helicopter, operating as EagleMed 35, was substantially damaged after impacting terrain during takeoff at Choctaw Indian Hospital Heliport (OK35), Talihina, Oklahoma. The medical patient was fatally injured, the flight nurse was seriously injured, and the pilot and flight paramedic sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was registered to JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., Columbus, Ohio, and was operated by EagleMed, LLC, Wichita, Kansas. Day visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident and a company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) flight. The helicopter was destined for St. Francis Hospital Heliport (4OK3), Tulsa, Oklahoma.

When EagleMed 35 arrived at OK35 another helicopter, Life Flight 4, had just landed and was occupying the single space helipad surface. EagleMed 35 landed and shut down on the asphalt surface of a road adjacent to the helipad, and about 103 feet northwest from the helipad. Life Flight 4 departed at 1728 and EagleMed 35 remained parked on the road for the next hour.

The patient was loaded onto a stretcher on the left side of the cabin and the medical crewmembers were seated in their forward facing seats behind the pilot and behind the stretcher patient. According to the pilot, he began a normal takeoff from a hover, and he intended to follow the center of the road in a westbound direction. During takeoff the left side of the rotating main rotor blades (MRB) impacted a metal light pole on the left side of the road about 175 feet west from the takeoff position. Control of the helicopter was lost and the helicopter came to rest on its right side about 230 feet from the takeoff position. A small postimpact fire ensued. The fire was finally extinguished by several persons using handheld fire extinguishers. Police officers on-duty at the helipad and numerous other first responders from the hospital immediately came to the scene and aided in the recovery efforts of the patient and the flight nurse. The engine, which had continued to run, was shut down with assistance from the first responders.

The pilot reported that during the time he was parked on the road he had three times conducted a walk around inspection of the helicopter. During his pre-departure safety briefing with the medical crew the pilot had discussed the 20 foot tall lamp post to their immediate left front, but he was not then aware of the 40 foot tall light pole. The pilot reported that during the take-off and before impact he never saw the 40 foot tall light pole.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot, age 32, held a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) commercial pilot certificate with ratings for rotorcraft - helicopter, and instrument helicopter. The pilot also held an unrestricted FAA second-class medical certificate, issued on August 14, 2012, and an FAA flight instructor certificate with a rating in only rotorcraft – helicopter. The flight instructor certificate had expired on July 31, 2007.

A review of the operator's records, statements from the pilot, and FAA aeromedical certification records, showed that the pilot had an estimated total pilot experience in helicopters of about 3,560 hours, with a total of about 88 hours in AS-350 helicopters. He was working a 12 hour daytime schedule that began about 0700 and he had flown two previous flights that day for a total of 1.9 hours.

A review of the operator's pilot training records showed that the pilot completed the operator's FAA approved training program and his initial pilot competency check on August 9, 2012. He was then assigned as a pilot-in-command for AS-350 helicopters. On April 27, 2013, the pilot completed night vision goggle (NVG) ground and flight training, and a satisfactory NVG competency flight check.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The single-engine helicopter, N935EM, serial number 7427, was manufactured in 2012. It was powered by a 712-shaft horsepower Turbomeca Arriel 1D1 engine, serial number 19487. Review of the maintenance documents revealed that the last inspection was a continuous airworthiness inspection that occurred on May 21, 2013 at a total airframe time and total engine time of 470.0 hours. According to company maintenance records, and the cockpit mounted Hobbs meter reading, at the time of the accident, the helicopter had accrued an additional 52.5 hours for a total of 552.5 airframe hours and engine hours.

The helicopter was equipped with an Appareo Vision 1000 recorder which was originally installed on August, 21, 2012. It was mounted on the cockpit ceiling and was designed to record a cockpit video image and included provisions for recording 2-tracks of audio and an internal GPS receiver designed to record the GPS flight track.

Manufacturer's records noted that the Appareo unit was returned for repair on March 4, 2013, with the following note: "Replaced broken P1 connector". (power connector) "Backup kernel corrupt. Reflashed kernel". The manufacturer's records indicated that the unit was functioning after being repaired.

A review of the operator's weight and balance calculations and the patient's weight showed that the helicopter had begun the take-off from OK35 at an estimated weight of about 4,840 pounds. FAA data shows the helicopter's maximum allowable operating weight is 4,961 pounds.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The closest official weather reporting station was at Robert S. Kerr Airport (KRKR), Poteau, Oklahoma, located 28 miles northeast from the accident location, At 1835 the Automated Surface Observation System at KRKR, reported wind from 180 degrees at 10 knots, visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature minus 33 degrees Celsius (C), dew point 23 degrees C, with an altimeter setting of 29.93 inches of Mercury.

Photographs of the accident scene taken immediately after impact showed smoke from the postimpact fire was being blown to the west by wind from the east.

Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed that, at the accident location, at 1830, the altitude of the sun was about 23 degrees above the horizon and the azimuth of the sun was about 283 degrees. Apparent sunset occurred at 2036.

AIRPORT INFORMATION

FAA records indicated that the OK35 heliport had a field elevation of 890 feet msl. There were no published radio frequencies for airport communications. The heliport had a single concrete helipad that measured 50 feet by 48 feet. There was surface mounted perimeter lighting around the helipad, a lighted windsock was located about 100 feet east of the helipad, and all lamp posts within 200 feet from the helipad had red obstruction lights.

The concrete helipad was located about 125 feet northeast from the emergency room entrance on the north side of the Choctaw Indian Hospital. About 50 feet north of the helipad was a 25 foot wide paved road which was oriented east-west. A metal lamp post about 20 feet tall was positioned on the south side of the paved road about 125 feet to the northeast from the helipad. Another lamp post about 20 feet tall was positioned about 125 feet to the northwest from the helipad. Other lamp posts on metal posts further to the west from the helipad were on the south side of the paved road and were about 40 feet tall.

There was a line of trees about 40 feet tall along the north edge of the paved road. A large open flat grassy area was located on the north side of the line of trees. The closest edge of the grassy area was about 300 feet northwest from the emergency room entrance.

VIDEO RECORDER

An impact damaged Appareo Vision 1000 recorder, its separated SD memory card, wiring harness, and other components were recovered from the wreckage and examined at the NTSB Recorders Laboratory. The initial examination showed the Appareo device had sustained minor damage to the unit's P1 port and to the memory card door. Data was downloaded which showed a total of 26 files had been recorded during the period from December 19, 2012, through December 21, 2012. An additional 4 undated files, without any flight data, were recovered which were determined to be from the manufacturer's facility or from power-up events at the NTSB Recorders Laboratory.

The last recording of flight data or video and flight data was on December 20, 2012, when the helicopter was on the ground at the McAlester Regional Hospital.

The accident flight was not recorded on the Appareo device. At the time of the accident the operator did not have a flight data monitoring (FDM) or safety management system (SMS) program that would routinely monitor the Appareo Vision 1000 recordings.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The aircraft wreckage debris was located on the paved road adjacent to the hospital. The fuselage came to rest on its side, about 80 degrees to the right, and was oriented on a heading of about 330 degrees. Most wreckage debris remained within about 50 feet from the main wreckage.

A metal post of a 40 foot tall lamp post had been impact separated about 24 feet above the mounting flange. The damaged bottom half of the metal post was resting on the ground and remained partially attached to its mounting flange. The top portion of the separated metal post and the lamp fixture had completely separated and were located on the north side of the paved road.

The transmission and attached main rotor system was partially separated from the transmission deck but remained attached by cables and mounts. All of the transmission support arms were broken. The 'Starflex' remained in the center of the rotor hub with two of the star arms broken mid-span; one arm was separated from its thrust bearing. All three MRBs showed damage on their leading edges from about mid-span out to the tips. There were "broom-straw" separations, delaminating skins, and splaying signatures from the impacts. The ...