N520CF

On July 26, 2022, at 0455 eastern daylight time, a Eurocopter AS365N3, N520CF, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Hamilton, Ohio. The pilot and two crew members sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 air medical flight.

According to the pilot, he was dispatched to a car accident in Hamilton, Ohio. He checked the weather, approved the flight, and departed for the accident scene around 0428 in dark night visual meteorological conditions. About 9 miles out from the scene, he contacted on-scene fire department personnel, stated that he was a few minutes out, and asked for site information. The fire department personnel reported that there were high voltage power lines on the south side of the landing zone.

As the pilot continued to the scene, he knew the winds were calm and, therefore, he orbited the scene from the south to the north. The pilot made an approach from the south and was looking out for the powerlines but could not locate the wires. The pilot stated that he did not think the wires would be in and around the landing zone. He stated that he was wearing night vision goggles and could see the tower but not the wires. Furthermore, he did not know which way the wires were running off the tower. The pilot used the landing light and moved it up and down to try and find the wires but could not locate them. He thought the wires were further out from the landing zone and not below the helicopter. As the helicopter descended, the main rotor blades contacted the wires and the helicopter fell about 30 to 50 ft. All three crew members egressed after the pilot shut down the engines.

Postaccident examination of the helicopter by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the helicopter struck the high voltage wires, severing one wire, and then landed hard. Portions of each main rotor blade were separated near their mid-span, and the main rotor gearbox and mounts were fractured. The left engine was hanging off the engine motor mounts. The helicopter came to rest on its left side with. The stabilizer was bent and substantially damaged, and the landing gear were impact damaged.