Accident Eurocopter AS 350B2 Ecureuil N346AE,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 220719
 
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Date:Friday 11 January 2019
Time:11:45
Type:Silhouette image of generic AS50 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Eurocopter AS 350B2 Ecureuil
Owner/operator:Air Evac Ems Inc
Registration: N346AE
MSN: 2946
Year of manufacture:1996
Total airframe hrs:11499 hours
Engine model:Honeywell LTS-101-700D
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Ponca City Regional Airport, OK -   United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature:Ferry/positioning
Departure airport:Ponca City, OK
Destination airport:Ponca City, OK (PNC)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The pilot and an air ambulance crewmember were repositioning the helicopter due to incoming inclement weather. About halfway into the flight, the front windshields were fogging over, and the pilot increased the demister. Upon reaching the destination, the pilot hovered near the company hangar; by this time, the windshields had completely fogged over. The crewmember warned the pilot that he was getting close to the hangar, which was on the helicopter's left side. The pilot felt that he was high enough off the ground to move the helicopter several feet to the right, but the right skid was too low and contacted the ground, which resulted in a dynamic rollover. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the rotor blades, fuselage, and tailboom.
Based on the available information, the dynamic rollover was a result of the pilot's failure to maintain altitude during the hover operation with a fogged-over windshield.
 



Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain altitude during the hover operation while his view was obstructed due to the fogged-over windshield.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: CEN19LA068
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 5 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB

Location

Media:

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
12-Jan-2019 07:21 gerard57 Added
12-Jan-2019 09:28 Iceman 29 Updated [Aircraft type, Embed code]
12-Jan-2019 11:24 Iceman 29 Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
12-Jan-2019 11:27 Aerossurance Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
12-Jan-2019 11:31 Aerossurance Updated [Registration, Cn, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
12-Jan-2019 11:32 Iceman 29 Updated [Registration, Operator, Source, Damage, Narrative]
12-Jan-2019 12:03 RobertMB Updated [Registration, Narrative]
12-Jan-2019 12:03 RobertMB Updated [Narrative]
13-Jan-2019 08:20 IsabellaBaerbiero Updated [Nature, Departure airport, Narrative]
13-Jan-2019 08:20 harro Updated [Operator, Damage, Narrative]
03-Jul-2020 12:39 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Accident report, ]

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