Accident Aérospatiale AS 350B2 N111DT,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 45724
 
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Date:Friday 19 October 2001
Time:14:58
Type:Silhouette image of generic AS50 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Aérospatiale AS 350B2
Owner/operator:Medical Air Transport, Inc.
Registration: N111DT
MSN: 2400
Year of manufacture:1990
Total airframe hrs:2283 hours
Engine model:Turbomeca Arriel 1D1
Fatalities:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 4
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Category:Accident
Location:4 mi W of Roswell, NM -   United States of America
Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:Unknown
Departure airport:Roswell, NM
Destination airport:
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
After a maximum performance takeoff (to clear wires) from a parking lot, the helicopter departed the area to the west and climbed to an altitude of 5,500 feet msl. After selecting a landing zone, the pilot turned northwest toward the area and initiated a descent. The pilot's intention was to bring the helicopter to a high hover, allow the dust to settle, and then land. As the helicopter descended to about 200 feet agl, at an airspeed of 115-120 knots, the pilot initiated a right turn into the wind. As the helicopter was turning, the pilot realized the turn was "too steep" and tried to shallow the turn; however, the cyclic would not move. At one point the pilot tried to neutralize the cyclic with both hands but to no avail. The pilot did not remember any "stiffness" with the collective, and he did not hear a warning horn or see any lights illuminate. Subsequently, the helicopter impacted the ground. No pre-impact anomalies were observed during an examination of the airframe and engine. No anomalies were noted during the examination and testing of the hydraulic servos that would have prevented their operation.

Probable Cause: The seizing of the cyclic control for an undetermined reason. A contributing factor was the lack of altitude for the pilot to regain control of the helicopter.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: FTW02FA017
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 17 years and 8 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20011025X02148&key=1
FAA register: FAA register: 2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=111DT

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
28-Oct-2008 00:45 ASN archive Added
10-Jul-2014 02:18 Dr. John Smith Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
21-Dec-2016 19:24 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
10-Dec-2017 13:14 ASN Update Bot Updated [Operator, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
10-Apr-2018 16:59 TB Updated [Location, Source]
22-Jun-2019 13:29 ASN Update Bot Updated [Nature, Source, Narrative, Accident report, ]

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