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| Date: | Friday 29 July 2022 |
| Time: | 14:02 |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350B2 Ecureuil |
| Owner/operator: | Air Methods (AMC) / LifeSaver |
| Registration: | N124LN |
| MSN: | 4130 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2006 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 5322 hours |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca Arriel 1D1 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Andalusia, AL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Ambulance |
| Departure airport: | Evergreen Hospital Pad Airport, AL (0AL3) |
| South Alabama Regional Airport, AL (79J) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On July 29, 2022, about 1402 central daylight time, a Eurocopter AS 350 B2, N124LN, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Andalusia, Alabama. The commercial pilot and one crewmember were seriously injured, and a second crewmember sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 air medical flight.
The medical helicopter was flying a 15-minute flight from its base to a hospital to pick up a patient for transfer to another hospital. The cruise portion of the flight was uneventful. As the helicopter began its descent to the hospital helipad, the pilot lost consciousness, as witnessed by the flight paramedic. The helicopter then departed controlled flight and impacted a field about 1 mile from the hospital helipad. During a posaccident examination of the helicopter, no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the helicopter were identified, nor did the pilot report any.
After the accident, the pilot was admitted to a hospital and underwent evaluation for injury and syncope (loss of consciousness), but no definitive cause of the syncope was identified. Toxicological testing detected ethanol at 0.024 g/dL in a blood specimen collected from the pilot more than 1.5 hours after the crash and detected ethanol in his urine. Testing also detected the cocaine metabolites benzoylecgonine and cocaethylene in the pilot’s urine but not in his blood. Based on the pilot’s blood ethanol level and an estimated ethanol elimination rate of 0.01 to 0.035 g/dL per hour, the pilot’s blood ethanol level at the time of the accident was likely between 0.04 g/dL to 0.08 g/dL. Ethanol at this level would not sufficiently explain the pilot’s loss of consciousness but would be expected to have adverse effects on his performance capacity. Thus, it is likely that the pilot was impaired by effects of ethanol at the time of the accident.
The benzoylecgonine detected in the pilot’s urine indicated that he had used cocaine. The cocaethylene in his urine indicated that both cocaine and ethanol had been in his system at the same time, with more than a small amount of cocaine likely used. The time elapsed between the pilot’s last cocaine use and his blood specimen collection was sufficient for cocaine to be metabolized and for its metabolites to fall below detectable levels in his blood. However, the precise time of his last cocaine use could not be determined, and the possibility of residual adverse effects from his cocaine use could not be excluded.
The pilot also had a history of obstructed sleep apnea (OSA) and had called out sick the day before the accident, reporting a stomach illness. At the time of the accident, the pilot likely was experiencing some impairing effects from alcohol use and may also have been experiencing impairing effects related to his use of cocaine. However, the event that precipitated the loss of helicopter control was the pilot’s acute incapacitation by a syncopal episode, the precise medical cause of which is unknown. Whether the pilot’s substance use, reported illness, or OSA (or a combination thereof) contributed to his syncopal episode cannot be determined.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s acute incapacitation by a syncopal episode, which resulted in the helicopter departing controlled flight and colliding with terrain.
Accident investigation:
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|
Sources:
https://www.wsfa.com/2022/07/29/medical-helicopter-crashes-andalusia/?fbclid=IwAR05of34LPDPvXhbt3SSV9qEEpto2GjMTfX7cS8XGwxXRpFnJVQenlw2pkI&fs=e&s=cl#l66yf21l9w3uq1b9lmg
https://www.wdhn.com/news/local-news/breaking-medical-helicopter-crashes-in-andalusia/
https://www.andalusiastarnews.com/2022/07/29/medical-helicopter-crashes-friday-afternoon-in-andalusia/
https://www.1011now.com/2022/07/29/medical-helicopter-crashes-alabama/
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105621
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=124LN
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N124LN/history/20220729/1850Z
https://photos-e1.flightcdn.com/photos/retriever/94ca501ac2d3d5657f42442e3115bd3e450fd833 (photo)
Location
Images:
Media:
Helicopter crash in Andalusia sends 3 to the hospital https://t.co/HiJQ2i89T9
— #WVTM13 (@WVTM13) July 30, 2022
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Jul-2022 22:02 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 30-Jul-2022 03:31 | johnwg | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Embed code, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 30-Jul-2022 03:41 | johnwg | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source, ] |
| 30-Jul-2022 04:02 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 30-Jul-2022 07:29 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 30-Jul-2022 14:16 | johnwg | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 30-Jul-2022 16:02 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative, ] |
| 31-Jul-2022 03:01 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Operator, ] |
| 31-Jul-2022 13:25 | johnwg | Updated [Time, Operator, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 09-Aug-2022 16:27 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 09-Aug-2022 18:51 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
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