ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 45432
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| Date: | Monday 9 September 2002 |
| Time: | 21:52 |
| Type: |  Bell 206L-1 LongRanger II |
| Owner/operator: | Omniflight Helicopters Inc |
| Registration: | N400SL |
| MSN: | 45235 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1979 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 9749 hours |
| Engine model: | Allison 250-C28B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Doland, SD -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ambulance |
| Departure airport: | Avera St. Luke's Hospital, SD (SD54) |
| Hospital of South Dakota Heliport, SD (2SD6) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On September 9, 2002, at 2152 central daylight time (cdt), a Bell 206L-1 helicopter, N400SL, piloted by a commercial pilot, was destroyed during a collision with terrain about 3.6 nautical miles (nm) southeast of Doland, South Dakota. Night marginal visual meteorological conditions (MVFR) prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 while on a company flight plan. The pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic, and patient were fatally injured. The flight departed from Avera St. Luke's Hospital (SD54), Aberdeen, South Dakota, at 2131 and was en route to Heart Hospital of South Dakota Heliport (2SD6), Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The helicopter was destroyed when it impacted terrain during an emergency medical service flight. The accident occurred during a dark night, in a sparsely populated area with no lighted ground references. Marginal visual flight rules conditions prevailed along the route of flight. The pilot had a documented history of having difficulty flying at night without lighted ground references. The company base and safety managers reported the pilot's night flying deficiency to the company chief pilot. The chief pilot subsequently evaluated the pilot during a night flight. After the evaluation flight, the chief pilot decided to increase the pilot's nighttime weather minimums for a period of 25 night hours as he gained night experience. The accident flight occurred on the pilot's fourth night mission after being evaluated by the chief pilot. Inspection of the helicopter wreckage did not reveal any evidence of a pre-impact malfunction. A review of the helicopter's daily usage logs indicated that there were no unresolved maintenance discrepancies. The pilot who flew the helicopter prior to the accident flight did not report any malfunctions.
Probable Cause: Pilot spatial disorientation while flying in dark night conditions, resulting in a loss of aircraft control; and the company's inadequate remedial actions after identifying the pilot's night flying deficiency over areas without lighted references. A factor to the accident was the dark night conditions.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20020927X05236&key=1
Location
Images:
Photos: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Oct-2008 00:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 09-Dec-2017 17:48 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative] |
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