ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 30438
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| Date: | Tuesday 17 August 1999 |
| Time: | 04:44 |
| Type: |  Bell 407 |
| Owner/operator: | Delaware State Police |
| Registration: | N97SP |
| MSN: | 53297 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1998 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 230 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Georgetown, DE -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Aerial patrol |
| Departure airport: | GED |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The State Police helicopter departed on a night flight within the state. Climbing through about 200 feet, the helicopter encountered low clouds. The pilot initiated a return to the airport. During the turn to the airport, he lost sight of the ground. The observer called to the pilot just prior to ground impact, and the pilot was able to cushion the ground impact. However, the skids collapsed. The pilot reported that on the way to the airport, he drove through patches of fog. At the airport, he could see 2 miles ground visibility with stars visible overhead, and therefore, he did not check weather. Recorded weather at the airport 1 hour prior to the accident reported a ceiling of 100 feet broken, 700 feet overcast and 10 minutes after the accident, a ceiling of 100 feet overcast. Similar observations were recorded at the closest weather stations to the north and south of the departure airport.
Probable Cause: The pilot's improper preflight evaluation of the weather, which resulted in inadvertent flight into IMC. Factors were the fog, and night conditions.
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001212X19619&key=1
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 01-Mar-2013 10:54 | TB | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 14-Dec-2017 08:47 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
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