ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 36272
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Date: | Thursday 27 May 1993 |
Time: | 06:26 |
Type: | Aérospatiale AS 350B |
Owner/operator: | Rocky Mountain Helicopters |
Registration: | N782LF |
MSN: | 1487 |
Year of manufacture: | 1987 |
Total airframe hrs: | 6064 hours |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 4 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | near Cameron, DeKalb County, Missouri -
United States of America
|
Phase: | Landing |
Nature: | Ambulance |
Departure airport: | Harrison County Hospital, Bethany, Missouri |
Destination airport: | St. Lukes Hospital Helipad, Kansas City, Missouri (MO21) |
Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:On May 27, 1993, at 06:26 central daylight time, an Aerospatiale AS 350B helicopter, N782LF, operating an emergency medical service by Rocky Mountain Helicopters, Inc., (dba Life Flight), impacted terrain during an emergency procedure in the vicinity of Cameron, DeKalb County, Missouri. The helicopter was destroyed. The ATP pilot and the patient were fatally injured. (Sherry Letz , Patient, and James Barnett, Jr., Pilot). The flight nurse (FN) and respiratory therapist (RT) received serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Harrison County Hospital in Bethany, Missouri, at approximately 06:07 CDT. The intended destination was St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.
Records indicate the accident flight originated when two Life Flight company helicopters launched from St. Luke's Hospital helipad on an "Air Standby" status. The accident helicopter lifted off at 04:24 CDT and was airborne when company dispatch personnel relayed the message that there would be one patient in critical condition to pick up at the hospital in Bethany, Missouri. The helicopter landed at Executive Beech Airport at 04:28 CDT, took on fuel, and departed the airport bound for Bethany, Missouri at 04:42 CDT.
Flight following records indicate the pilot made a routine position report with company dispatch at 04:58 CDT. The pilot reported a heading of eighteen degrees, 39 Nautical Miles (NM) to destination, a ground speed of 163 knots, and 15 minutes estimated time en route. The dispatcher stated the pilot commented it would be "slow going coming back" due to headwinds.
The helicopter arrived at Bethany at 05:13 CDT. Upon arrival at Bethany, the FN and RT entered the hospital to stabilize and prepare the patient for transport. The FN estimated this process took about 40 to 50 minutes, during which time the pilot remained with the helicopter. She stated after the patient was loaded and secured in the helicopter, the pilot performed a "walk around" inspection of the helicopter.
The helicopter departed Bethany approximately 06:07 CDT. The FN reported the pilot had alerted them to the headwinds, and told them to expect the return trip to take longer. She stated the flight was smooth and uneventful until a couple of minutes after the pilot issued a position report at 06:22 CDT. At that time she "...heard and could almost feel a loud "pop" and almost immediately after a "clattering" sound coming from behind our seats...we could hear the Horn alarm...and I noticed a bright white light in the lower left area of the instrument panel."
The FN stated she saw the pilot "...working with the collective and cyclic and the nose of the aircraft coming up...I remember a line of trees that we were approaching...I remember feeling the sudden impact and then feeling a large amount of dirt and debris fly into my face." The FN estimated about 10 to 15 seconds elapsed between the "pop" and ground impact. She did not recall any discussion during the emergency procedure. The helicopter impacted terrain approximately 06:26 CDT. Records indicate the wreckage was discovered by local residents about 07:15 CDT.
Although it was not possible to determine the exact altitude at which the pilot conducted the accident flight, Life Flight personnel indicated they typically operated about 1,000 feet above ground level (AGL), with occasional variations based on weather, winds, obstacles, etc. One witness stated the helicopter flew past her house "...in a southerly direction at low altitude - 400 to 500 feet AGL... ." Witnesses and rescue personnel stated the winds were strong (estimated at 25 to 30 knots) out of the south the morning of the accident.
Sources:
1. NTSB:
https://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20001211X12342&ntsbno=CHI93FA182&akey=1 2. FAA:
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=782LF 3. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://coptercrazy.brinkster.net/search/se350show.asp?start=451&count=50]
4.
http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.aspx?accidentkey=11535 5.
http://alecbuck.com/crew-memorial/ 6.
http://www.slackdavis.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/airambulancemikeslack.pdf 7.
http://flightmedicine.com/inmemory.asp Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
24-Oct-2008 10:30 |
ASN archive |
Added |
02-Jul-2014 16:33 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
21-Dec-2016 19:22 |
ASN Update Bot |
Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
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