Event Details

Title:Crash into terrain, Eurocopter AS350-B2, N169PA, Meadview, Arizona, August 10, 2001
Micro summary:This Eurocopter AS350-B2 helicopter crashed into terrain in a high density altitude environment.
Event Time:2001-08-10 at 1428 MST
File Name:2001-08-10-US.pdf
Publishing Agency:National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
Publishing Country:USA
Report number:NTSB/AAB-04/02
Pages:47
Site of event:5 miles E of Meadview, Arizona
Latitude/Longitude:N35°59.19' W113°59.00'
Departure:Grand Canyon West Airport, Arizona, USA
Destination:McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Airplane Type(s):Eurocopter AS350-B2
Flight Phase:Cruise
Registration(s):N169PA
Operator(s):Papillon Airways, Inc.
Type of flight:Revenue
Occupants:7
Fatalities:6
Serious Injuries:1
Minor/Non-Injured:0
Other Injuries:0
Executive Summary:On August 10, 2001, about 1428 mountain standard time, a Eurocopter AS350-B2 helicopter, N169PA, operating as Papillon 34, collided with terrain during an uncontrolled descent about 4 miles east of Meadview, Arizona. The helicopter was operated by Papillon Airways, Inc., as an air tour flight under Code of Federal Regulations 14 (CFR) Part 135. The helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The pilot and five passengers were killed, and the remaining passenger sustained serious injuries. The flight originated from the company terminal at the McCarran International Airport (LAS), Las Vegas, Nevada, about 1245 as a tour of the west Grand Canyon area with a planned stop at a landing site in Quartermaster Canyon. The helicopter departed the landing site about 1400 and stopped at a company fueling facility at the Grand Canyon West Airport (GCW). The helicopter departed the fueling facility at 1420 and was en route to LAS when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed.

PROBABLE CAUSE

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the pilot's decision to maneuver the helicopter in a flight regime and in a high density altitude environment which significantly decreased the helicopter's performance capability, resulting in a high rate of descent from which recovery was not possible. Factors contributing to the accident were high density altitude and the pilot's decision to maneuver the helicopter in proximity to precipitous terrain, which effectively limited remedial options available.

Learning Keywords:Operations - Uncontrolled Flight into Terrain
Consequence - Hull Loss
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