MBB B0-105CBS-4 N105HH

Summary

On 4 April 1999 at about 07:50 local time, a MBB B0-105CBS-4 registered N105HH, operated by Mike Stanberry, was involved in an accident near Indian Springs, Nevada, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 April 1999 at 07:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Indian Springs, Nevada, United States

Coordinates

36.5092, -115.6408

Aircraft

MBB B0-105CBS-4

Registration

N105HH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

Mike Stanberry

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Las Vegas → Pahrump

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX99FA137

3 people died.

the pilot's decision to continue VFR flight in deteriorating IFR conditions resulting in spatial disorientation and subsequent loss of control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The medical evacuation helicopter was on a positioning flight back to its remote base location on a dark night. The pilot received a weather briefing at 1700; however, there was no record of him receiving an update. The area forecast was for broken clouds, scattered light rain showers, instrument flight rules (IFR) conditions, strong northerly winds over rough terrain, light to occasional moderate rime icing in precipitation, and a freezing level between 7,000 and 9,000 feet mean sea level. A winter advisory was in effect for 2 to 3 inches of snow with winds from the southeast at 13 to 22 knots. A motorist saw the helicopter flying west over a highway leading to the accident site at 1,000 feet above ground level (AGL). The sky was overcast with freezing rain that turned into wet snow and then finally freezing sleet. A second motorist nearer the accident site saw the helicopter using its searchlight to follow the highway at 150 to 200 feet AGL in conditions of lower clouds and reduced visibility. A resident next to the accident site heard the helicopter flying back and forth for a few minutes followed by the crash. He drove in the direction of the sound and found the crash site in flames. Snow had reduced visibility to less than 50 yards at the time. The aircraft was not certified for flight in IFR conditions; however, it had full flight instruments, a radar altimeter, a GPS, and VHF navigational radios. The operator reported the pilot had undergone an inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions evaluation within the last 90 days; however, documentation of this training was not found.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.