Eurocopter AS-350-B2 N985SA

Summary

On 1 February 2001 at about 19:18 local time, a Eurocopter AS-350-B2 registered N985SA, operated by Safari Helicopter, Inc., was involved in an accident near Lihue, Hawaii, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 February 2001 at 19:18

Classification

Accident

Location

Lihue, Hawaii, United States

Nearest airport

Lihue (LIH)

Coordinates

21.9667, -159.3333

Aircraft

Eurocopter AS-350-B2

Registration

N985SA

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Safari Helicopter, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX01LA083

1 person had minor injuries.

The manufacturer's inadequate collective lock design, which resulted in the collective unlocking during a preflight check and subsequent unintentional liftoff and loss of helicopter control. The pilot's loss of control was due in part to the unavailability of the hydraulic system.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was performing a hydraulic accumulator test during the before takeoff check when the helicopter inadvertently lifted off. The hydraulic pressure had been bled off during the test, and the pilot could not regain control of the helicopter prior to it impacting the ground tail rotor first. The collective was locked down during the accumulator test; however, it became unlocked when the pilot was repositioning his hands to restore hydraulic power after the accumulator test. FAA inspectors indicated that the collective lock design allowed for the release of the collective when the cyclic was moved during the test with the hydraulic pressure depleted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.