Eurocopter France AS-350-B2 C-GEYN

Summary

On 27 February 2001 at about 21:30 local time, a Eurocopter France AS-350-B2 registered C-GEYN was involved in an accident near Powder River, Wyoming, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 February 2001 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Powder River, Wyoming, United States

Coordinates

43.2796, -107.1505

Aircraft

Eurocopter France AS-350-B2

Registration

C-GEYN

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN01LA057

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during aircraft shut down procedures. Contributing factors were: the snow and ice covered field and the confined landing areas unsuitable obstacle clearance.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had just completed a mission repositioning seismic equipment and was landing the helicopter on a snow and ice covered field in a confined staging area. He locked the collective control lever in the full down position, reduced power to 70 percent and opened the door to see if he had landed on one of his long lines. He inadvertently bumped the cyclic resulting in the helicopter turning to the right approximately 70 degrees allowing the lower vertical fin on the tail boom to come in contact with a metal gear/equipment cage. The structural integrity of the fin was compromised and required replacement.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.