American Eurocopter AS350BA N2273A

Summary

On 5 July 2003 at about 22:50 local time, a American Eurocopter AS350BA registered N2273A, operated by Sundance Helicopters Inc., was involved in an accident near Temple Bar, Arizona, United States. 7 people were on board and 4 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

5 July 2003 at 22:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Temple Bar, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

36.0653, -114.4603

Aircraft

American Eurocopter AS350BA

Registration

N2273A

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Sundance Helicopters Inc.

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Las Vegas → Quarter Master

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX03LA225

4 people had minor injuries.

the pilot's failure to follow the published electrical system emergency procedures for a hot battery, and his misjudged landing flare during the terminal phase of the autorotation maneuver at low level.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter landed hard, bounced back into the air, rotated 90 degrees to the left, and struck the ground a second time before rolling onto its right side. While in cruise at 3,500 feet msl, the tour helicopter pilot experienced a "hot battery" light indication on the instrument panel. The pilot made two radio calls, but, during the response, the helicopter experienced a complete electrical failure. The pilot elected to make an immediate landing on the shoreline of Lake Mead. At 100 feet agl, the pilot reported a change in the sound of the engine. Believing that he had an unreliable engine, the pilot entered an autorotation. While in the deceleration flair, the tail rotor stinger and tail rotor blades made contact with the soft sand. The pilot leveled the helicopter, but made a hard landing. The pilot indicated that after the helicopter came to rest, he could still hear the engine operating. He activated the fuel shutoff lever to shutdown the engine. A test run of the engine revealed no abnormalities. The pilot did not follow the emergency procedures as published in the AS350BA flight manual. Paragraph 2 describes an autorotation landing; it said to resume a level attitude before touchdown, and cancel any sideslip tendency. The aircraft flight manual states that the 150 amp generator is capable of sustaining the aircraft's electrical load. The emergency checklist identifies that if the battery is isolated from the d.c. curcuit, the pilot is to "keep a watch on voltage, continue flight, according to circumstances." The emergency procedures for a battery temperature light as explained in section 3.3 of the flight manual for the AS350BA is; "Isolate the battery (push button "OFF") and land as soon as possible."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.