Eurocopter Deutschland EC 135 P2 N136LN

Summary

On 11 January 2005 at about 04:11 local time, a Eurocopter Deutschland EC 135 P2 registered N136LN, operated by Life Net Inc., was involved in an accident near Oxon Hill, Maryland, United States. 3 people were on board and 2 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 January 2005 at 04:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Oxon Hill, Maryland, United States

Coordinates

38.7836, -77.0192

Aircraft

Eurocopter Deutschland EC 135 P2

Registration

N136LN

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

Life Net Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Washington → Stafford

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

NYC05MA039

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to identify and arrest the helicopter's descent, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain. Contributing to the accident were the dark night conditions, limited outside visual references, and the lack of an operable radar altimeter in the helicopter.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The Safety Board's full brief is available at http://ntsb.gov/Publictn/publictn.htm. The Aviation Accident Brief number is NTSB/AAB-07/04. On January 10, 2005, about 2311 eastern standard time, a Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH EC-135 P2 helicopter, N136LN, operated by LifeNet, Inc., as Life Evac 2, crashed into the Potomac River during low-altitude cruise flight near Oxon Hill, Maryland. The certificated commercial pilot and the flight paramedic were killed, and the flight nurse received serious injuries. The helicopter was destroyed. The positioning flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 and visual flight rules with a company flight plan filed. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.