Beechcraft B100 N4490M

Summary

On 15 June 2009 at about 22:52 local time, a Beechcraft B100 registered N4490M, operated by Air Methods Corporation, was involved in an accident near Rapid City, South Dakota, United States. 5 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 4 had minor injuries. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 June 2009 at 22:52

Classification

Accident

Location

Rapid City, South Dakota, United States

Coordinates

44.0453, -103.0575

Aircraft

Beechcraft B100

Registration

N4490M

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Air Methods Corporation

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gordon → Rapid City

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09LA388

1 person was seriously injured.

The flight crewmembers’ failure to secure the patient using the available over-the-shoulder restraints and the encounter with clear-air turbulence during cruise descent.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The air-ambulance flight encountered clear-air turbulence during cruise descent. During the turbulence encounter, the patient’s unrestrained upper-torso fell off the aircraft mounted stretcher assembly. After the turbulence had subsided, the patient’s unrestrained head, neck, and upper-torso were laying off the stretcher in the center aisle. His restrained lower body remained attached to the stretcher which was elevated off the cabin floor. The cabin flight crewmembers stabilized the patient’s neck before repositioning him back onto the stretcher. The airplane then made an uneventful landing at its intended destination. The patient suffered a fracture of the C3 cervical vertebra during the turbulence encounter. The stretcher’s available over-the-shoulder restraints were not used because of an interference caused by a flexible lift system that was used to transfer the patient from the ambulance gurney to the aircraft’s stretcher. After the accident the aeromedical transport company discontinued the use of the flexible patient lift system model used during the accident flight and required flight crewmembers to only use lift systems that allowed the use of the aircraft stretcher’s available over-the-shoulder restraints.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.