Eurocopter AS 350 B3 N118MB
25 February 2012 · Poway, California, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 25 February 2012 at about 22:15 local time, a Eurocopter AS 350 B3 registered N118MB, operated by Mountain Air Helicopters Inc, was involved in an accident near Poway, California, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 22:15
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Poway, California, United States
- Coordinates
- 32.9339, -116.9969
- Aircraft
- Eurocopter AS 350 B3
- Registration
- N118MB
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Mountain Air Helicopters Inc
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Positioning
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Poway → Poway
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- WPR12CA118
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions during landing, which resulted in a hard landing.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot stated that he was approaching a landing zone on a flat pinnacle with a tailwind. The helicopter was within 50 feet of the landing area in a slow, stable, shallow approach when it encountered an updraft. When the helicopter flew out of the updraft, it abruptly descended to the ground. The helicopter landed hard, and the impact buckled the tail boom and sheared off the left landing gear skid.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Eurocopter AS-350 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 May 2012 | Eurocopter AS 350 B2 | Seattle, Washington, United States | King Broadcasting Co | No injuries | - |
| 1 Mar 2012 | Eurocopter AS 350 B3 | Napa, California, United States | California Highway Patrol | No injuries | - |
| 29 Apr 2012 | Eurocopter AS 350 B2 | Hugo, Oklahoma, United States | Eagle MED LLC | No injuries | - |
| 8 Jun 2013 | Eurocopter AS 350 B3 | Grand Prairie, Texas, United States | CFS Air LLC | Minor injuries | - |
| 22 Feb 2013 | Eurocopter AS 350 B2 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States | EagleMed LLC | Fatal | 2 |
| 26 Aug 2011 | Eurocopter AS-350-B2 | Mosby, Missouri, United States | Air Methods Corporation | Fatal | 4 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Nov 2012 | Remos Acft Gmbh Flugzeugbau REMOS GX | Sacramento, California, United States | Greg Thomas Group Inc | No injuries | - |
| 21 Feb 2012 | Haycraft SPORT HORNET | Mariposa, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 20 Apr 2012 | Piper PA-18-150 | Sierraville, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 19 Feb 2012 | Aeronca 7BCM | Woodland, California, United States | Red Sky Aviation, LLC | No injuries | - |
| 27 May 2012 | Beechcraft B36TC | Santa Ynez, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 20 Nov 2012 | Cessna 210 | San Rafael, California, United States | Zachariah Kimsey | No injuries | - |