Aerospatiale AS 365 N2 DAUPHIN N365WM

Summary

On 25 May 2014 at about 14:30 local time, a Aerospatiale AS 365 N2 DAUPHIN registered N365WM, operated by West Michigan Air Care Inc, was involved in an accident near Constantine, Michigan, United States. 3 people were 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

25 May 2014 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Constantine, Michigan, United States

Coordinates

41.8325, -85.6683

Aircraft

Aerospatiale AS 365 N2 DAUPHIN

Registration

N365WM

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1991

Engines

2

Operator

West Michigan Air Care Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kalamazoo → Constantine

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN14CA252

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's loss of control while entering a vortex ring state (settling with power) condition, 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 reported that he positioned the helicopter to land on a westerly heading with the light and variable wind from the west. About 200 feet above the ground he noticed that the helicopter was descending so he increased the collective to arrest the rate of descent. The torque gage was increasing from 50% to 60%. He lowered the collective in attempt to get into clean air and then pulled back on the cyclic to arrest the forward airspeed. The pilot attempted to control the helicopter to the ground, maintain an upright attitude, and avoid obstacles. The helicopter landed hard and bounced once before it came to rest in the parking lot. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. A video of the accident sequence was reviewed and matched the pilot's statement. The video did not reveal any anomalies with the helicopter or the engine sounds. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the right fuselage and lower right vertical stabilizer. The video evidence and pilot statement are consistent with the helicopter entering a vortex ring state (settling with power) condition, which allowed the helicopter to descend more rapidly than expected and land hard.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.