Airbus AS350 N253HP

Summary

On 9 September 2015 at about 16:40 local time, a Airbus AS350 registered N253HP was involved in an accident near Draper, Utah, United States. 2 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

9 September 2015 at 16:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Draper, Utah, United States

Coordinates

40.5264, -111.7550

Aircraft

Airbus AS350

Registration

N253HP

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2013

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Salt Lake City → Salt Lake City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA15CA258

Nobody was injured.

The ground recovery team member's failure to secure a rescue rope during the helicopter loading process in steep terrain, resulting in the rope fouling the helicopter's main rotor system.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he and a tactical flight officer were conducting a high altitude rescue mission in "remote and nearly vertical" terrain with a public use helicopter, by doing a one-skid recovery. The purpose of this mission was to recover a fallen hiker.  A member of the three person ground recovery team had secured himself to a rescue rope that was anchored to the steep terrain above the plane-of-rotation of the main rotor system blades. Once the helicopter's right skid landed on a rock outcrop, the ground recovery team approached the helicopter to begin the loading process. During the approach to the helicopter, the rescue rope came in contact with a main rotor blade.   The pilot reported that the helicopter then, "rotated abruptly to the left and began to shake violently." The helicopter impacted terrain, the pilot regained control, and he then made an emergency landing at a lower altitude. He reported that upon applying power to land, the helicopter "began to shake violently again until touching down and reducing collective pitch." A postflight inspection revealed substantial damage to the main rotor system, the tail boom, and the empennage.   The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.