Agusta A109 N200BK

Summary

On 10 June 2019 at about 17:40 local time, a Agusta A109 registered N200BK, operated by N200bk Inc, was involved in an accident near New York, New York, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 June 2019 at 17:40

Classification

Accident

Location

New York, New York, United States

Nearest airport

East 34Th Street (6N5)

Coordinates

40.7617, -73.9819

Aircraft

Agusta A109

Registration

N200BK

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2000

Engines

2

Operator

N200bk Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Executive/Corporate

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

New York → Linden

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA19FA191

1 person died.

The non-instrument-rated pilot’s decision to initiate the flight into marginal visual flight rules and instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and a subsequent loss of control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After dropping off a passenger during a routine weekly commuting flight, the noninstrument-rated pilot of the helicopter remained at the fixed-base operator (FBO) for about 2 hours, reviewing weather information before departing on the planned repositioning flight, which was the last flight leg of the commute. Before he departed, the pilot informed FBO staff that he saw a “twenty-minute window to make it out.” Had the pilot remained at the heliport, the helicopter owner would have incurred hourly, overnight, and landing fees depending on the length of stay. The extent to which those fees or other factors, such as the pilot’s obligation to reposition the helicopter as part of the normal commute, influenced his decision to depart could not be determined. The pilot departed into marginal visual flight rules (MVFR) conditions, and soon after takeoff, encountered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). Although the pilot communicated that he was attempting to return to the departure heliport; shortly thereafter, he transmitted to heliport staff that he “didn’t know where he was.” Flight track data depicted an erratic flight path after takeoff, during which the helicopter climbed above the reported cloud base of 500 ft above ground level, and witness video recordings showed the helicopter flying in and out of clouds. About 8 minutes after takeoff, the helicopter descended rapidly and impacted the roof of a building. Examination of the airframe and engines revealed no evidence of any preimpact anomalies. The pilot’s decision to depart into MVFR conditions and the helicopter’s subsequent encounter with IMC were conducive to the development of spatial disorientation, and the helicopter’s erratic flight path and rapid descent were consistent with a loss of control due to spatial disorientation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.