Eurocopter AS350BA N911VA

Summary

On 5 June 1998 at about 10:49 local time, a Eurocopter AS350BA registered N911VA, operated by Edward L. Behne, was involved in an accident near La Gloria, Texas, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 June 1998 at 10:49

Classification

Accident

Location

La Gloria, Texas, United States

Coordinates

26.5809, -98.5205

Aircraft

Eurocopter AS350BA

Registration

N911VA

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Edward L. Behne

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Harlingen → La Gloria

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

FTW98FA256

3 people died.

the pilot's continued flight into adverse weather conditions resulting in a loss of control due to spatial disorientation. Contributing factors were the dark night illumination, the lack of visual cues, the pilot's lack of total instrument time, and the pressure induced by the medical emergency to complete the medical evacuation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 2,905-hour instrument rated commercial helicopter pilot encountered an area of limited visibility during a dark night flight over an unlit, very sparsely populated, rural area while en route to evacuate a truck driver injured in a highway accident. The helicopter crashed 19 miles west of the truck accident site, indicating that the pilot failed to recognize his intended destination and flew past it. The helicopter impacted trees and terrain in a left turn in a 85 to 95 degrees nose down attitude. The pilot had accumulated a total of 4 hours of actual and 45 hours of simulated instrument flight time, none of it within the 90 days preceding the accident. The pilot was reported to have been concerned about night flights in the area due to the lack of lights on the ground to maintain visual reference. Another helicopter pilot stated that 'at night the area west of the highway is a big black hole.' No discrepancies were found that could have prevented normal flight operations. The pilot who flew the helicopter prior to the accident flight stated that 'the aircraft flew well and responded normally.' The visibility had been severely restricted by thick smoke from fires in Mexico. No distress calls were received from the helicopter. There were no reported eyewitnesses to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.