MBB BK-117-A3 N312LS

Summary

On 16 July 2000 at about 06:40 local time, a MBB BK-117-A3 registered N312LS, operated by Omniflight Helicopters, Inc., was involved in an accident near Allen, Texas, 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

16 July 2000 at 06:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Allen, Texas, United States

Coordinates

33.1007, -96.6609

Aircraft

MBB BK-117-A3

Registration

N312LS

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

Omniflight Helicopters, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Garland → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

FTW00LA206

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to maintain obstacle clearance while hovering the helicopter. A contributing factor was the dark night light conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial helicopter pilot terminated the night approach to a 6 to 8-foot hover, with 'trees and 2 post-box's to the right and a large ditch to the left.' The pilot hovered the helicopter sideways to the left to move away from the trees. He then started a left pedal turn to face EMS units located behind the helicopter. He had turned the helicopter approximately 120 degrees, 'when I moved backwards' and struck the trees with the tail rotor. He immediately stopped the turn and moved the helicopter forward before losing tail rotor control. As the helicopter began to spin, he 'lowered the collective and landed hard.' The tail rotor drive shaft forward of the 45 degree gearbox was sheared.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.