Westland GAZELLE AH-MK1 N911XW

Summary

On 9 November 2002 at about 04:25 local time, a Westland GAZELLE AH-MK1 registered N911XW was involved in an accident near East Hampton, 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

9 November 2002 at 04:25

Classification

Accident

Location

East Hampton, New York, United States

Nearest airport

East Hampton Airport (HTO)

Coordinates

40.8886, -72.2694

Aircraft

Westland GAZELLE AH-MK1

Registration

N911XW

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Islip → East Hampton

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

IAD03LA012

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude, which resulted in an in-flight collision with water. Factors included the pilot's decision to fly over water on a moonless night, his lack of experience in that environment, and the dark night lighting conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a flight on a moonless night, the helicopter entered a descent while approaching a shoreline from the landward side. The helicopter crossed the shoreline at an altitude of about 200 feet, then continued outbound, over the water, until radar contact was lost about 24 seconds later. The pilot's logbook was not recovered; however, records indicated that he flew 115 hours of total flight time in another helicopter, including 3 hours of night time, in preparation for his private pilot certificate, which he obtained 4 months prior to the accident. A safety pilot also flew with the accident pilot in the accident helicopter for about 10 additional hours. The accident flight was the pilot's second solo flight in the helicopter, and there was no evidence of mechanical malfunction.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.