Eurocopter France AS350B3 N5226R

Summary

On 26 June 2004 at about 11:30 local time, a Eurocopter France AS350B3 registered N5226R, operated by Native American Air Ambulance Inc, was involved in an accident near Cibecue, Arizona, 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

26 June 2004 at 11:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Cibecue, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Dirt Landing Zone

Coordinates

34.0447, -110.4847

Aircraft

Eurocopter France AS350B3

Registration

N5226R

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Native American Air Ambulance Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Show Low Region → Cibecue

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dawn

NTSB number

LAX04LA285

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to maintain a proper decent rate during the landing approach and misjudged landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing. A factor in the accident was the brownout conditions created by the dust cloud that interfered with the pilot's perception of proximity to the ground.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter landed hard damaging the tail boom while landing at a improvised landing zone to pickup a medical patient. Several days prior, the pilot had landed at the same landing zone (a baseball field) and recalled that he encountered a large cloud of blowing dirt and was anticipating the same thing. About 3 feet above ground level, as the helicopter slowed to about 10 knots, a dust cloud began to formulate. The pilot said that the helicopter continued to descend and made a "firm" touchdown on the right skid, followed almost immediately by the left. A medical crewmember reported that on final approach he felt as though the helicopter was descending faster than normal. As the helicopter came into ground effect, a significant amount of dust was stirred up, diminishing visibility. The medical crewmember said the skids touched down with "significant" force. The operator reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions of failures with the helicopter.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.