Bell 407 N416PH

Summary

On 8 June 2008 at about 07:48 local time, a Bell 407 registered N416PH was involved in an accident near Huntsville, Texas, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 June 2008 at 07:48

Classification

Accident

Location

Huntsville, Texas, United States

Coordinates

30.6308, -95.5639

Aircraft

Bell 407

Registration

N416PH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Huntsville → Houston

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

DEN08FA101

4 people died.

The pilot's failure to identify and arrest the helicopter's descent, which resulted in its impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the limited outside visual reference due to the dark night conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

This report was updated on August 14, 2009. An Emergency Medical Services (EMS) flight dispatch was requested from the accident operator, since a previous EMS operator had "aborted" the same requested mission flight. The EMS operator, who had "aborted" the same mission approximately one hour and 30 minutes prior to the accident flight, reported low clouds in the vicinity of the accident site. No PIREP was reported with the FAA. Official weather reporting stations in the area recorded visional flight rules weather conditions. The pilot contacted his company's operations control center and discussed observed weather and the reasoning for the "turndown" by the other EMS operator. It was agreed that weather observation stations were reporting visual flight rules weather conditions and the flight was accepted. The EMS flight powered up for the accident leg at 0244:11 and departed at 0246:56. The onboard flight tracking system recorded the flight until 0247 to an altitude of 1,016 feet mean sea level (600 feet above the ground), on a flight path of 170 degrees. The wreckage was located 2.5 miles southwest of the last known coordinates in densely forested terrain, the next morning, in the exact location where the other EMS operator had encountered low clouds and lost their reference to surface light sources. Sheared tree tops indicate initial impact occurred with the helicopter's main rotor blade system, in a straight, nose low attitude. The flight path terrain was dark, without surface reference lights, and there was no moon. The accident helicopter was equipped with the Aviation Night Vision Imaging System and radar altimeter; however the settings on the radar altimeter could not be established and the pilot was not utilizing night vision goggles. The helicopter was not equipped with Helicopter Terrain Awareness Warning System (HTAWS). The pilot was appropriately trained and certified to fly the accident flight. An examination of the helicopter airframe, engine, and related systems revealed no anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.