Eurocopter Deutschland EC-145 N911LZ

Summary

On 17 August 2009 at about 04:31 local time, a Eurocopter Deutschland EC-145 registered N911LZ, operated by LEE County Division of Public Safety, was involved in an accident near North Captiva Island, Florida, 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

17 August 2009 at 04:31

Classification

Accident

Location

North Captiva Island, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Salty Approach Airport (FL90)

Coordinates

26.6022, -82.2044

Aircraft

Eurocopter Deutschland EC-145

Registration

N911LZ

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

LEE County Division of Public Safety

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Myers → N Captiva Isl.

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

ERA09LA464

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to arrest the helicopter's descent, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The emergency medical services (EMS) helicopter was on a night, over-water flight in visual meteorological conditions when the accident occurred. The pilot and two medical crewmembers were en route to pick up a patient on a barrier island. The pilot flew over the water with the autopilot engaged (altitude acquisition mode), at an altitude of 1,000 feet. While en route, the pilot unsuccessfully attempted to contact the fire department on the island to obtain landing zone information. When the helicopter was approximately 3 minutes from landing, the pilot selected 500 feet using the autopilot and the helicopter initiated a descent to that altitude. Unable to contact the fire department, the pilot likely became preoccupied with the task as well as the visual acquisition of the landing. The descent-power setting, which was manually controlled by the pilot, was not adequate to capture the selected altitude, and maintain 60 knots. As designed, the helicopter likely continued its descent with the autopilot engaged until it impacted the water. The pilot observed an amber indication on the primary flight display just before impact, which indicated the autopilot was engaged, and confirmed this most likely scenario. A post-accident examination of the helicopter revealed no pre-impact mechanical anomalies. After the impact, the dispatcher initiated a re-boot of her computer, rather than a search for the helicopter, when the helicopter's movement stopped on her screen. However, the fire department on scene initiated a search, and the crewmembers were rescued within a short timeframe. Had the crewmembers sustained serious injuries during the accident, the dispatcher's failure to initiate a search may have reduced the survivability of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.