Agusta A109E N606SP

Summary

On 10 June 2009 at about 03:35 local time, a Agusta A109E registered N606SP, operated by New Mexico State Police, was involved in an accident near Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. 3 people were on board and 2 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 June 2009 at 03:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Santa Fe Municipal Airport (SAF)

Coordinates

35.8375, -105.7406

Aircraft

Agusta A109E

Registration

N606SP

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

New Mexico State Police

Operating rule

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Fe → Santa Fe

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CEN09PA348

2 people died.

The pilot's decision to take off from a remote, mountainous landing site in dark (moonless) night, windy, instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing to the accident were an organizational culture that prioritized mission execution over aviation safety and the pilot's fatigue, self-imposed pressure to conduct the flight, and situational stress. Also contributing to the accident were deficiencies in the NMSP aviation section's safety-related policies, including lack of a requirement for a risk assessment at any point during the mission; inadequate pilot staffing; lack of an effective fatigue management program for pilots; and inadequate procedures and equipment to ensure effective communication between airborne and ground personnel during search and rescue missions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The Safety Board’s full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/A_Acc1.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-11/04. On June 9, 2009, about 2135 mountain daylight time, an Agusta S.p.A. A-109E helicopter, N606SP, impacted terrain following visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The commercial pilot and one passenger were fatally injured; a highway patrol officer who was acting as a spotter during the accident flight was seriously injured. The entire aircraft was substantially damaged. The helicopter was registered to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety and operated by the New Mexico State Police (NMSP) on a public search and rescue mission under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. The helicopter departed its home base at Santa Fe Municipal Airport, Santa Fe, New Mexico, about 1850 in visual meteorological conditions; instrument meteorological conditions prevailed when the helicopter departed the remote landing site about 2132.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.