Airbus AS-350 N504WD
4 May 2015 · Hamilton, Montana, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 4 May 2015 at about 16:45 local time, a Airbus AS-350 registered N504WD was involved in an accident near Hamilton, Montana, United States. 2 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.
The record
- Date
- at 16:45
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Hamilton, Montana, United States
- Nearest airport
- Ravalli County (6S5)
- Coordinates
- 46.2517, -114.1256
- Aircraft
- Airbus AS-350
- Registration
- N504WD
- Category
- Helicopter
- Year built
- 1984
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Hamilton → Hamilton
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ANC15LA076
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
The pilot's excessive collective application during an autorotation. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the training flight.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The flight instructor, in the left seat reported that he was providing flight instruction to the commercial pilot, in the right seat, which included a series of hovering autorotations. According to the instructor, as the commercial pilot hovered the helicopter about 3 or 4 ft above the ground, the instructor initiated the hovering autorotation by reducing the floor-mounted throttle (fuel flow control lever) to about 70% N1, and the helicopter descended to about 1 ft above the ground. As the commercial pilot tried to cushion the touchdown, he inadvertently applied too much collective pitch, and the helicopter ballooned to a higher altitude. During the second descent, the main rotor rpm continued to decay, and the helicopter’s skids struck the ground. The instructor did not take control of the helicopter during this sequence. A postflight inspection revealed substantial damage to the tailboom.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Airbus AS-350 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Jun 2014 | Airbus AS 350 BA FX1 | Wailuku, Hawaii, United States | Sunshine Helicopters Inc | No injuries | - |
| 5 Dec 2019 | Airbus AS 350 B2 | Los Angeles, California, United States | Helinet Aviation Services Llc | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Jun 2015 | Cessna P210N | Bozeman, Montana, United States | Stephen H. Biggs | No injuries | - |
| 3 Aug 2015 | Cessna TU206G | Saint Ignatius, Montana, United States | Dagostino Scott J | No injuries | - |
| 17 Apr 2015 | Piper PA 28-180 | Deer Lodge, Montana, United States | Novak James F | No injuries | - |
| 19 Jun 2015 | Cessna 180A | Polson, Montana, United States | Schantz Matthew T | No injuries | - |
| 23 Jun 2015 | Cessna TU206F | Schafers Meadows, Montana, United States | Red Eagle Aviation | Serious injuries | - |
| 5 Aug 2015 | MD Helicopters 369E | Whitefish, Montana, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |