Bell UH 1H N205KS

Summary

On 12 January 2018 at about 17:15 local time, a Bell UH 1H registered N205KS, operated by Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit, was involved in an accident near Van Nuys, California, 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.

Date

12 January 2018 at 17:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Van Nuys, California, United States

Nearest airport

Van Nuys (VNY)

Coordinates

34.2097, -118.4897

Aircraft

Bell UH 1H

Registration

N205KS

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1965

Engines

1

Operator

Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit

Operating rule

Public Use

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Barbara → Van Nuys

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA107

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a stationary helicopter during landing. Contributing to the accident was the ground crew’s failure to ensure that the helicopter would clear the stationary helicopter.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, while hovering the helicopter to park between three stationary helicopters, the ground crew gave him the signal for a 180° "pedal turn." As the helicopter was about to touch down, he felt a shudder in the airframe. He then immediately rolled the throttle closed and completed an emergency shutdown. Postaccident examination revealed that the tail rotor blades struck the main blades of a stationary helicopter, which likely caused the shudder felt by the pilot. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail rotor and main rotor systems. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.