Agusta A109 N271HC

Summary

On 13 November 2019 at about 03:08 local time, a Agusta A109 registered N271HC, operated by IHC Health Services Inc, was involved in an accident near Salt Lake City, Utah, 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

13 November 2019 at 03:08

Classification

Accident

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Coordinates

40.1706, -111.6450

Aircraft

Agusta A109

Registration

N271HC

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2011

Engines

2

Operator

IHC Health Services Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Murray → Spanish Fork

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR20LA029

Nobody was injured.

The flight nurse’s inadvertent application of left anti-torque pedal during cruise flight, which resulted in a rapid yaw and pitch movement that caused the tail rotor blades to contact the tailboom.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The crew of the helicopter air ambulance flight departed to pick up a patient in night visual meteorological conditions. While en route to their destination, a flight nurse, who was seated in the left seat and communicating with ground personnel, inadvertently depressed the helicopter’s left anti-torque pedal instead of the foot-activated push-to-talk (PTT) switch to activate the microphone. The helicopter suddenly yawed left about 11°, which the pilot immediately countered and restored straight-and-level flight. The helicopter sustained damage to the tail rotor blades and empennage that was not discovered until several hours later when the accident crew was relieved. The damage to the blades and empennage was consistent with their making contact, and the flight data suggest this occurred during the first leg of the shift flight as the crew did not experience any other events that would have caused the degree of damage observed. Postaccident examination of the tail rotor gearbox and tail rotor blades did not reveal any anomalies. A performance analysis by the helicopter manufacturer showed that the amount of left pedal applied at the time of the pilot’s yaw recovery exceeded the parameters tested during certification. The flight nurse seated in the cockpit at the time of the accident normally sat in the rear cabin and was likely not as familiar with the location of the PTT, especially in nighttime lighting conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.