American Eurocopter AS350 N755AE

Summary

On 29 July 2020 at about 17:00 local time, a American Eurocopter AS350 registered N755AE was involved in an accident near Pioche, Nevada, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 July 2020 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Pioche, Nevada, United States

Coordinates

37.9200, -114.5400

Aircraft

American Eurocopter AS350

Registration

N755AE

Category

Airplane

Year built

2013

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cedar City → Pioche

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR20LA244

2 people died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain altitude from terrain and subsequent loss of helicopter control due to entanglement of the external load cable with the tail rotor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot landed the helicopter on a mountain ridge to survey a job site. The purpose of the accident flight was to reposition the helicopter from the ridgetop downhill to a fuel truck to refuel before beginning external load operations. A witness reported that he dropped the pilot and passenger at the helicopter before the accident flight and saw a cable that was laid out on the ground in front of the helicopter. The pilot stated to him that the cable was 70 feet long. The witness left the pilot and passenger at the helicopter and drove away; shortly thereafter, he received a phone call about smoke in the vicinity and learned that the helicopter had crashed. Examination of the helicopter revealed that the long line was entangled with the tail rotor, which had separated from the helicopter. The tail cone/vertical fin assembly was found about 365 ft from the main wreckage and exhibited evidence of cable abrasion. Examination of the flight controls and engine, as well as review of recorded engine data, revealed no evidence of mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot failed to achieve adequate clearance between the long line and terrain before descending downhill toward the fuel truck, which resulted in the helicopter’s long line, becoming entangled with the tail rotor, and a subsequent loss of helicopter control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.