Airbus AS350B3 N833SB

Summary

On 4 August 2022 at about 01:45 local time, a Airbus AS350B3 registered N833SB, operated by San Bernardino County Sheriffs Dept, was involved in an accident near Chino, 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

4 August 2022 at 01:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Chino, California, United States

Nearest airport

N/A (KCNO)

Coordinates

34.0107, -117.6877

Aircraft

Airbus AS350B3

Registration

N833SB

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2017

Engines

1

Operator

San Bernardino County Sheriffs Dept

Operating rule

Public Use

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Bernardino → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR22LA291

Nobody was injured.

The subsequent delamination of the main rotor blades as a result of an unidentified main rotor blade impact with vegetation during a previous flight by another pilot.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the helicopter reported that, he noticed a slight bounce during flight that felt like an out of balance main rotor blade. The pilot diverted to a nearby airport as the helicopter began to shake aggressively with a whipping noise hear. During the approach, the shaking worsened, and the pilot elected to perform a run-on landing at the airport. During the following inspection, it was revealed that the main rotor blades were substantially damaged due to delamination. There was also evidence of impact marks near the tip blades that was consistent with contact with vegetation. The operator reported that, 2 days before the accident flight, the blades may have impacted vegetation during an “off-site” landing. According to that pilot, while the front left seat passenger was exiting the helicopter, she inadvertently sat down on the left side collective, pushing it to the full-down position. The helicopter rolled backwards suddenly, resulting in the heels of the skids to contact the ground. The pilot corrected the helicopter’s attitude and checked that the collective’s movement was normal. The helicopter was shut down shortly after and tail and main rotor blades were inspected by the pilot who reported that he didn’t see any evidence of impact at that time. Maintenance personnel inspected the helicopter following the flight and no statements or writeup was found during the investigation. The three pilots that flew the helicopter after the unidentified impact all reported that they felt a slight bounce in the helicopter at speeds of approximately 115 knots and thought that it was a slight out of balance/track rotor and was not that significant.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.