Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sumner, Georgia 31789
Monday, July 24, 2000 2:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The flight was returning to the Worth County Baptist Hospital in Sylvester, Georgia. At approximately 0227, the pilot contacted the LifeFlight dispatcher and reported a Global Position System (GPS) location 7 miles west/northwest of Tifton, Georgia. No further communication was received from the pilot. Witnesses in the sparsely populated local area stated that it was a dark night and at about 0230 they heard the helicopter fly over their homes. They said the sky was clear of clouds and that the helicopter was low, maybe 400 to 500 feet above the ground. One witness stated that he watched the helicopter fly until out of site then heard a "pop sound" he said it sounded unusual and was not very loud. The flight failed to arrive at its final destination of Sylvester, Georgia. Examination of the wreckage found it localized in a heavily wooded area, with the skids buried in the ground with the trailing ends protruding upward at about a 70-degree angle. No pre-existing airframe or engine malfunctions were identified during the post crash examination.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot experienced spatial disorientation, which resulted in a loss of control of the helicopter. Contributing factors was the dark night.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/24/2000 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 230 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | SUMNER |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 31789 |
| Event Date Year | 2000 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 230 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 280 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ABY |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 197 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 27 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 7500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 73 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 72 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1393 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 3 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 11115 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA COMM CTNR ATLANTA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 24 2000 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 915 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 4 2001 12:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N911AM |
| NTSB Number | ATL00FA069 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Eurocopter |
| Aircraft Model | AS350B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | AS350B |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1319 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4300 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 7 2000 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 25 |
| Airframe Hours | 4814 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | C.C. MEDFLIGHT, INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1209 ORANGE ST. |
| Aircraft Owner City | WILMINGTON |
| Aircraft Owner State | DE |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 19801 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | CRITICAL CARE MEDFLIGHT, INC. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | P.O. BOX 245 |
| Operator City | LAWRENCEVILLE |
| Operator State | GA |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 30046 |
| Operator Code | MFGA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Positioning |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | SAV |
| Departure City | SAVANNAH |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 100 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | SYV |
| Destination City | SYLVESTER |
| Destination State | GA |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 2 2001 4:45AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | Yes |
| Medical Flight | Medical Emergency |