Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Swanee, Georgia 30024
Friday, November 16, 2001 16:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he was hovering the helicopter in front of a house, and the main rotor blades struck a driveway light post, removing the top ornament from the post. According to the pilot, he landed the helicopter immediately and secured it, but the blades had incurred damage as a result of them having struck the post. The pilot stated that prior to the accident, there were no failures or malfunctions to any of the helicopter's systems.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper visual lookout while hovering the helicopter, which resulted in the helicopter's main rotor blades colliding with a light post.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/16/2001
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Swanee
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 30024
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 11
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 1553 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID MCN
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.02
Density Altitude (feet) 2000
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 5
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11524
NTSB Notification Source FAA Atlanta FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Dec 7 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 930
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2002 1:46PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Atlanta, Georgia

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6101U
NTSB Number MIA02LA040
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Eurocopter
Aircraft Model AS-350-BA
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2308
Certified Max Gross Weight 4630
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 6
Number of Engines --
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Sep 30 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 4.3
Airframe Hours 629.6
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Williams Air Services Inc.,
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2076 West Park Place
Aircraft Owner City Stone Mountain
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 30087
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Executive/Corporate
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Swanee
Departure State GA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Hover
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Jan 30 2002 12:21PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --