Harris Hospital Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fort Worth, Texas 76104
Friday, November 8, 2002 10:35 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After landing on the helipad, the pilot reduced the throttles to flight idle. The pilot was then going to demonstrate to the flight crew how the helicopter could taxi and perform a running takeoff. The pilot initiated the takeoff roll, added collective, and realized the engines were not at 100 percent power. Subsequently, the helicopter became airborne, departed the heliport and came to rest on the roof of a lower level parking garage. In an interview, the pilot reported that "he attempted a rolling take-off...with an incorrect power setting (selection switch) which resulted in an emergency landing on the roof of an adjacent automobile parking garage due to insufficient engine power to maintain flight." The pilot had accumulated approximately 6,500 total helicopter flight hours, with 3,100 flight hours as a flight instructor in helicopters, and 25 total hours in the same make and model as the accident helicopter.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's attempted running takeoff with the power controls in the improper position.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/8/2002
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1035
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Fort Worth
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 76104
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 324413N
Event Location Longitude 0972020W
Event Location Airport Harris Hospital
Event Location Nearest Airport ID TE30
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 697
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 18
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 25
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13686
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Nov 8 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1140
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 2 2009 1:32PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Fort Worth, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N142CF
NTSB Number FTW03LA038
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Agusta
Aircraft Model A109E
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 11141
Certified Max Gross Weight 6283
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 5
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Oct 30 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 9.8
Airframe Hours 200.9
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name North Central Texas Services, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3110 S. Great Southwest Pkwy
Aircraft Owner City Grand Prairie
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 75052
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 USA
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code NXTA
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code TE30
Departure City Fort Worth
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1035
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code GPM
Destination City Grand Prairie
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 2 2009 1:32PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight Yes
Medical Flight --