Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Aurora, Colorado 80016
Thursday, May 8, 2003 17:15 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot-in-command (PIC), the helicopter was returning to Centennial Airport, Englewood, after the crew had filmed a news story. He was allowing the check pilot (CP) to fly the helicopter. The PIC "bumped the throttle" to simulate a power loss. The CP turned into the wind and slowed to 60 knots. The PIC consulted the CP and confirmed the landing location and recovery procedures (i.e., rotor rpm in the green arc, full throttle at 200 feet agl). The CP flared the helicopter 75 feet above the ground but didn't apply power until they were 20 feet above the ground. Rotor speed decayed, and the helicopter struck the ground, bounced, spun 180 degrees, and rolled over on its left side. According to the CP, the PIC initiated a forced landing. He wrote, "I entered the [autorotation] and turned into the wind. During the power recovery, the engine did not respond in a timely manner and ground contact was the result." According to the FAA inspector who interviewed the crew, the CP did not have recent helicopter experience involving operations above 5,000 feet. Due to a lack of prior planning between the two pilots, "the [CP] assumed that the PIC was going to reapply the throttle for a power recovery. At the same time, the [PIC] assumed that the [CP] was going to apply power [to recover]. The result of this lack of CRM (cockpit resource management) was that the power was applied at a point where the descent rate could not be arrested..." At the time of the accident, the helicopter was carrying 400 pounds of fuel, television cameras and other equipment, and a cameraman. The density altitude was computed to be 7,143 feet msl.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

inadequate infligt planning/decision by the flight crew and the check pilot's failure to initiate remedial action in a timely manner. Contributing factors were the pilot-in-command's inadequate supervision of the check pilot, the check pilot's lack of recency of high altitude experience, and the high density altitude.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/8/2003
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1715
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Aurora
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80016
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 5
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 1655 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 130
Weather Observation Facility ID BKF
Elevation of weather observation facility 5662
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 10000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 100
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.63
Density Altitude (feet) 7202
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14577
NTSB Notification Source FAA COMM CTR
NTSB Notification Date May 8 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1730
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 30 2003 8:55AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Denver, Colorado

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N70TV
NTSB Number DEN03LA078
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 Bell
Aircraft Model 206-L4
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 52020
Certified Max Gross Weight 4150
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 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection May 2 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 16
Airframe Hours 5597
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Helicopters, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 14 Omega Dr,
Aircraft Owner City Cahokia
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 62206
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) Business
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code APA
Departure City Englewood
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1700
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code APA
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 6 2005 9:18AM
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 No
Medical Flight --