Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Boonville, Indiana 47601
Tuesady, April 20, 2004 23:43 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The helicopter collided with up sloping terrain during a night air medical flight. The accident occurred while transporting a patient from one hospital to another. Examination of the accident site and wreckage revealed the helicopter impacted the terrain in a level flight attitude. The accident site was at an abandoned strip mine located in a rural area. The area contained very few ground structures to provide reference lighting. During post accident interviews the pilot stated that he remembered picking up the patient and the next thing he remembered is the helicopter tumbling. The flight nurse and paramedic on board did not recall there being any indication of a problem prior to impact. The destination hospital is located inside the Class C airspace of the Evansville Regional Airport (EVV). The air traffic control facility at EVV closes at 2300. Between 2328 and 2339, the pilot made 12 attempts to establish contact with approach control as he approached the Class C airspace. There was a time zone change at EVV 16 days prior to the accident. Examination of the cockpit revealed the altimeter was set at 30.08 inches of mercury. The current altimeter setting was 29.77 inches of mercury. This resulted in the altimeter indicating about 310 feet higher then the actual altitude of the helicopter. The pilot who flew the helicopter prior to the accident flight reported the radar altimeter was operating erratically. This pilot and the mechanic who maintained the helicopter, both stated the accident pilot was informed of the problem. Bench testing of the radar altimeter failed to duplicate the reported erratic operation. The decision height (DH) bug on the radar altimeter was found set to 60 feet. Company policy is that the DH bug be set to 500 feet during visual night operations. Examination of the airframe, engine, and flight controls failed to reveal any mechanical failure/malfunction.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate planning/decision which resulted in his failure to maintain terrain clearance. Contributing factors were the pilot's inadequate preflight planning, his diverted attention, and the dark night conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/20/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 2343 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Boonville |
| Event State | INDIANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 47601 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 380839N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0871847W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2354 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 245 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | EVV |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 418 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 13 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 8000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 210 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 17 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.77 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1484 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 3 |
| Injury Total All | 4 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 17685 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 21 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 200 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 8 2005 12:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Indianapolis, IN FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N137AE |
| NTSB Number | CHI04FA107 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Bell |
| Aircraft Model | 206L-1 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 45266 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 18 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 1 |
| Airframe Hours | 26910 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Air Evac Leasing Corp |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. Box 768 |
| Aircraft Owner City | West Plains |
| Aircraft Owner State | MO |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 65775 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | AIR EVAC EMS INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| 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 | EVCA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | -- |
| 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 | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | HNB |
| Departure City | Huntingburg |
| Departure State | IN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 2327 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 16IN |
| Destination City | Evansville |
| Destination State | IN |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise - normal |
| Report sent to ICAO? | Yes |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 4 2005 10:07AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | Yes |
| Medical Flight | Medical Emergency |