Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Grand Canyon West Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Peach Springs, Arizona 86434
Monday, July 12, 2004 15:15 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The helicopter settled to the ground hard while in the initial takeoff sequence from a helipad for a sightseeing tour flight. The pilot reported he was departing toward the southwest. During takeoff, about 20 knots of indicated airspeed, he detected the helicopter was not climbing. He noticed the main rotor rpm was decaying; he attempted to increase the rpm by lowering the collective, which was unsuccessful. As the helicopter started to yaw to the left, the pilot unsuccessfully tried to stop the left yaw by applying right pedal. The low rotor speed warning horn activated prior to the helicopter impacting the ground. Two videotapes were recovered from the helicopter's-on-board video recording system and sent to the Safety Board vehicle recorders division for readout. The video recorder group observed the helicopter takeoff in a downwind condition, as the bushes were observed blowing in the same direction as the takeoff path. The engine was installed in a test cell and operated for over 2 hours, and it was found to meet all normal parameters and engine performance specifications.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's selection of downwind takeoff direction and improper use of the collective control prior to reaching translational lift, which resulted in a settling with power condition and a collision with the ground. Also causal was the pilot's failure to maintain main rotor rpm.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/12/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1515 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Peach Springs |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 86434 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 355925N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1134859W |
| Event Location Airport | GRAND CANYON WEST |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 1G4 |
| 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 | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1456 Mountain Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | IGM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 45 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MDT |
| 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) | 38 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 200 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 20 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.94 |
| 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 | 7 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 19200 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 12 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1626 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 28 2006 12:35PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP- FSDO- Las Vegas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N91MH |
| NTSB Number | LAX04LA261 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| 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 | Eurocopter France |
| Aircraft Model | AS350 B2 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2898 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4961 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 7 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 1 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 19.6 |
| Airframe Hours | 9992.3 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | MAVERICK HELICOPTER INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 6075 Las Vegas Blvd S |
| Aircraft Owner City | Las Vegas |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 89119 |
| 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 | M7KA |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | 1G4 |
| Departure City | Peach Springs |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1514 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Las Vegas |
| Destination State | NV |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | Yes |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 7 2005 2:23PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | Yes |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |