Centennial Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Englewood, Colorado 80112
Monday, August 9, 2004 17:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, the helicopter had just undergone maintenance and was preparing for a second test flight. The helicopter had departed approximately 15 minutes prior to the accident and returned due to an inoperative horizontal situation indicator. A thorough preflight had been conducted for the first test flight. While the HSI was being repaired, another maintenance technician opened the transmission cowling. The pilot and two avionics technicians boarded the helicopter from the left side, without performing an additional preflight or walk around. The pilot performed a run-up and lifted the helicopter to a hover when an individual on the ground noticed that the cowling was open. The lead mechanic then signaled to the pilot for him to land. As the helicopter set back down, the transmission cowling detached and impacted a main rotor blade and the tail boom, causing substantial damage.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to perform a preflight inspection. Contributing to the accident was the transmission cowling that disconnected during the landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/9/2004
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Englewood
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80112
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 393402N
Event Location Longitude 1045100W
Event Location Airport CENTENNIAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID APA
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 5883
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1653 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID APA
Elevation of weather observation facility 5883
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 5000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Thin Broken
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 350
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 17
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.26
Density Altitude (feet) 8228
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) 16494
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Ctr
NTSB Notification Date Aug 11 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 700
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2004 10:11AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Denver FAA Flight Standards District Office

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N910U
NTSB Number DEN04CA122
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 France
Aircraft Model EC-130 B4
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3470
Certified Max Gross Weight 5291
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 3
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Aug 6 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0.2
Airframe Hours 85.1
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Banc One Leasing Corp
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1111 Polaris Parkway Street A3
Aircraft Owner City Columbus
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 83240
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Air Methods
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 7301 S Peoria Street
Operator City Englewood
Operator State CO
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 80112
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) Flight Test
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
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 Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Sep 8 2004 11:51AM
User who most recently changed record MCBM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --