Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
None Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Gentry, Arkansas 72734
Monday, February 21, 2005 13:39 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The purpose of the air medical flight was to pick up a patient who had been involved in a motor vehicle accident in a rural area, and to transport him to a hospital. The helicopter landed to the north on the front lawn of a private residence. After the patient was boarded, the commercial pilot attempted to determine the wind direction, but found no visual cues. However, he estimated the winds were about 10-15 knots from between 330 and 030 degrees. He stated that he had encountered similar winds while en route to the landing zone. A second EMS pilot who arrived at the scene after the accident stated that the winds were from 030 to 050 at 10 knots. The accident pilot stated that he brought the helicopter to a hover and maneuvered the helicopter to the right to avoid power lines that crossed the residential property. The pilot stated that when he departed, he began a vertical ascent but was trying not to increase the collective above the available torque. He stated that he was concerned about clearing the power lines and losing tail rotor effectiveness. When the helicopter reached an altitude abeam of the power lines, it began an uninitiated spin to the right. The pilot stated that the torque was near 100 percent. He applied full left torque pedal, and attempted to gain forward airspeed. He also used the cyclic to follow the nose of the aircraft in an attempt to fly out of the turn. The pilot was unable to gain airspeed and the helicopter continued to spin to the right and to descend. The pilot initiated an autorotation by lowering the collective and placing the throttle in the idle position, which he stated stopped the spinning. When the helicopter was about 10 to 20 feet above ground, the pilot placed the collective in the full-up position to cushion the landing. However, there was not sufficient main rotor rpm to stop the high rate of descent and the helicopter landed hard in a field adjacent to the private residence. Examination of the helicopter revealed no preimpact structural, system, or other mechanical anomalies. A critical wind azimuth in the Bell 206-L1 flight manual indicated an increased risk of loss of tail rotor effectiveness when winds are encountered between 050 and 210 degrees.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s improper decision to maneuver in an environment conducive to a loss of tail rotor effectiveness.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/21/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1339 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Gentry |
| Event State | ARKANSAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 72734 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 361929N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0943446W |
| Event Location Airport | None |
| 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 | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1335 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 120 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SLG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1198 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| 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) | 16 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 50 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.01 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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) | 20421 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 21 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 3 2006 2:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Little Rock FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N5734M |
| NTSB Number | DFW05FA073 |
| 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 | 206-L1 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 45449 |
| 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 | Feb 17 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 4.1 |
| Airframe Hours | 23135.2 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | AIR EVAC LEASING CORPORATION |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 306 DAVIS DRIVE |
| 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 Lifeteam |
| 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 | 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 | 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 | NONE |
| Departure City | Gentry |
| Departure State | AR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1337 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | NONE |
| Destination City | SPRINGDALE |
| Destination State | AR |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | Yes |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 31 2006 6:06PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | Yes |
| Medical Flight | Medical Emergency |