Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bisbee, Arizona 85603
Wednesday, June 1, 2005 18:35 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While hovering over a mountainous area on an aerial observation mission, the helicopter entered a rapid yaw rotation to the left then descended to ground impact. While hovering over items of interest on the ground, the pilot began a turn to the left at 200 feet above ground level. The helicopter began to turn more rapidly than normal and the pilot applied right pedal. The right pedal application did not counteract the turn rate and the helicopter continued spinning to the left. The pilot then reduced power and pitched the helicopter's nose forward while maintaining right pedal. The helicopter continued to rotate as it descended to impact with the ground. At the time of the accident, the pilot was not aware from which direction the wind was blowing. The pilot's regular flying assignment consisted of high-altitude surveillance flights over Florida and he was on a short duration pilot augmentation assignment to the Tucson operations base and had limited mountain flying experience. A pilot flying in the area immediately following the accident reported winds greater than 20 knots and blowing from the west. The helicopter was operating at a gross weight of 4,020 pounds. The maximum allowable gross weight of the helicopter is 4,961 pounds. The density altitude was 7,850 feet mean sea level (msl) and the out of ground effect hover capability of the helicopter was about 8,000 feet msl. Post accident examination of the helicopter did not reveal any preimpact airframe or engine malfunctions.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate forward airspeed, which resulted in an in-flight loss of control due to a loss of tail rotor effectiveness, while operating near the out of ground effect hover capability of the helicopter. Contributing factors to the accident was the high density altitude and the pilot's lack of experience in the operating environment.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/1/2005
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1835
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Bisbee
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85603
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 312582N
Event Location Longitude 1095007W
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 1756 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 70
Weather Observation Facility ID DUG
Elevation of weather observation facility 4154
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 14
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
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) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 19
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.87
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19206
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 1 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
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-SDL-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5205F
NTSB Number LAX05GA192
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
Aircraft Model AS 350 B2
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3109
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 5
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection May 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 78
Airframe Hours 2476
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name United States Customs Nat'l Aviation Center
Aircraft Owner Street Address 5020 S Meridian Avenue
Aircraft Owner City Oklahoma City
Aircraft Owner State OK
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 73119
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name United States Customs and Border Protection
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 --
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) Public Use
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code DMA
Departure City Tucson
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code DMA
Destination City Tucson
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 23 2006 4:12PM
User who most recently changed record JOHB
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 --