Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Pearce Ferry Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Meadview, Arizona 86444
Thursday, September 27, 2007 14:40 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot observed one large bird ahead to the left and below the helicopter while cruising between 100 and 120 knots, and 500 feet above terrain. Another large bird, tentatively believed to be a Golden eagle with an 8-foot wingspan, suddenly appeared directly ahead of the helicopter. Although the lower elevation bird passed left of the helicopter, the second bird impacted the helicopter in the area of the front windscreen (bubble). The center front and left windscreens shattered, and debris impacted and injured the pilot and two passengers. The pilot immediately commenced a shallow bank turn toward a nearby airport while descending for landing. The air tour sightseeing flight helicopter was equipped with a video camera, which captured images of the approaching birds.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Collision with a bird during cruise flight.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/27/2007 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1440 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Meadview |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 86444 |
| Event Date Year | 2007 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 360475N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1140450W |
| Event Location Airport | Pearce Ferry |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | L25 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 2941 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 100 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 31 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 100 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.86 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 3 |
| Injury Total None | 5 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 23931 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 27 2007 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 30 2008 9:00AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Las Vegas, NV |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N808MH |
| NTSB Number | LAX07LA281 |
| 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 | EC 130 B4 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 3914 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5350 |
| 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 | 8 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 1 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2893 |
| 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, South |
| Aircraft Owner City | Las Vegas |
| Aircraft Owner State | NV |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 89119 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Maverick Helicopters, Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 6075 Las Vegas Blvd., South |
| Operator City | Las Vegas |
| Operator State | NV |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 89119 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | LAS |
| Departure City | Las Vegas |
| Departure State | NV |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1400 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | NONE |
| Destination City | Grand Canyon |
| Destination State | AZ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise - normal |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 14 2008 2:03PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 01 |
| Runway Length | 2900 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | Yes |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |