Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Linden Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Linden, New Jersey 07036
Tuesady, March 4, 2008 10:30 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that he was taking off from a dolly for a track and balance maintenance flight. He said that while hover taxiing the right door blew open. Shortly thereafter, he noticed that his clipboard was about to fall out of the helicopter. He quickly tried to transfer his left hand to the cyclic so that he could use his right hand to stop the clipboard from falling. He said that he put in too much aft cyclic and the tail guard struck the ground. Examination by a FAA inspector revealed that the tail boom was buckled. The pilot did not report any mechanical anomalies prior to the accident
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper preflight preparation and his failure to maintain control of the helicopter.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/4/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1030 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Linden |
| Event State | NEW JERSEY |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 07036 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 403701N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0741424W |
| Event Location Airport | LINDEN |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | LDJ |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 23 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1015 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 90 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | EWR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 18 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 5 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2900 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 22000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Overcast |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 240 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 15 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.95 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 23290 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Operator - Liberty Helicopter |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 31 2008 11:52AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N152TA |
| NTSB Number | MIA08CA072 |
| 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 | AS350B1 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2241 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4850 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 1 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 22 |
| Airframe Hours | 16479 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Meridian Consulting Co Incorporated |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. Box 1338 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Linden |
| Aircraft Owner State | NJ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 07036 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Liberty Helicopters |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | Linden Airport |
| Operator City | Linden |
| Operator State | NJ |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 07036 |
| 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 | LDJ |
| Departure City | LINDEN |
| Departure State | NJ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1000 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | LDJ |
| Destination City | LINDEN |
| Destination State | NJ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Hover |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 18 2008 10:07AM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |