Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
West 30Th St. Heliport Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
New York, New York 10011
Saturday, March 22, 2008 11:10 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot initiated a takeoff to a hover from the helipad while another helicopter was running at a low rotor rpm on an adjacent helipad. He turned his attention to the engine instruments in the cockpit and initiated a left turn in preparation for departure. The tail skid of his helicopter then struck the rotor of the other helicopter. The pilot landed his helicopter back on the helipad and shut the engines down. The pilot had approximately 10 hours experience in the accident helicopter make and model, which was the twin-engine version of the single-engine helicopter in which he was significantly more experienced. Examination of the heliport revealed helipad spacing substantially less than that advised by Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular 150/5390-2B, Heliport Design.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate visual lookout and subsequent failure to maintain clearance from the other helicopter due to his focus on the engine instruments during the initial departure. Contributing to the accident was insufficient helipad spacing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 3/22/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1110 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | New York |
| Event State | NEW YORK |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 10011 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | Yes |
| Event Location Latitude | 404527N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0740045W |
| Event Location Airport | West 30th St. Heliport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | JRA |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 7 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1051 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 50 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | NYC |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 47 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 3 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 11000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 8500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 5 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -17 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| 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 | 5 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 25578 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 22 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 15 2009 9:14AM |
| User who most recently changed record | muzd |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Farmingdale, New York |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N406LH |
| NTSB Number | NYC08IA145 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Minor |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | AEROSPATIALE |
| Aircraft Model | AS355F1 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 5111 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5291 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 1 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 7393 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Meridian Consulting LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Operator City | New York |
| Operator State | NY |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | MHIA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | MHIA082G |
| 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 | JRA |
| Departure City | New York |
| Departure State | NY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1110 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | JRA |
| Destination City | New York |
| Destination State | NY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 15 2009 9:14AM |
| User who most recently changed record | muzd |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | Yes |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |