Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Panama City St. Pierre And Miquelon
Thursday, May 29, 2008 14:10 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On May 29, 2008, at 1410 central daylight time, a Bell UH-1H, operated by the Panamanian Servicio Aereo Nacional (SAN) as SAN-100, was destroyed when it impacted buildings in Panama City, Panama. The Panamanian pilot in command, the Panamanian flight mechanic, three Panamanian passengers and six Chilean passengers were fatally injured, and the Panamanian copilot was seriously injured. There were no injuries on the ground. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the visual flight rules flight that departed Enrique A. Jimenez Airport (MONX), Colon, Panama, at 1326, destined for a waterfront hotel landing pad in Panama City, Panama. The VIP transport flight was conducted under Panamanian flight regulations.
According to Panamanian authorities, the passengers included senior officials from both Panama and Chile, including the Director General of the Chilean National Police (Los Carabineros), who were attending an international conference.
A radar review revealed that while approaching the hotel helipad from seaward (from the south, over the Bay of Panama), the helicopter made one 360-degree turn, then another 270-degree turn, and headed eastward toward a different part of the shoreline. Crossing the shoreline, it appeared to be headed over buildings, toward Marco A. Gelabert (Albrook) Airport (MPMG), Panama City, Panama, before disappearing from the radar. The helicopter's altitudes were not recorded.
According to the copilot, while approaching the hotel helipad, the helicopter experienced a power loss from the left engine, making it impossible to land at the pad. The crew concentrated on maintaining flight, and headed toward Marco A. Gelabert Airport. En route, the helicopter impacted the top of a building.
An examination of the accident scene revealed that the majority of the tailboom was on the roof of a four-story building, the majority of the cabin, including the engines, was on the roof of a second, lower building, and that the majority of the cockpit had continued off the second building, down into a street.
A subsequent examination of the wreckage and engines in a hanger revealed that the airframe and flight controls had no preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operations, and that the left engine "was not operating normally at the time of the accident." The engines were subsequently transported to the manufacturer for further examination under Panamanian oversight.
The accident investigation is under the jurisdiction of the government of Panama. Further information may be obtained from:
Autoridad Aeronautica Civil (AAC)
Aeropuerto Marcos A. Gelarbert
Via Diogenes de la Rosa, Edificio 805
Apartado 7501 o 7615
Panama 5,
Republica de Panama
Tel: (507) 501-9300
http://www.aeronautica.gob.pa
This report is for informational purposes only, and contains only information released by, or obtained from the government of Panama.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/29/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1410 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Panama City |
| Event State | -- |
| Event Country | ST. PIERRE AND MIQUELON |
| Zipcode of the event site | -- |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | -- |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | -- |
| Event Location Latitude | 085756N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0793224W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | -- |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -- |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| 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 | 11 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 12 |
| Investigating Agency | Foreign |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | Panamanian AAC |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 30 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 10 2008 8:35PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MUZD |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | AAI-100 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | -- |
| NTSB Number | NYC08RA197 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Non-U.S., Non-Commercial |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | -- |
| Aircraft Explosion | -- |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Bell |
| Aircraft Model | UH-1N |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | -- |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Number of Engines | -- |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | -- |
| ELT Activated | -- |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | -- |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | -- |
| Aircraft Owner State | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Country | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | -- |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | -- |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | -- |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Panama City |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | PM |
| 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) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | -- |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | ONX |
| Departure City | Colon |
| Departure State | -- |
| Departure Country | PM |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Panama City |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | PM |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Other |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 10 2008 8:35PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MUZD |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |