Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Company Helipad Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Springfield, Illinois 62558
Tuesady, March 17, 2009 1:38 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was returning to the company helipad when he was told by another on duty pilot on the ground to refuel at a south fuel tank because the north fuel tank was empty. A helicopter was parked at the northeast end of the helipad. The pilot said that he attempted to get close to the south fuel tank for the fuel hose to reach the helicopter so that he wouldn't have to pull out the full length of the hose. As he brought the helicopter into a hover, its main rotor blades stuck the main rotor blades of the parked helicopter. The pilot said that there was good visibility and a lot of lights in the area. The on duty pilot said that he was going to ground guide the helicopter but that his radio battery lost power and was unable to do so.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the parked helicopter.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 3/17/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 138 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Springfield |
| Event State | ILLINOIS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 62558 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | Company Helipad |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | AE25 |
| 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 | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 52 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 356 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SPI |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 597 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 8 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| 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) | 10 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 5 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 190 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.17 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 26002 |
| NTSB Notification Source | SPI FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 28 2009 9:44AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N595AE |
| NTSB Number | CEN09IA222 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Minor |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | BELL |
| Aircraft Model | 206 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | L-1 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 45244 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4150 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 18 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 19109 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Air Evac EMS, Inc |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 306 Davis Dr |
| Aircraft Owner City | West Plains |
| Aircraft Owner State | MO |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 65775 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Air Evac EMS, Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 306 Davis Dr |
| Operator City | West Plains |
| Operator State | MO |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 65775 |
| Operator Code | EVCA |
| 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 | -- |
| 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) | Positioning |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | St. Johns Hospi |
| Departure State | IL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 131 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | AE27 |
| Destination City | Springfield |
| Destination State | IL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 17 2009 10:45AM |
| User who most recently changed record | galm |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | Yes |
| Medical Flight | -- |