Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Clarkson Valley, Missouri 63017
Friday, October 15, 2010 11:10 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During the flight that preceded the accident flight, the pilot stated to one of the two officers aboard the helicopter that he would not be able to fly for as long as normal because he needed to obtain fuel. Upon completion of the observation flight, the pilot returned to the police department and shut down the helicopter to allow the two officers to exit. The pilot then restarted the helicopter and departed en route to an airport where he could refuel the helicopter. A witness near the accident site stated that he heard the helicopter’s engine sputter and stop and saw the main rotor separate from the helicopter. The helicopter entered an uncontrolled descent and impacted terrain.
Postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed that there was no usable fuel on board and that the main rotor mast separated as a result of overload due to mast bumping (main rotor hub to rotor mast contact). No preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the helicopter were noted. Mast bumping typically results from a low-G flight condition caused by the pilot pushing the cyclic control forward abruptly from either straight-and-level flight or after a climb. Pushing the cyclic forward abruptly is contrary to the appropriate actions for entering an autorotation, which are lowering the collective pitch control to the full down position, adding antitorque pedal as needed to maintain heading, and applying cyclic as needed to maintain proper airspeed.
Review of the pilot’s medical records indicated that he had a history of depression, anxiety, and obstructive sleep apnea. Each of these conditions had been documented and treated since 2007, and none were reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the pilot’s airman medical application in 2010 or earlier. Any of these conditions may have disqualified the pilot from obtaining an airman’s medical certificate. Postmortem toxicological testing indicated that the pilot was taking alprazolam, an anti-anxiety medication, and venlafaxine, an anti-depressant. Alprazolam is one of a class of drugs which may worsen obstructive sleep apnea, and venlafaxine can cause fatigue and dizziness. The fact that the blood level of venlafaxine found was higher than normal therapeutic levels makes it more likely that the side effect of dizziness occurred and impaired the pilot’s performance.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, which resulted from the pilot's inadequate preflight planning and decision-making, and his improper control inputs following the loss of engine power, which resulted in mast bumping and separation of the main rotor. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's improper judgment in acting as a pilot with disqualifying medical conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/15/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1110 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Clarkson Valley |
| Event State | MISSOURI |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 63017 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 383759N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0903552W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| 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 | 1054 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 315 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SUS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 463 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 3 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| 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) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 350 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.13 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 29548 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 24 2012 12:41AM |
| User who most recently changed record | snyg |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N96MP |
| NTSB Number | CEN11GA020 |
| 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 | BELL |
| Aircraft Model | 206B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 3377 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3200 |
| 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 | 5 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 7 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 69 |
| Airframe Hours | 11254 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1510 EAST ELM PO BOX 568 |
| Aircraft Owner City | JEFFERSON CITY |
| Aircraft Owner State | MO |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 65102 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 1510 EAST ELM PO BOX 568 |
| Operator City | JEFFERSON CITY |
| Operator State | MO |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 65102 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| 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) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Arnold |
| Departure State | MO |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1053 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | SUS |
| Destination City | St. Louis |
| Destination State | MO |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 30 2011 1:24PM |
| 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 | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |