Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Wednesday, December 07, 2011 in Las Vegas, NV
Probable Cause Approval Date: 02/20/2013
Aircraft: EUROCOPTER FRANCE AS350B2, registration: N37SH
Injuries: 5 Fatal.
NTSB investigators traveled in support of this investigation and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The Safety Board’s full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/reports_aviation.html. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-13/01.
On December 7, 2011, about 1630 Pacific standard time, a Sundance Helicopters, Inc., Eurocopter AS350-B2 helicopter, N37SH, operating as a “Twilight tour” sightseeing trip, crashed in mountainous terrain about 14 miles east of Las Vegas, Nevada. The pilot and four passengers were killed, and the helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and postimpact fire. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Sundance as a scheduled air tour flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135. Visual meteorological conditions with good visibility and dusk light prevailed at the time of the accident, and the flight operated under visual flight rules. The helicopter originated from Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada, about 1621 with an intended route of flight to the Hoover Dam area and return to the airport. The helicopter was not equipped, and was not required to be equipped, with any on board recording devices.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
Sundance Helicopters’ inadequate maintenance of the helicopter, including (1) the improper reuse of a degraded self-locking nut, (2) the improper or lack of installation of a split pin, and (3) inadequate postmaintenance inspections, which resulted in the in-flight separation of the servo control input rod from the fore/aft servo and rendered the helicopter uncontrollable. Contributing to the improper or lack of installation of the split pin was the mechanic’s fatigue and the lack of clearly delineated maintenance task steps to follow. Contributing to the inadequate postmaintenance inspection was the inspector’s fatigue and the lack of clearly delineated inspection steps to follow.
NTSB Identification: DCA12MA020
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Wednesday, December 07, 2011 in Las Vegas, NV
Aircraft: EUROCOPTER FRANCE AS350B2, registration: N37SH
Injuries: 5 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators traveled in support of this investigation and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On December 7, 2011 at 1630 Pacific Standard Time, a Eurocopter AS350-B2, registration N37SH, operated by Sundance Helicopters as flight Landmark 57, crashed in mountainous terrain approximately 14 miles east of Las Vegas, Nevada. The 14 CFR Part 135 flight was a tourist sightseeing flight, which departed from Las Vegas McCarren International Airport (LAS), Las Vegas, NV, intending to fly to the Hoover Dam area and return to LAS, operating under visual flight rules. The helicopter impacted in a narrow ravine in mountainous terrain between the city of Henderson and Lake Mead. The pilot and four passengers were fatally injured, and the helicopter was substantially damaged by impact forces and post-crash fire. Weather was reported as clear with good visibility and dusk light conditions.
Radar data obtained from the FAA show that the helicopter departed LAS and followed a normal route of flight easterly out of the LAS airport traffic area, then turned to the southeast toward Hoover Dam. Tour routings are standardized for all the area tour operators. The helicopter was level at 3,500 feet mean sea level (MSL) at approximately 120 knots. About one minute prior to the accident, the radar indicated the helicopter climbed to 4,100 feet MSL and turned about 90 degrees to the left. The left turn and climb are not part of the normal route. Radar then indicated the helicopter descended to 3,300 feet MSL and tracked a northeasterly course for about 20 seconds, until entering a left turn then a descent. The last radar target received was about 1/8 miles from the accident site.
Update: The National Park Service says every person who was on board the helicopter that crashed near Lake Mead, four passengers and a pilot, has perished.
A spokesperson with Sundance Helicopters tells FOX5 the helicopter was taking a tour of Hoover Dam and heading back.
A spokesperson from the FAA, Ian Gregor, tells FOX5 the downed helicopter is believed to be an Aerospatiale AS350 and that the crash occurred around 5 p.m. It's still unknown what brought the aircraft down. The FAA and NTSB will investigate.
Police say a number of people reported seeing smoke in an area south of Callville Marina. Pilots reported seeing smoke and what appears to be wreckage in the area. The crash site is in a ravine, making access by emergency crews difficult.
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A helicopter crash has killed a pilot and four passengers on a tour of the Las Vegas Strip and Hoover Dam.
National Park Service spokesman Andrew Munoz said Wednesday that the aircraft operated by Sundance Helicopters crashed into the River Mountains surrounding Lake Mead just before 5 p.m.
A security guard from the national recreation area heard the crash and reported seeing smoke about 4 miles west of the lake's edge.
Munoz says everyone on board was killed.
The crash site about 30 miles from the Las Vegas Strip is not accessible by road.
A September 2003 crash of a Sundance Helicopters flight killed its pilot and six passengers in Arizona. Unsafe flying procedures and misjudgment were cited as the probable cause of that crash.
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A sunset helicopter tour of the Las Vegas Strip and the Hoover Dam on Wednesday may have ended in a fiery crash near Lake Mead.
Las Vegas police were investigating a helicopter crash near Callville Bay, about 30 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. Police spokesman Bill Cassell said the aircraft went down just before 5 p.m.
A spokesman for Sundance Helicopters told The Associated Press that a helicopter giving a local tour had gone missing and was likely the aircraft involved in the crash. The company based at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas was trying to confirm how many passengers were booked on the tour.
FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said several witnesses reported smoke and what appeared to be wreckage in the area where police were investigating.
Gregor said police were having troubling reaching the crash site because it's in a ravine.
The tour helicopter that was missing was an Aerospatiale AS350, which can hold up to six passengers and are often used for air tours. The spokesman for the helicopter company, who declined to give his name, said the tour was not full. He declined to answer further questions.
Sundance Helicopters' website promotes only one local tour that flies over Lake Mead. The 30-minute "Twilight City Tour" spans downtown Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam and the Las Vegas Strip. Packages start at $210 per person.
"Fly in a state of the art luxury air-conditioned 6 passenger jet helicopter," the website says.
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