http://registry.faa.gov/N429PH
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Incident occurred Sunday, August 05, 2012 in San Antonio, TX
Probable Cause Approval Date: 08/07/2014
Aircraft: BELL 407, registration: N429PH
Injuries: 4 Uninjured.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various sources and may not have traveled in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft incident report.
The helicopter was on a visual descent at night to a hospital helipad when its left skid struck a tower guy wire, which resulted in a portion of the left skid separating from the helicopter. The pilot declared an emergency and diverted to a nearby airport. The operator reported no preincident malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this incident as follows:
The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a tower guy wire during the approach to a helipad at night.
On August 5, 2012, at 0331 central daylight time, a Bell 407 helicopter, N429PH, sustained minor damage when it contacted a tower guy wire while it was on approach to the helipad at the San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC), San Antonio, Texas. The pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic, and patient were not injured. The emergency medical services EMS helicopter was registered to and operated by PHI, Inc., under the provisions of the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was on a company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan. The flight departed from the College Station Medical Center, College Station, Texas, at 0302.
The operator reported that the helicopter was on a visual descent to the SAMMC helipad when the helicopter's left skid contacted a tower guy wire, located northeast of the helipad, which resulted in a portion of the left skid separating from the helicopter. The pilot declared an emergency and diverted to the San Antonio International Airport (SAT), San Antonio, Texas. The operator reported that there was no malfunction or system failure of the helicopter before the incident.
A medical helicopter missing half its landing gear came to a gentle rest on top of three mattresses during an emergency landing at San Antonio International Airport, where the aircraft was diverted after it struck a cellphone tower early Sunday.
Around 3:30 a.m., a PHI Air Medical chopper carrying one patient and three crew members hit a tower near Interstate 35 and Binz-Engleman Road, knocking off one of the aircraft's two skids, PHI spokesman Brad Deutser said.
“Skids give you the balance to land on two feet, so to speak,” Deutser said.
According to San Antonio police, the impact occurred close to the helicopter's destination, the San Antonio Military Medical Center. The aircraft was directed to the airport, where San Antonio firefighters under the direction of Capt. Kevin Campbell were tasked with landing the damaged helicopter.
Campbell said the pilot, communicating through the airport's control tower, asked if firefighters had anything to put under the chopper so it could land.
A medical helicopter en route to a local hospital landed without part of its landing gear at the San Antonio International Airport, where the aircraft was diverted after it struck a cell phone tower early Sunday.
Airport spokeswoman Nora Castro said around 3:30 a.m., an alert came in for an aircraft with landing gear issues attempting to land at the airport.
“A helicopter coming in from College Station struck a cell phone tower and one of the skids came off,” Castro said.
Brad Deutser, a spokesman for PHI Air Medical, said they believe the chopper struck some sort of radio antennae during flight; according to San Antonio police, the crash occurred near Interstate 35 and Binz-Engleman Road, close to its destination, the San Antonio Military Medical Center.
One patient was being transported to SAMMC, officials said, but information on the patient's injuries was not immediately available. Three crew members were also on board.
The chopper was diverted to the airport, Castro said, and was able to land safely despite missing half of its landing gear.
“Skids give you the balance to land on two feet, so to speak,” Deutser said. “It took extraordinary action; there was great focus and great skill by the crew, as well as ground crews, to ensure there was a safe landing. Some really talented people made this happen.”
Deutser said no one was injured in the landing, and the patient along with a flight paramedic then were flown via AirLife helicopter to SAMMC.
“There's a lot that we don't know,” said Deutser, “but there were no injuries, and that's the most important part.”
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