Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Sunday, September 30, 2012 in Eastland, TX
Aircraft: AGUSTA SPA A109E, registration: N144CF
Injuries: 3 Serious.
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 either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On September 30, 2012, approximately 0932 central daylight time, an Augusta 109E Emergency Medical Service (EMS) helicopter, N144CF, registered to Wells Fargo Bank NW NA Trustee, Salt Lake City, Utah, crashed after an uneventful 26 minute cross-country flight. The crash occurred while the helicopter was being maneuvered to avoid local weather prior to setting up for an instrument approach to the Eastland Airport, Eastland, Texas. All three occupants, the airline transport rated pilot, flight nurse, and a flight paramedic, sustained serious injuries. The flight was being operated by CareFlite of Grand Prairie, Texas, and was conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a repositioning flight to pick up a patient. The helicopter departed the CareFlite base located at Granbury Airport (GDJ), Granbury, Texas, at 0906. Its intended destination was the Eastland Airport (ETN), Eastland, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed along the route of flight from Granbury to Eastland, however, marginal visual meteorological conditions or instrument conditions were reported in the vicinity of the accident site. A company VFR flight plan was activated upon departure from Granbury and an IFR flight plan was placed on file with ATC, but was not activated.
According to first responders to the accident site, the helicopter impacted the ground in an open field, aproximately 4.4 miles south of Eastland Airport. Emergency responders transported the occupants to a nearby hospital. The helicopter was transported to a secure facility for examination.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 144CF Make/Model: A109 Description: AGUSTA SPA A109E
Date: 09/30/2012 Time: 1500
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Serious Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: EASTLAND State: TX Country: US
DESCRIPTION
N144CF AGUSTA SPA A109E ROTORCRAFT, CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES,
NEAR EASTLAND, TX
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 3 Fat: 0 Ser: 3 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Other Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: FORT WORTH, TX (SW19) Entry date: 10/01/2012
EASTLAND, Texas — A CareFlite medical helicopter with a crew of three on board made a "hard landing" near Eastland on Sunday morning on its way to pick up a patient.
All three CareFlite personnel suffered "minor to moderate" but not life-threatening injuries, company president and CEO Jim Swartz said.
The crash site — near County Road 309 — was less than six miles from the Eastland Municipal Airport, where the patient was waiting.
Department of Public Safety spokesman Trooper Sparky Dean said the injured were taken by ground ambulance to a hospital in Eastland. He said the helicopter's engine was still running when it hit the ground around 9:30 a.m.
Swartz said the cause of the accident was unknown, but added that the crew of the Agusta 109 helicopter was experienced. He said there will be a full investigation. The company was dispatching ambulances to bring the injured employees back to Fort Worth. They were identified as:
- Pilot Scott Wayne Wallace, 58, of Fort Worth
- Medic Teresa Lynn Campbell, 53, of Granbury
- Medic Rhett Derek Drahen, 34, of Frisco
Representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were expected to examine the wreckage on Monday.
Eastland, the seat of Eastland County, is about 90 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
A pilot and a mechanic were killed two years ago in the fiery crash of a CareFlite helicopter in Ellis County.
http://www.wfaa.com
EASTLAND, Texas – A CareFlite Helicopter crashed in Eastland County Sunday morning while traveling to pick up a patient. Three people were injured.
“When we responded to the scene we found 3 of the occupants–which were all part of the CareFlite crew. They were out of the helicopter, on the ground–all of them had injuries,” Sgt. David Foster with the Department of Public Safety said.
First responders arrived at the crash site–three miles south of Eastland and a quarter of a mile east of the intersection of Texas Highway 06 and County Road 309–at about 9:30 a.m.
The engine was still running when they arrived and a small fire had ignited. Responding firefighters from all over the county were able to prevent the engine from exploding.
“They did an excellent job and were able to get the fire out and we were actually able to get the engine put out by putting water in the exhaust,” Foster said.
The pilot, Scott Wallace of Fort Worth, and the two medics, Teresa Campbell of Granbury and Rhett Drahen of Frisco, were flying from Granbury in Hood County to pick up a patient in Eastland County. The pilot was trying to divert to the Eastland County Airport due to limited visibility caused by stormy weather.
Foster said the people involved in the crash were all conscience and able to talk with authorities. He said they will likely have broken bones at the very least and one suffered some head trauma.
All things considered, Foster said they were all very lucky.
“You can see that there’s power lines–some high voltage lines–apparently the pilot saw those, he did an excellent job in avoiding those. This could have possibly turned out a lot worse than it was.”
The people involved in the crash will be taken to a hospital in the Metroplex. There is no official word on the cause of the crash but the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.
http://www.ktxs.com
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