14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, April 09, 2014 in Albuquerque, NM
Aircraft: AIRBUS AS350 B3, registration: N395P
Injuries: 3 Minor.
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 April 9, 2014, about 1745 mountain daylight time, an Airbus (Eurocopter) AS 350 B3 helicopter, N395P, impacted the hospital roof top following departure from the UNM hospital helipad, Albuquerque, New Mexico. The helicopter was registered to and operated by PHI, Inc. Lafayette, Louisiana, under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot and two paramedics received only minor injuries and the helicopter was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a company flight plan was filed for the local repositioning flight that was originating at the time of the accident.
The pilot reported that he had completed all pre-takeoff hydraulic checks and that after liftoff, he commanded a slight left turn. However, the helicopter kept turning and entered a spin. The pilot added that the pedals were jammed or locked, in the neutral position. Video from a security camera mounted on the hospital helipad revealed that the helicopter began to yaw in a counterclockwise direction as it lifted off the helipad. The helicopter completed several rotations before it impacted the roof top, and came to rest adjacent the helipad. A small post-crash fire started, but was extinguished shortly after the helipad's fire suppression system activated.
Examination of the accident site revealed that the helicopter came to rest on its right side. Several cuts/scars on the roof were consistent with impact from the main rotor blades or skids were observed. Continuity of the drive unit was confirmed throughout the tail rotor system; all major structural components of the helicopter were accounted for on scene.
The wreckage was recovered from the hospital's roof top and transported to a secure location for further examination.
http://registry.faa.gov/N395P
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – UNM Hospital has released surveillance video that shows a medical helicopter crashing into the hospital’s roof just after takeoff earlier this month.
In the video from Apr. 9, you see the helicopter take off and go every direction but up. Hospital staff walked media through the video on Friday and the critical decisions by those involved that kept the accident from turning deadly.
The helicopter takes off, rotates to turn into the wind and keeps turning. Hospital staff said the pilot tried to put the helicopter down on the helipad but then thought better. Rather than damage the helipad or try flying off, the pilot decided to lay the helicopter down on its side on the roof. This all happened in a matter of 12 seconds.
“I find that very impressive piloting in a very short period of time,” Dr. Bob Bailey, a UNM physician and an emergency operations center commander, said. “A lot of decisions were made. I think in doing that, he not only may have saved his own life and the crews’ life, but he may have saved the lives of a lot of other people.”
According to a preliminary report from the NTSB, the pilot said the control pedals froze or jammed upon takeoff.
Seconds after the helicopter crasheD, the video shows two security officers rush toward the burning helicopter after they’ve activated the fire suppression system. One security officer helped pull the pilot to safety, while the other battled flames with a fire extinguisher.
The pilot suffered minor injuries and the two other crew members were unharmed.
“Once it was down we activated the system and went to work,” said Eugene Lujan an officer who was present at the crash. “They needed help, so we just responded.”
During the crash the blades of the helicopter cut through part of the roof, causing some damage. Repairs were completed Thursday night.
Hospital staff said a debriefing will be scheduled to go over what went well and what could be done differently should this happen again.
The NTSB is still investigating. A final report could take several more months.
Video: UNMH releases helicopter crash video
