Thursday, November 01, 2018

Unknown or Undetermined: Eurocopter AS 350B3 AStar, N910S; fatal accident occurred October 29, 2018 in Odanah, Ashland County, Wisconsin

Dean Bass  
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada 
 Dean Bass age 64, passed away suddenly on October 29th, 2018 in a tragic accident while doing what he loved best - flying. Throughout a career that spanned over 40 years and several countries, Dean spent countless hours flying helicopters and living life to its fullest.

Tree knocked down by helicopter

Burnt Helicopter Wreckage

Main Wreckage – Rotor mast

Tree with impact damage

Cell phone, displaying helicopter’s last known position

Engine inlet compressor

Tree cut/slice

Cut tree – likely from the main rotor blade

Module 5, Slippage marks 
Airbus

Location Overview 


 Photo of damaged Appareo Vision 1000 unit.

Internal memory chips


The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entities:

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Safran helicopter engines; Grand Prairie, Texas
Airbus Helicopters; Grand Prairie, Texas
Enbridge, Superior, Wisconsin

Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf


Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

https://registry.faa.gov/N910S


Location: Odanah, WI
Accident Number: CEN19FA018
Date & Time: 10/29/2018, 1345 CDT
Registration: N910S
Aircraft: EUROCOPTER AS350
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Defining Event: Unknown or undetermined
Injuries: 1 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Aerial Observation 

On October 29, 2018, about 1345 central daylight time, a Eurocopter (Airbus) AS350 B3 helicopter, N910S, impacted terrain near Odanah, Wisconsin. The pilot was fatally injured, and the helicopter was destroyed. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Enbridge Energy Company, Inc., as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 aerial observation fight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight departed Gogebic-Iron County Airport (IWD), Ironwood, Michigan, about 1300 and was en route to Madison, Wisconsin.

The flight was scheduled as a routine pipeline patrol flight. Two pipeline employees who were working on the pipeline about 2 to 3 miles from the accident site reported seeing the helicopter flying overhead. One of the employees, who had seen pipeline helicopters flying overhead numerous times, stated that he saw "nothing unusual about the helicopter" and heard "no unusual sounds coming from the helicopter."

When the pilot did not arrive at his intended destination, an alert notice was issued for the overdue helicopter. The pilot had not been in contact with air traffic control during the flight, and there was no record of a distress call from the pilot.The helicopter wreckage was subsequently located about 22 miles west of IWD in a remote wooded area and about 200 yards north of the east-west pipeline.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot was a Canadian citizen and held a Canadian commercial pilot certificate with helicopter and instrument ratings. He also held a Canadian private pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land and instrument ratings and a US private pilot certificate with a rotorcraft-helicopter rating (based on the pilot's Canadian license). The pilot held a Canadian category 1 medical certificate that was issued on March 12, 2018.

The operator reported that the pilot had 16,894 hours of total flight experience with 16,535 hours in helicopters, 693 hours of which were in the AS350. The pilot had flown 208 hours in the AS350 during the preceding 90 days before the accident.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The helicopter, a Eurocopter AS350 B3 (present designation: Airbus H125), had a three-bladed main rotor system that rotated in a clockwise direction, with the three main rotor blades attached to a Starflex rotor head. The helicopter was powered by a (Safran) Turbomeca Arriel 2D turboshaft engine. Although the helicopter was equipped with a long-range fuel cell, it was not connected to the helicopter's fuel system. The helicopter received 120 gallons of fuel before departing IWD. The helicopter was also equipped with an Appareo Vision 1000 cockpit image and flight data monitoring system.

The helicopter was maintained under the manufacturer's maintenance inspection program. A review of the maintenance records revealed the helicopter's last inspection was completed on October 26, 2018, with a total airframe time of 2,965.7 hours. At the time of the inspection, the engine had accumulated 2,965.2 total hours and 1,483 cycles. 

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

At 1356, the automated weather observing system at IWD recorded wind from 300° at 6 knots, 10 miles visibility, overcast sky at 1,600 ft, temperature 41°F, dew point 36°F, and altimeter setting 30.02 inches of mercury. 

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The helicopter impacted trees and terrain before it came to rest in an upright position within the trees. Several trees at the crash site showed cuts, and one tree with a diameter of about 10 to 12 inches was completely severed in half. Except for small fragments of plexiglass, the helicopter wreckage was confined to the impact/resting site.The front of the cabin and the cockpit area were mostly destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire. The major helicopter components were located at the accident site.

The helicopter was examined on scene by the NTSB investigator-in-charge, and technical representatives from the engine and airframe manufacturers. The flight control continuity inspection was limited due to fire damage, but the bolt connections to the actuators were confirmed. The tail rotor pitch control moved freely: the tail rotor flex cable was attached and ran forward and under the fire-damaged cabin floor. The cyclic and anti-torque pedals were connected to their respective tubes beneath the floor but were destroyed under the cabin area.

The helicopter's Appareo Vision system was located within the wreckage; however, the unit was badly fire damaged, and no data could be retrieved from the unit.

The engine received extensive fire and impact damage. The engine 's intake axial compressor blades exhibited damage near the outer tips, and the module 5 torque nut had a slippage of about 1/16 to 1/8 inch (2 to 4 millimeters), consistent with engine power at the time of impact. The digital engine control unit and engine data recorder were removed and sent to a laboratory for download. However, no data could be extracted from the units because they were badly fire damaged.

The tail rotor blades were broken but remained attached; paint transfer and impact scars were consistent with the tail rotor blades impacting the stabilizer. The three main rotor blades remained with the wreckage and exhibited impact and fire damage.

Though the examination was limited by thermal and impact damage to the helicopter, no preimpact abnormalities were noted during the airframe or engine examinations.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

An autopsy on the pilot was performed by the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office, Ramsey, Minnesota. The pilot's cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries. The autopsy noted moderate to severe coronary artery disease scarring of the heart muscle from a previous myocardial infarction (heart attack), and changes in the blood vessels of the liver that were indicative of congestive heart failure

Toxicology testing performed at the Federal Aviation Administration Forensic Sciences Laboratory was negative for carbon monoxide, ethanol and all tested drugs. 


Dean Bass, left, is shown in August 2018 with Evelyn Alemanni and Jim Baird. He took them for a helicopter flight as part of their visit to Sarnia. Bass, a helicopter pilot with Enbridge, died October 29th, 2018 in a helicopter crash in a remote area of Wisconsin during a routine pipeline monitoring and inspection flight.

Pilot Information

Certificate: Commercial; Private
Age: 65, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied:
Other Aircraft Rating(s): Helicopter
Restraint Used:
Instrument Rating(s): Helicopter
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): None
Toxicology Performed: Yes
Medical Certification: Class 1 Without Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 03/12/2018
Occupational Pilot: Yes
Last Flight Review or Equivalent:
Flight Time:  16894 hours (Total, all aircraft), 693 hours (Total, this make and model)

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: EUROCOPTER
Registration: N910S
Model/Series: AS350 B3
Aircraft Category: Helicopter
Year of Manufacture: 2012
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Normal
Serial Number: 7446
Landing Gear Type: High Skid
Seats:
Date/Type of Last Inspection: 10/26/2018, AAIP
Certified Max Gross Wt.:
Time Since Last Inspection:
Engines: 1 Turbo Shaft
Airframe Total Time: 2965.7 Hours as of last inspection
Engine Manufacturer: Turbomeca (Safran)
ELT:
Engine Model/Series: Arriel 2D
Registered Owner: Enbridge Energy Co Inc
Rated Power:
Operator: Enbridge Energy Co Inc
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Rotorcraft External Load (133)

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: IWD
Distance from Accident Site: 22 Nautical Miles
Observation Time: 1856 UTC
Direction from Accident Site: 90°
Lowest Cloud Condition:
Visibility:  10 Miles
Lowest Ceiling: Overcast / 1600 ft agl
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: 6 knots /
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual:
Wind Direction: 300°
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual:
Altimeter Setting: 30.02 inches Hg
Temperature/Dew Point: 5°C / 2°C
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point: Ironwood, MI (IWD)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Destination: Madison, WI (MSN)
Type of Clearance: None
Departure Time: 1300 CDT
Type of Airspace:

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: On-Ground
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 46.527222, -90.602500 (est)  

Additional Information

An iPhone and iPad were recovered from the accident site and sent to the NTSB's Vehicle Recorder Division for download of non-volatile memory (NVM). Both units were damaged, and no information could be gleaned from the iPad. Information about text and e-mail messages, photographs, and telephone calls was found on the iPhone. Several photos were recovered from the iPhone that had been taken earlier in the day. The photos indicated the pilot photographed ground activity near the pipeline and of routine engine power checks,but none of the information was pertinent to the accident.

Location: Odanah, WI
Accident Number: CEN19FA018
Date & Time: 10/29/2018, 1345 CDT
Registration: N910S
Aircraft: Aerospatiale AS350
Injuries: 1 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Aerial Observation 

On October 29, 2018, about 1345 central standard time, an Airbus (Eurocopter) AS350B3 helicopter, N910S, impacted terrain near Odanah, Wisconsin. The commercial rated pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured and the helicopter was destroyed. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Enbridge Energy Company, Inc, as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 observation fight. The flight departed Gogebic-Iron County Airport (IWD), Ironwood, Michigan about 1300 for the pipeline patrol, en route to Superior, Wisconsin.

When the pilot did not show at his next destination, an ALNOT was issued for the overdue helicopter. The pilot was not in contact with air traffic control and there was no record of a distress call.

The helicopter wreckage was located about 22 miles west of IWD, in a remote, wooded area and about 200 yds north of the east-west pipeline route.

The helicopter impacted trees and terrain, before coming to rest in an upright position. A post-crash fire consumed most of the cabin. After an documentation of the accident site, the helicopter was recovered for further examination. 

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Aerospatiale
Registration: N910S
Model/Series: AS350 B3
Aircraft Category: Helicopter
Amateur Built: No
Operator: Enbridge Energy Co Inc
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Rotorcraft External Load (133) 

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: IWD
Observation Time: 1856 UTC
Distance from Accident Site: 22 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 5°C / 2°C
Lowest Cloud Condition:
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 6 knots / , 300°
Lowest Ceiling: Overcast / 1600 ft agl
Visibility:  10 Miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.02 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: Ironwood, MI (IWD)
Destination: Madison, WI (MSN) 

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: On-Ground
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude:  46.527222, -90.602500 (est)


Dean Bass, left, is shown in August with Evelyn Alemanni and Jim Baird, judges with Communities in Bloom. He took them for a helicopter ride as part of their visit to Sarnia. Bass, a helicopter pilot with Enbridge, died this week in a helicopter crash in a remote area of Wisconsin during a routine pipeline monitoring and inspection flight.

SARNIA — A Sarnia pilot who died in a helicopter crash Monday in Wisconsin is being remembered for his generosity.

Dean M. Bass, 64, worked for Enbridge and was conducting a routine pipeline inspection when his helicopter crashed in a remote part of Wisconsin, the pipeline company said.

Anne Marie Gillis, a Sarnia city-county councillor, said she got to know Bass through the contribution he and Enbridge made to the city’s Communities in Bloom project over that last several years.

Bass would take Communities in Bloom judges up for a helicopter tour as part of their visits to Sarnia.

“He was such a vibrant and very generous person,” Gillis said.

“He was good to many, many organizations, not just Communities in Bloom.”

Gillis said Bass just recently took Patti Ross, the city’s manager of parks, forestry and horticulture, up for a flight so she could take autumn photos of trees planted in the shape of a cross in Sarnia’s Heritage Park.

“He gave us a lot of his time,” Gillis said.

“We’re really going to miss him, and my heart goes out to his wife and his children, and certainly his Enbridge family, because they are grieving.”

The sheriff’s office in Ashland County, Wisc., said Bass’s helicopter was reported overdue Monday evening.

He had been flying from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and over the Birch Hill area of the Bad River Tribal Reservation but never arrived at Duluth International Airport, where he had been scheduled to make a brief stop, or his destination of Madison.

“The flight was part of our routine pipeline monitoring and inspection program,” Enbridge spokesperson Jennifer Smith said by e-mail.

Searches were launched after Bass was overdue and presumed missing and early Tuesday a potential crash site was spotted from the air in a remote portion of the First Nation.

Ashland County deputies and firefighters responded along with an Enbridge search team and located the crash site just before 6 a.m.

“Our prayers and thoughts go out to the family of our helicopter pilot and to his many friends and co-workers,” Smith said.

“We truly appreciate the swift response by the Ashland County Sheriff’s Department, Bad River Band and others.”

Smith said Wednesday the cause of the crash hadn’t been determined.

The incident is being investigated by the Ashland County Coroner’s Office, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Original article can be found here ➤  https://lfpress.com


Ashland County Sheriff's Office
October 30 at 2:14 PM 
UPDATE: The pilot has been identified as Dean M Bass, age 64 from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.

Date: 10/30/2018
Release: Immediate
Authority: Sheriff Michael Brennan
Re: Helicopter Crash

On October 29th, 2018 at approximately 8:15 P.M., the Ashland County Communications Center received a report of an overdue Enbridge helicopter that had been travelling westward from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The helicopter had been seen flying over the Birch Hill area of the Bad River Tribal Reservation early in the afternoon of the 29th but never arrived at Duluth International Airport, where it was to make a brief stop, or to Madison, which was its planned destination and due to arrive around 5:45 P.M.

Searches of local airports, within Ashland County as well as locations between Gogebic County Michigan and Douglas County Wisconsin, did not turn up the missing rotorcraft, nor did initial searches from the ground near the reported flight path.

Search efforts within Ashland County, coordinated between the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, the Wisconsin Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, the United States Coast Guard, Wisconsin Emergency Management, the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, Enbridge Inc., and Lake Superior Helicopters LLC, continued into the morning of October 30th.

At approximately 1:37 A.M., the Civil Air Patrol reported that a Lake Superior Helicopters’ craft, searching from the air, had located a potential crash site for the missing helicopter in a remote portion of the reservation. Ashland County Deputies along with the Bad River Fire Department, and the Ashland Fire Department were dispatched to that area and responded with members of the Enbridge search team.

Ground teams located the crash site just before 6:00 A.M. along with the body of the pilot, an Ontario man, believed to be the sole occupant of the crashed helicopter. Recovery efforts by the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, Bad River Fire Department, Ashland Fire Department and the Enbridge team are ongoing. The name of the pilot is not being released at this time pending the confirmation of notification to family members.

No information is available at this time regarding the cause or nature of the incident. Further investigation will be conducted by the Ashland County Coroner’s Office, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Ashland County Sheriff's Office